The Thrill of the Deal

I am a bit of a horrible shopper. Last good deal was a pair of Sketchers boots for about a third of rrp. It was an introductory offer where they want to hook you and you buy more. I only wanted the boots. Oh the bliss of comfey feet.
I too love rummaging in what you call thrift shops. He have a shop a just along the road that is run by a charity that saves Books. They save them from landfill - some are new with publishers letters inside. They are free - which has to be the best bargain. Do like you to take in a couple of old ones and swop - also do DVDs and videos.
We are finding over here that thrift shop prices have risen a lot - people that would not have deigned to look in them before are now feeling the pinch I guess.

 

I just purchased two jeans from calvinkleinjeans.com with the coupon code SALE85 for 85% off with free shipping.

 

Thackerys The Virginian part two and The Rose and the Ring - bound in cotton, pages on the latter have not even been cut. Well over a century old - £5 for the pair. Lovely pictures. I bought them because I knew the illustrations would be cut out and put in frames, the rest discarded - so like a pair of old dogs I rescued them. The political poems are as relevant today as they were then.

 

Pair of original paintings by an aussie aboriginal artist, shown and sold in a gallery about 1920's I think. Expensive - think about £6 for the pair.
--- merged: May 27, 2012 at 11:39 AM ---
We have charity shops that price cheap chain store second hand clothes for more than the original price. Not vintage.

 

I remember when you could buy clothes by the pound at Goodwill. I guess that's not the case anymore.

My most recent deal was a set of six dining room chairs off craigslist. $30 per chair. The go perfectly with our dining room table (for which we had not yet bought any chairs because they were too expensive).

 

That chair is very damned cool.

 

My SO found our Kitchenaid artisan mixer for $100 on Craigslist, barely used.
I wish I still had my awesome little Bistro set I snagged for $50 on CL.
I find so many awesome things at the Adidas outlet, Dick's Sporting Goods, and just waiting.
We got insane deals on both of our cars,too.

Best deal I ever made? $400 for the carpet and padding from our 26' x 12'6" living room area. It was brand new and the dude hauled it away, too.

 

I'm a total hobo and get my clothes off sites like SierraTradingPost. Most of the stuff I wear? Brand new factory seconds.

Totally can't justify paying $50+ for a pair of in-fashion jeans when I get the same thing with a cosmetic blemish for $18.

 

Yes, but why pay $18.00 with a blemish when a brand new one exists for the same price? You may not exactly purchase "in-fashion" because, hey, if it's on sale for 64% off then it must be old, but still ... yesterday I went to Kohls and got a jacket that was originally $96.99 for 80% off and a t-shirt for $9.99. Plus an additional 20% off the entire price for the lady who asked if I wanted to sign up for a kohls card. It's all about how much time you intend to spend at retail stores trolling the clearance bins.

 

^ ha ha was just going to mention Kohls. Do they ever sell anything at full price?

 

Carhartts. Too hot for down here but when I was still in Oregon anytime I wasn't at work I was most likely wearing them. I don't remember any great deals but they stand up to a beating so even at close to retail they're worth it.
--- merged: May 28, 2012 at 6:20 PM ---

That rocks! Would so fit in to what I'm trying to do here at my place. I've been finding a lot of deals at second hand store in the area but Haven't found a good set of dining room chairs.

 

I was blown away by the price of the chairs. My first thought was, Do they have termites? I checked them out when they arrived and they are fine. They go perfectly with our dining room table.

Craigslist is great for furniture here because there are so many expats leaving (and arriving) at any given time.

 

I can rarely find deals on Craigslist here, often when I do I highly suspect the item is stolen. I've been here almost 5 years and I can not think of any foreigner who has not been the subject of at least an attempted break-in. I've yet to hear of anyone assaulted during a burglary. It's all just crimes of opportunity. I was burglarized a few weeks ago, my dogs kept me from being really cleaned out. I now have full time security and wi-fi cameras that can be viewed worldwide through my iPhone. So due to that I won't buy anything used without first knowing it's pedigree. If I were willing to buy "no questioned asked" I could replace all the stuff stolen from me with stuff likely stolen from someone else for pennies on the dollar. But I think that just adds to the problem. We too have many arriving and departing this area and the departing usually sell their stuff nearly as cheap as the thieves that are likely chasing them out of here. I'm not sure there's a big difference but at least buying from them I know they didn't steal the item.

It's an issue and if you're not willing to deal with it you shouldn't move here. Too many people move here and think it's basically a cheaper version of things up north. It's not. The general attitude of many down here is as long as you're stealing from someone considered "rich" then it's OK. Even the police seem to think this way. I know people who've reported burglaries to the police and found the police removing items from their house while they were "investigating" the scene. You either adapt to things here or move back north.

 

I like the wee chairs. They look as if they have just stepped out of fairy tale or story book world. They could have been at Bag End. Gandalf may have perched on one and warmed his feet by the fire. They have an air about them.

 

Snagged an Aimpoint T-1 for $350 shipped.

They usually go for about $600 new. In good condition too.

 

Remo Doumbek for £165 ... new condition. RRP is around £400. I'd waited two years for that deal to become available. I 'lie in wait' on eBay.
I, like Baraka_Guru , remember the special ones that I missed. I pay special attention to those, because for me, it's a natural consequence of not wanting to accumulate stuff on the off-chance that I might REALLY have wanted it. The hindsight 'no' decisions are just as telling as the hindsight 'yes' ones, and I try to Analise what was going on in me.

Goodwill shop trawling has got me my complete matching set of Edinburgh crystal glassware ... though I reckon If I'd been paying myself for trawling time, I'd have saved money by just getting them from the manufacturer.