Cutting costs on Christmas toys

The cost of living crisis hasn’t gone away and nor has Christmas. Yet the pressure to buy presents, especially toys for children, remains constant. Black Friday may provide cheaper deals but in recent years we have seen more stores opting out and others not being true bargains. But often you can find some good discounts on toys around this time

In my job as a consumer expert I have been researching what is available and provides a round-up of how, when and where to bag some toy bargains:

Argos currently has up to 50% off a selection of toys and up to 25% off selected Lego kits.
Following on from previous years, MoneyCentral predicts that Smyths will have “Black Friday” sale starting on the 16^th November for 6 days. Usually there are some popular toy branded toys and baby items with up to 50% discount.
Look out for clearance and outlets. For example, Smyths, Argos and The Works have clearance sections on their sites that run all year round. Many retailers use eBay to sell clearance items and Amazon’s Warehouse offer “Used” or “open-box” items and the outlet section has new but overstocked items.
Black Friday runs from the 29^th November until Cyber Monday 2^nd You may be able to find bargains on Amazon during this time. But check for previous prices on Camel Camel Camel. You can also set up trackers on this site to alert you when the price drops.
The Tesco half price toy sale usually runs three times a year. The next one should be December, to pick up those last minute bargains.
Look on eBay and Facebook marketplaces for second hand toys. Many people keep boxes and you can often find toys, particularly for the younger age groups, in excellent condition.
Sign up to emails from stores that sell toys which will give you early notice of when sales start.
Buy toys in the January sale. You know how old the child is going to be in a year’s time and you can get some huge savings in the New Year, after the Christmas rush is over.
Look for toys that have been discounted due to damaged boxes, cosmetic scratches etc, such as at Amazon Warehouse and eBay. Adventure Toys sell discounted Little Tikes returns. Marthill International sells pallets of mail order returns made up of box damaged, bag damaged, faulty items and change-of-mind returns. They can be discounted up to 85%, so you could sell some on and/or split the cost with friends.
Jam Doughnut offers pre-payment gift cards to use online, instore or on the phone and earn reward points which accumulate. Once you have received £10.00 worth, you can take out the cash.
Look at the Google shopping tool which can help you to find alternative sellers for the presents you are seeking. Use price comparison sites such as Pricerunner and Idealo. These scan the well-known and lesser-known online stores for the price on the same item.
After finding the cheapest price then use a cashback site. It is free to register with them, These will give you money back on purchases when you shop online. The main ones are TopCashback* and Quidco* which are the main ones and for your child’s nominated child’s bank account, consider Kidstart*which puts money into your nominated child’s account. You can claim back money just by clicking through to your online shop store, if it is registered with the site.
Download the Honey app which will automatically check for discount codes on retailer sites that you visit. Be aware that the cashback sites may not accept an unapproved discount code.
Use the Mad About Money app to find recommendations for other money specialist apps and get the discount at the point of purchase from various retailers.
Each Tuesday, you can usually save up to 40% at The Disney store in its “Toy Tuesday” sale which usually runs for 48 hours. This offers discounts on a variety of Disney toys, action figures and playsets. Different deals are provided each week and are online only.
Boots £10 Tuesday has some great baby-related bargains weekly, with numerous items reduced to £10, including toys, Discounts range from 10% to 20%, with some reductions even higher.
Although Zavvi is known for its entertainment products, it also sells toys and collectibles, many of them with discounts, including exclusives.
Look at lesser-known retailers that sell toys. For example, Studio is currently selling toys for up to 70% off And Very for up to 50% off. Also check stores that might be considered as more expensive, such as Hamleys which holds seasonal sales throughout the year. It currently has 25% off Lego, 30% off Playmobile and up to 25% on other toys.
You may be entitled to further discounts according to your status and in most cases you will be able to use these discounts combined with store deals. Unidays, Totum and Student Beans provide discounts for students at a wide range of stores, meals out, deliveries, etc. and include retailers like Argos that sell toys. Sign up with a school/college/uni email address.
If you are disabled you can find discounts from a wide variety of companies at Purpl. It is the UK’s first discount site devoted to helping with the cost of living with a disability.
The Blue Light card provides discounts for emergency workers, teachers, armed forces and more.
Consider craft sets which are often discounted at retailers such as Hobbycraft, with offers of 3-for-the-price-of-2 and up to 50% discount off some kits.
Finally Don’t take the children Christmas shopping! They will just see more things that they “want“. This will add to the pressure and stress on you. Try to work out reciprocal arrangements with your friends and their children to go shopping.

Further help with Christmas shopping

See Saving money and your rights at Christmas numerous posts on saving money on all aspects of Christmas, gifts, food, cards, decorations and more.

Christmas Shopping: Know your rights.

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