LushDollar.com
"Target" (CC BY 2.0) by JeepersMedia

10 Effortless Ways to Get Free Samples from Target

Some of the links may be from a sponsor. Advertising Disclosure

I’m a big fan of Target, and I swear, every time I walk through the doors, I easily spend $75 or more.

While I can justify the costs (most of the time), did you know that you can get free samples from Target in a variety of ways?

Neither did I!

I actually found out while I was researching a product I wanted to buy there and I happened to come across a post in which the blogger talked about how he received free samples.

Being a sucker for freebies, I didn’t know there were so many ways to get them!

With a pinch of effort on your part, here are some great ways to get free samples from Target delivered right to your door if you’re a fan of Target.

How to Get Free Target Samples

Sign up for Swagbucks

This method works primarily with almost any retailer, but I wanted to mention it here as it’s an awesome way to earn cash, not just samples, in as little as a few minutes.  In using this method, you can get almost anything at Target for free!

If you’re unfamiliar with the platform, it’s simple to understand.  All you need to do is answer survey questions, complete offers and/or test new games, etc to earn what’s known as SB, aka Swagbucks.  These Swagbucks can then be transferred into valuable prizes, such as free Target gift cards or even PayPal cash.  They have hundreds of options, so I can assure you that there’s something for you.

For instance, while I was writing this, take a look at what my dashboard looked like…

With each SB worth a penny essentially, there were a variety of surveys that paid more than $1+, some as high as $45!  Of course, you do need to qualify, so it’s not a guarantee, but I promise you it’s one of the easiest ways to earn $100~ or so per month just investing a few minutes of your time every day.

Swagbucks offers a variety of Target options, so you could have enough points for a $5 gift card in as little as a day!

TIP: Use this link for a potential $5 bonus for signing up.



Ibotta

I’m not sure if you’re familiar with the Ibotta app, but it’s a pretty cool app that allows you to take a picture of your receipt after your purchase and get cash back for simply making a purchase.   If you think this concept sounds awesome, then you should check out a post I wrote about in the past that focuses on apps that paid you to upload your receipts.  If you’re going to spend the money, you might as well get some cash back, right?

Now, in order to qualify for the cash, you need to purchase the item listed on the app, so it cannot just be anything you buy, unfortunately.

From time to time, once you download the app, you can sometimes find out that you can purchase an item, usually something new, and the app will reimburse you for your purchase.  This could be anything from a new beauty product to food, the samples vary.

It kind of works like the coupon matching tip mentioned above, but in my opinion, it’s much easier to use.

If you do download the app, don’t be surprised if you do not see any freebies as the offers rotate.  Check the app weekly as the offers do rotate.

Oh, and by the way, if you use my link, you can get a $10 welcome bonus if you qualify!

Target Baby Registry

If you have a baby or are planning on having one (congrats!), you can sign up for the Target baby registry for free.

Once you do, Target will give you an awesome welcome kit, which includes a variety of baby coupons and a ton of free samples that cater to your baby.

To receive it, you will have to visit the guest services desk for more information and how to receive it.  In most cases, you can get it right on the spot, but it will depend on the stock on hand.

Not only is this a fantastic way to test out baby formulas, diapers and so much more, but you can also save as Target will give you a 15% coupon for any item that was not purchased on your registry.

Cartwheel App

If you didn’t already know, Target created an official app called the Target Cartwheel app, which allows you to shop the official Target website, shop the weekly ad and check out current CartWheel offers.

While it can happen, you may be able to find a free offer in the offers section, but it is rare.

Regardless, if you’re a fan of Target and you have the RedCard, then I highly recommend you download the app as many of the in-store sales require you to do so.

Coupons

This coupon technique can get you free items at Target, but it will not be a sample size as you will use a coupon on an actual product inside of the store, all of which will vary.  Most of the time, it’s a beauty-like product or food.

If you’re not a coupon person, it doesn’t matter because this strategy is actually really easy.

Here’s how it works…

First, you will want to check out the deals for the week.  My favorite Target coupon matchup website is The Krazy Coupon Lady, but there are a variety of them online if you search for “Target coupon matchups.”  Another I like is YoFreeSamples.com.

Next, once you’re on the matchup list for the week, you will scroll through the list until you find something noted as being FREE as the final price.  This will not happen all the time, so don’t be mad or blame me if you do not see any freebies for the week!  The good news, though, is that these ads will change weekly so keep checking each week.

If you do find a freebie and it’s an item that you’re interested in, then either follow the downloadable coupon link and print your coupon and/or follow the directions to get your free item.  Most of the time, it’s pretty simple, I promise.

Even if you cannot find a freebie, you can find some items that cost as little as a few pennies.

For example, when I was writing this, you could buy a $3.39 bottle of shaving gel for $0.39 after you used the $3 off coupon found online.   Almost as good as being free.

This strategy can be used for more than just Target as The Krazy Coupon Lady, for example, coupon matches almost every major retailer.

Google Search Hack

There’s nothing more frustrating than searching Google and finding out more than half of the results have expired.

Well, here’s a quick hack you can use to make sure almost all of the results you view are active right now.

First, you will want to search for “Target free samples”

How to get free Target samples

Next, you will want to click the tools tab…

How to get free Target samples

Once clicked, change the “Any time” to either “Past 24 hours” or “Past week”

In doing so, you should be able to scroll through and hopefully find a few samples that are relatively new.

Just like matching coupons, you may find some days or weeks where you can’t find something, and that’s okay because, as mentioned, finding free samples at Target is really hit or miss.

Reddit Freebies

I’m a huge fan of Reddit and have found the /r/Freebies subreddit to be an amazing resource for everything freebies.

While the subreddit won’t be catered to Target, you can do one of two things to find Target samples:  One, you can search the subreddit for Target only offers by using the search function at the top or you can be like me and check it out daily as you can find so many great freebies from all sorts of retailers aside from Target.

In the past, I received free vitamins, fruit and even gift cards to Target for test driving a car, for example.



Sign up for the Target REDcard

If you shop at Target quite often, you’re probably familiar with the Target REDcard as the company pushes it quite a bit while you shop.  Plus, you cannot miss the advertisements plastered across the store, ha!  I see them all the time.

Anyways, if you do sign up for a REDcard, not only do you 5% off your purchases every time you shop at Target, the company offers free products to its cardholders as well, all of which are random and greatly depend on the current promotion.

Most of the time, the company will not send you the samples automatically; rather, they will blast out an e-mail to you or you may have to visit your REDcard dashboard to see which active samples are available at the time.

For instance, a few years ago, I was able to get free Pampers diaper samples just because I had the card!

Again, receiving a sample via your REDcard will greatly depend on the time of the year, so don’t get upset if you sign in and see no samples.

TotallyTarget.com

Browsing Google, I found an awesome website called TotallyTarget.com, a website, as you probably guessed, dedicated to Target.

Aside from occasionally posting free sample offers, I would recommend following the blog to just keep in the loop on deals in general, ranging from upcoming sales, special deals today and even sneak peaks on the upcoming sale ads.  Since it only focuses on Target, any of the free samples that show up in a blog post will cater to Target shoppers only.

If you’re just interested in the samples, then it’s probably best to just follow the website’s free sample category.

Walk into the Store

My wife and I have been inside of Target a few times when an employee or a brand representative has been at a kiosk offering free samples, usually always in the beauty department.

I cannot guarantee you that someone will be inside of the store offering samples, but we have found that they usually set up small kiosks on the weekend, during the day, so if you really want to test your luck, I would recommend you go during this time.  If you do not want to waste the gas, then maybe a quick call could answer your questions if you really wanted the samples that bad.

When I did go there, there was nothing available for men, but my wife was able to receive some shampoo, dry shampoo and makeup products, all for free.  And in fact, the samples were so big, she had to confirm they were free.

Keep in mind that Target is not the only place to get free samples as there are other ways to get free perfume samples if that’s your goal.

Not really free, but some more ideas…

Target Beauty Box

Target offers something known as the Target Beauty Box, which is a monthly sampling of “stand-out products” and works like a subscription box service but minus the recurring monthly fee.

Yes, the box does cost money; however, from the many reviews I did read online, it seems as if the samples included far outweighs the price you pay for the box.

For example, in one version, it included seven beauty samples:  a body wash, Olay facial cleansing infusion, Garnier mist spray, body lotion, deodorant, dry shampoo and an L’Oreal Paris voluminous primer base, about $25-$30 worth of samples.

At the moment, the prices for the box are quite cheap — about $7-$10, but again, from the reviews I read, it seemed as if you could get up to $30 worth of sample products.

What is the Sample Spot program?

If you search for “free Target samples” online, you’re going to find a lot of bloggers who mention the Sample Spot program.  Well, unfortunately, Target discontinued this program, but at when it did exist, it was a pretty cool program that would send you samples if you signed up for them.

While that program doesn’t exist, some of the strategies mentioned above should hopefully help you get a few samples if you’re diligent with your searching as samples will not always be readily available.

Final Thoughts

In my opinion, searching Google, using coupons and even visiting the store on weekends will absolutely be your best bet if you’re looking for some free samples.

As long as you remember these samples will not be readily available every day, I can almost promise you can take advantage of at least one sample per month if you implement one of these strategies.

Did I miss any?

If so, let me know as I tried to add as many I could think of and research!

Want $5 free?



Try out Swagbucks, the most popular reward program I make the most money with. Simply answer survey questions and get paid!

Join Now to Get $5!

Tom Nathaniel

Hi! My name is Tom Nathaniel, and I created LushDollar to help share my honest thoughts on everything money. You won't find gimmicks here. It's the Internet's most honest money site after all. I graduated from Arizona State University, and I have worked in the finance industry since 2006, consulting with multiple Fortune 5000 companies.

Add comment