Gymbo Mumbo Jumbo--Gymbucks

I have been a slacker on updating the Gymbo info lately. My apologies! I believe the RBS (the Red Balloon Sale) just ended. And this is a pretty big week! It's Gymbucks Redemption time!

I meant to do a post about the Gymbucks-earning (GBE) period, but I never got around to it, and now it's too late for this go around. (Sorry!) But Gymboree does a fine job of explaining the program on its Web site.

Basically, there is a period of time when you EARN Gymbucks, which are kind of like coupons with a few extra rules. You can only earn Gymbucks during the earning period. Likewise, you can only redeem them during the redemption period. So during GBE, for every $50 you spend (pre-tax), you earn $25 in Gymbucks.

You have to be careful, though, if you need to return something that you bought when earning Gymbucks. If, after your return, your pre-tax total falls below $50 (or an increment thereof), then you will lose a Gymbuck. There are ways to get around this (such as returning without a receipt or waiting until after GBR to do a return), but those are questionable--and discussing the ethics involved, etc., really would require a separate post.

OK, so you have some Gymbucks to spend. Remember, you only have a certain number of days (usually 11, but who's counting?) to use them. Here are some of my tips for redeeming your Gymbucks:

• Gymbucks come in $25 increments. That is, each one is $25 off of a $50 purchase (pre-tax, of course). So you have to spend at least $50--and you have a savings potential of 50 percent. To get the most for my money, I try to get my pre-tax total as close as possible to $50 (or whatever increment I am working with, depending on how many Gymbucks I have). It's kind of fun to see how close I can get.
  
• I buy marked-down merchandise with my Gymbucks for additional savings. I have yet to buy anything full-price with my Gymbucks (or any Gymbo full-price, regardless). Yes, even at 50 percent off, I think most of the prices are too high. I buy sale and clearance stuff with my Gymbucks, and then it is reduced even more.
  
• You can go in the day before GBR starts and place the items you want to buy on hold. This ensures better selection and less hassle. (Stores can be quite busy on the first day of GBR.)
• Many times, GBR will "secretly" start THE DAY BEFORE the published start date. Which also means you can go in THE DAY BEFORE THAT to do your holds. Are you following me? LOL! Let me explain this one a little more. So GBR starts this Thursday (July 17). Which means it will probably (very HIGH probability there) start on Wednesday (tomorrow)--it's just not advertised that way. So if you wanted, you could go into the store Tuesday (today) to place holds--and then go back tomorrow to make your purchase, using your Gymbucks.
  
• The above makes some people mad, and I can understand that. It doesn't seem fair for those who are playing by the rules and don't know about the soft start of GBR. And selection isn't as good.
  
• If you return something you bought with Gymbucks, you basically lose the Gymbuck value on that item. Well, you could technically get around this by returning without a receipt--but, there again, you open up an ethical can of worms, etc., etc., etc. The lesson here is: Don't plan on returning the stuff you bought with your Gymbucks.
• Your receipt must be attached to your Gymbuck when redeeming (unless you are shopping online, of course).
  
• You cannot combine Gymbucks with other coupons.
  
• You cannot use a merchandise credit with Gymbucks.
• The GBE and GBR periods usually come around about four times a year or so (I think).
  
• I'm sure there's more, but this post is getting really long already.