Gymboree Big Red Balloon Semi-Annual Sale: Save up to 70%

[couponlady]

[Minou]

The offer in Canadian stores appears to be 40% off everything until Dec. 29 -- at least, that's what the e-mail said. I wonder if they have Big Red Balloon going on right now in Canadian stores as well... anyone know?

[Sbabytears]

Nope just 40%

[couponlady]

My email said it is valid in Canada too

SEMI-ANNUAL/BIG RED BALLOON SALE:
Offer valid on select merchandise, while supplies last. Offer valid for a limited time only, excludes promo priced items (such as Accessories Deals and Buy 1 Get 1 Deals) and online exclusive offers. Prices and quantities may vary in stores and online. In stores, discount will be taken at register. Online prices reflect discount. All prices in this email and at gymboree.com are in U.S. dollars. Discount will not be applied to shipping charges, taxes, gift certificates/cards, in-store phone orders, gift packaging or donations. Gymboree reserves the right to change or cancel this promotion at any time. Valid only at Gymboree stores in the U.S. and Canada and online at gymboree.com. Not valid at Gymboree Outlet or Play & Music locations.

[Minou]

Hmm... I think Big Red Balloon may have started in Canadian stores in January last year.... I wonder if things will change over by Monday, since this sale appears to go through Sunday.

I guess we'll see... wish Gymboree were at the closest mall to me! As it is, I have to drive about 1/2 an hour to get there, and there's a lot of snow here today.

[silverbullet71]

My friend recently had a really bad experience shopping online at Gymboree. She got suckered in with great online prices and then at checkout was told that the free shipping promo only appled to US orders. She bit the bullet and paid for the shipping to Canada, even though the advertisement said shipping was free, with no fineprint. When the package finally arrived at her place, she was told she owed money for duty. When she called Gymboree to complain, they said Canada is considered "international" so duty applies. Therefore, the "deals" she thought she was getting turned out to be a huge waste of time and money. Stick to the stores only if you want to shop at Gymboree.

[Minou]

I don't think she was suckered... it's just important to know the US site's policies. I find that the shipping/duty rate is reasonable when I place orders of $100 plus, so it's a smaller percentage of my purchase. At times, with sales and 20% off coupons, Gymboree.com can have some near-giveaway deals -- it's just important to know when to shop. In July, you can often find t-shirts and shorts being cleared out for $3.50 to $4.00 each online with lots of stock. At that point, shipping and duty are worth it, though I ship to Pembina, ND if I know we're headed down to the US for a couple of days. Last year, they had $3.99 chino pants, $0.99 belts, and 3-packs of socks and underwear for $0.99. I live too far away from a Gymboree store to make weekly checks possible, so I keep tabs on the sales online. Typically, too, prices online drop more quickly than those in Canadian stores, so you've got to remember that Canadian store prices are typically going to be considerably higher on a sale, unless it's an across-the-board $15 jeans or $12.99 on everything promotion with a set price. Also, there's more stock available online, especially if you're wanting multiples of something in the same size.

When you know about how much you're paying for duty, shipping, and taxes, you can figure out whether it's worth it to order. It can help to order with a friend or family member to better divide the shipping and duty costs. I've had a lot of luck shopping online.