Toys R Us Rewards Program SUCKS

kerouac kid

kerouac kid

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This is the worst rewards program out there, especially for CAGs. I received the certificates this morning. However, they don't issue the certificates all at once, they are staggered. The expiration dates are 2 weeks from issue and the next batch will be issued the day after this batch expires. Furthermore, you can't use them on video games, video game accessories or video game hardware. This is such a ripoff.
 
You forgot the part about how if you don't earn enough in the "reward period" to earn a certificate, all those dollars spent go away, and you go back to $0 for the next "reward period" Then there's the fact that most sale priced items are only worth 1/2 points.

I agree, it's a shitty reward program, plain and simple. I'm not even sure why I keep handing my card every time I go.
 
i gave up on TRU rewards a year ago because compared to Best Buy it's really only good if you're santa or having a baby...I also didn't receive any bonus coups from TRU or BB on my birthday which is ca ca.
 
My Rewards Coupons always work towards video games, untill this batch I got today. I do admit it does suck during the year but when they do the 10% bonus before x-mas it nice to have since we have a four-year-old and we have maxed out the reward during the period two years in a row.
 
Something you're given for free can't be a "ripoff." Only on CAG.

Edit: For clarification, I absolutely despise Toys R Us.
 
[quote name='Survivalism']Something you're given for free can't be a "ripoff." Only on CAG.

Edit: For clarification, I absolutely despise Toys R Us.[/QUOTE]

I disagree, the effort of having to dig the card out of your wallet to have them scan it isn't worth what you receive in return. In that regard, it is a rip-off because that time and energy is utterly wasted.
 
Its a rip off because the rewards card encourages you to shop there. If you are shopping there just because you are trying to earn enough to get your rewards then it becomes a ripoff because if you just shopped at different stores for the best price on each item you could probably save a lot more money than you would earn back in rewards.

This is true for all rewards programs though, you should never buy something at a store just to earn rewards to get that $5 certificate or whatever. Its just not worth it for the consumer. You could save that $5 many times over if you just considered all your options and didn't shop at one store just because of the rewards card. Of course the retailer has created the program to do just that, to get you to shop there in order to earn rewards, dangling a $5 certificate in front of your face as the reward.

Sorry retailers, its not enough to get me to shop at your store.

For example best buy gives you something like $5 back if you buy $250 of merchandise at the store. So I buy something that costs $250 and I get $5 back (excluding promotions where you get more points). Ok, but that same $250 item I bought at BB costs $190 at Amazon. I just saved more money by just shopping at Amazon even though BB has the rewards program.

The only time a rewards program is good is if you are buying the item at that store anyways, and if they allow you to redeem rewards in small amounts. The only program I can think of that lets you do this is Kmart. However over here, Kmart's merchandise is usually very overpriced compared to other options, so the cost of the rewards program is built into the price of the items, aka its futile and pointless and it doesn't actually save you any money since Kmart's prices are higher than the competition 99% of the time. I suspect most of us like Kmart's rewards program though as most of us including me have probably earned quite a bit just by purchasing clearance games at Kmart and Sears.
 
Also, they're non-refundable. It's really more like a coupon than store credit. It's annoying because they never excluded video games before now.
 
Not defending the program in any way, but just to clarify...

The 'no videogames or accessories' certificates are ONLY from the 10% back offer. With how they issue them, that's like the third worst thing wrong with them anyway, but hey. The regular certificates will still include games.

It's a poorly thought out program on many levels, yes, but I just wanted to point that out.
 
I wonder if Skylanders are excluded because if you go to ToysRUs.com, Skylanders show up under the action figures section.
 
I was treated like a criminal when I tried to use my rewards certs on a blu-ray the other day.. toys r us can go fuck themselevs, I spent over $500 there in action figures and Skylanders in the last month, can't use my certs on games, then learn half aren't active yet... it's shitty. I don't live close to one either so it's a drive :/
 
do these at least stack??? from the same time period that is anyway? I can use them on legos for the boys i guess...if anyone doesn't want theirs I'll gladly take them off your hands and put them to good use for a pair of 5/4 year old boys :) PM me
 
They do work on the skylanders figures. Last year they worked on video games (remember using mine to get New Super Mario Bros). Pretty lame of them to be greedy enough to not only exclude games (like most of their coupons) but even accessories.

Guess I'll use my remaining $25 on a blu ray or on some toys I can flip to get cash value for.
 
[quote name='RedvsBlue']I disagree, the effort of having to dig the card out of your wallet to have them scan it isn't worth what you receive in return. In that regard, it is a rip-off because that time and energy is utterly wasted.[/QUOTE]

really.....If that is energy wasted, I feel sorry for you. I'm happy I got about $20 staggered to spend.
 
[quote name='doubledown']really.....If that is energy wasted, I feel sorry for you. I'm happy I got about $20 staggered to spend.[/QUOTE]

Thank you, your pity will be like a blanket to keep me warm on those cold winter nights.
 
I always wonder why I didn't qualify for rewards, then I remember that sale prices don't count as whole dollars. I'll gladly shop at TRU for the deals, but definitely not for the rewards program. Anything I get from that is just a bonus.
 
I also think the rewards program is a joke. The only things I like about it is I can see all my past purchases (back to 2008), and I don't have to save my receipts when doing returns/exchanges.

The whole dead period in January is just as bad. During this time, I only get whatever I have the certificates to cover, nothing more.


As far as the 10% back coupons. They have staggered the coupons into two periods for a couple years now, so that's nothing new. Also, it had been mentioned in several of the TRU weekly threads that they would not work video games and such. The coupons exclusions/stipulations were also listed on the website while the promotion was going on.
 
Yeah I don't get why you can't earn rewards in January. They asked me at TRU today if I had my rewards card when I was buying something. I was wondering if they even knew that you don't earn rewards but I just handed them the card so they could scan it anyway.

The other thing I don't like is that clearance (and maybe sale?) pricing only gets half the reward dollars the rest of the year, so you need to spend $300 to get $5 in rewards.
 
[quote name='RedvsBlue']I disagree, the effort of having to dig the card out of your wallet to have them scan it isn't worth what you receive in return. In that regard, it is a rip-off because that time and energy is utterly wasted.[/QUOTE]

Well then. It's a good thing you have a choice!

Are we seriously complaining about free things right now? Wtf is wrong with CAG half the time?
 
Reward cards may be free in that it doesn't cost the consumer any money, but it's a far better deal for retailers to be able to learn about your personal shopping habits and what you use your coupons on.

It saves them a ton of money on market research and is in their best interest for consumers to continue to use them.

About the exclusion on video games..., there's not much profit to be made off individual sales of video games from distributor to retailer and because of their higher price tag, it's easier to get coupons after buying them, so that's most likely the reason why they're tossing video games into their exclusion list...they've done it for their online shipping a couple months back already.

Just do what I do... (I did the same thing when Best Buy stopped sending me reward coupons shortly after their reward program was introduced) and from now on, pay with cash, stop using their reward cards and stop giving them the ability to track your purchases.

*****

Oh, one last thing I forgot to mention. Starting a few months back, the Toys R Us in my area started to charge higher prices for toys (a Transformers set I bought was a full $5 more, it happened a couple more times after that too I noticed)...higher than online prices and the prices at another nearby Toys R Us. When I asked them about it, they said they were doing it because their rent was higher. Their internal price scanners also reflected higher prices. So, for toys, unless it is in their ad, they don't have to follow any sort of standardized pricing. Some deal huh?
 
The program does suck but I don't buy stuff from TRU to benefit from it, it's just an extra perk for buying stuff from there. I do have a kid so I'm not limited on what to use the rewards certificate but I was rather annoyed when I found out the hard way I couldn't redeem the certificate on video games. I did manage to get an override on it but only because I had other items that I was purchasing.
 
I agree to an extent. Never received any coupons that quailified for videogames from TRU that's probably because I only buy during the sales.
 
I should have read the T & C before purchasing products. However, to the people who question "complaining" about "free" stuff, a certificate is not "free". I paid for it. A certificate is used as an incentive to purchase from TRU. There is nothing "free" about it. If it were "free", I wouldn't have had to make a purchase to acquire it. The same principles apply when purchasing a game and receiving an Amazon credit toward the next game purchase. You buy a game and a game credit worth x.xx amount. Amazon doesn't give away credits unless a qualifying purchase is made. In order to receive a credit, you must make a purchase. The credit is not "free". Again, the same principles apply at TRU.
 
[quote name='sykotek']Reward cards may be free in that it doesn't cost the consumer any money, but it's a far better deal for retailers to be able to learn about your personal shopping habits and what you use your coupons on.

It saves them a ton of money on market research and is in their best interest for consumers to continue to use them.

About the exclusion on video games..., there's not much profit to be made off individual sales of video games from distributor to retailer and because of their higher price tag, it's easier to get coupons after buying them, so that's most likely the reason why they're tossing video games into their exclusion list...they've done it for their online shipping a couple months back already.

Just do what I do... (I did the same thing when Best Buy stopped sending me reward coupons shortly after their reward program was introduced) and from now on, pay with cash, stop using their reward cards and stop giving them the ability to track your purchases.

*****

Oh, one last thing I forgot to mention. Starting a few months back, the Toys R Us in my area started to charge higher prices for toys (a Transformers set I bought was a full $5 more, it happened a couple more times after that too I noticed)...higher than online prices and the prices at another nearby Toys R Us. When I asked them about it, they said they were doing it because their rent was higher. Their internal price scanners also reflected higher prices. So, for toys, unless it is in their ad, they don't have to follow any sort of standardized pricing. Some deal huh?[/QUOTE]

Same here they raised the prices on almost everything compared to other stores and they are just higher priced in general, a good deal in TRU on current toys is usually pretty rare unless it is in the ad, especially if you are comparing to other online stores. They raise the price on Pokemon plush toys they charge 9.99 each for them now or at least they did at the last check when other stores charge 6.99 each.

They have also been known to raise the prices on certain video games, in the past they have charged $70 for Nintendo published Pokemon console games, they charged $70 for Pokemon Colloseum when MSRP on it was $50 and I know they have done it more than once. I think they were charging $50 for Pokemon Channel as well when MSRP on that one was $30. Kmart I think did the same thing for Pokemon Colloseum. I don't think they do that nowdays though but they used to. I am surprised they don't put the $5 Nintendo tax on DS games like Gamestop does.
 
I purchased the X12 headset in store today. It is on sale for $39.99. I was able to apply the rewards dollars toward the purchase. The clerk said the certificates could not be applied, but then she decided to scan them and they were accepted. Therefore, this may be a YMMV situation.
 
I just tried to use my $2 rewards certificate on an online order. When I applied the code, it entered it as "$5 off any purchase of $5 or more". I'm guessing this is a glitch, but I can't complain. Also, I was purchasing a 3DS stylus kit (video game accessory).
 
To add to the complaints....If you were expecting to get the "Free" skylanders if you spend $100 at toys r us in the last few months of 2011. Don't hold your breath. After calling three times I finally was told that most of my purchases did not qualify and only select skylander purchases were eligible. Single character purchases were not included. I spent about $150 and wasted at least a half hour on the phone and was told by the manager too bad...file a complaint. I asked her where were the details of what was included and excluded on her site and she could not answer me. I am done and will never purchase anything from this chain again after the horrible treatment on the phone.
 
I thought I could stock up on cheap games during the buy 1 get 1 $5 event at TRU for Black Friday 2010 and reap the benefits of being a rewards member. I actually got coupons that applied to games but only an insignificant discount. They divided up my rewards coupons to go towards discounts on crap I have no interest in like infant supplies.

You get better rewards from ordering from their eBay store. For me, the invoice had a $5 coupon then they emailed me a $10 coupon (both were in-store coupons).
 
just opened the envelope i received from toysrus a week ago. to bad $15 worth of certificates went expire.
 
[quote name='100xp']i gave up on TRU rewards a year ago because compared to Best Buy it's really only good if you're santa or having a baby...I also didn't receive any bonus coups from TRU or BB on my birthday which is ca ca.[/QUOTE]


:rofl::rofl:
 
The fact that they excluded video game items pretty much killed it for me. In previous years, i would always use them on games, but now it seems that is a distant memory. Kind of sucks since I earned the rewards from buying games there, but oh well.
 
I don't see exactly how its a scam, but you just have to know that you shouldn't be buying things at TRU just to get the rewards. If you shop elsewhere and shop around and don't just limit yourself to one store you will probably save more money in the long run.

Anything you get from a rewards program should be considered a bonus, I somehow got a $5 BB rewards cert for the first time because of all their holiday game sales, but I did not intentionally try to spend money there to get that rewards cert.
 
The rewards program sucks. I remember at its inception I spent enough to get 10.00 in certs. They never arrived. I called and they assured me they'd show up. They never did.
 
I actually got my coupon for the free Skylanders figure. However, it was only good till Jan 31 in store only; but my local Toys R Us was completely sold out during this time period. Of course two days after the coupon expired they magically stocked the shelves.
 
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