Your Most Insanely Amazing Bargain

[Hello Again]

Lord, I loves me a bargain. And by bargain I mean, "something you really wanted/needed that you happened to find at an astounding price." White Elephant stories don't belong in this thread.

Here's my story. I was browsing in the camping store in my town, and as I was walking out the door, they have a notice board which I was glancing over. A sign next to the noticeboard caught my eye: "Bob's Insane Sale: Everything $10" with an arrow pointing down at a stack of shoeboxes. I looked up at the counter, "Is everything in this stack really $10?" I asked. "Yep" came the reply. I found me a pair of Gore-Tex waterproof/breathable hiking boots in my size -- and a nice color (brown) -- for $10!!!! (Comparable boots retail at about $150). I had bargain-hunter's high for a week.

[Flutterby]

The best bargain I ever found.. well a couple of them.

One was a pair of Teva's for about 25 dollars (regular 100 or so)

And the other was this cute leather purse for 1 dollar.. it had some funky things on it and I bought it when I was a kid but I still like it.

[Daoloth]

I recently obtained a single by The Doors, in mint condition, on a record (.45). It has both "Light My Fire" and "The Crystal Ship." The price? Two dollars. I'm hoping I'll profit decently on eBay.

[Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor]

New men's pleather jacket--$25. Got that last week!

[jackelope]

Rickenbacker 620, which I've seen in stores for $800. I got it for $300 from a friend who had just upgraded to a hollow-body and wanted the guitar to go to a loving home (which it did).

[Ruffian]

They're random, and to others they may be junk, but...

1) A bread machine at a garage sale nabbed for $8. This was when bread machines were first becoming "in" and this model cost over $200 new (it was pretty new as it was). Puh-retty sweet in a college apartment!

2) A hammock swing for $10, clean, undamaged, and actually in near-new condition.

3) A brand new LitterMaid litterbox--the self-cleaning electric kind. Kinda kitschy, but hey...it was $20 (I saw them in stores at the time for $150-$200) and came with everything but litter. And it worked great!

[papergirl]

I got a beautiful slate full-sized bumper pool table for my kids for $35. It's gorgeous and we are going to keep it fordamnever because it weighs a freaking TON and nearly killed all 4 of us getting it into the house.

And we got the world's best dog for free, after someone raised her, trained her, and then abandoned her when they moved from their apartment. Poor little bug, but definitely our gain.

[norinew]

Nearby, we have a store called Gabriel Bros. Gabe's sells discontinued, and/or slightly (and sometimes majorly) imperfect merchandise, mostly clothes. Early this past fall, I found a great medium-weight jacket of some fleecy material for $9.99 in perfect condition. Best part? It still had the $40.00 Fashion Bug price tag on it!!

Grocery store: Our local supermarket has a gas station. When you buy gas, you can get a ticket punched that entitles you to discounted merchandise. You need 6 holes punched for one coupon, and you get one punch for each $5.00 in gas. I had a coupon filled for Maxwell House Coffee. The coupon entitled me to buy one, get one free. Well, last week, Maxwell House was on sale, buy one get one free. So I picked up two, presented my coupon to the cashier, and the one I got charged for, was deducted for my coupon. Two cans of coffee-FREE!

[dwyr]

I picked up a lovely 13 inch copper skillet with a long brass handle for $26 at a consignment store. Pans like that usually cost over $100. It cooks very nicely.

[cherry]

A pair of leather pants for 5 bucks. It was a house contents sale and I was just walking through each of the rooms and spotted the pants and couldnt believe that they were a very small size. There wasn't a price on it so I asked the guy how much and he was like how much do you have. I pulled out a 5 dollar bill and said that and he said they're yours. I was quite happy but at the time it was my second pair so I kinda did regret spending hundreds before when I got a pair for so cheap. But now I've given them to my friend.

[papergirl]

Oh, oh! And I bought a Partylite teahouse at Goodwill for $1.49, which is a nice little bargain in and of itself.

But THEN I turned around and sold it on ebay for $81.00! My happiest ebay moment, I believe.

[SwimmingRiddles]

Pleather (soft, you really can't tell it's not calfskin) three-quarter length, fitted, peacoat-styled driving coat. It had some cracking where the collar meets the coat, but that's IT. And I got it for $5 at a half-off consignment sale. SCORE! It's even surprisingly warm.

I LOVE consignment stores. Especially in Florida. Old people have the best stuff, and that's where they go to die. So that's where the good stuff ends up. Morbid? Yes. But with deals like I've gotten there, I'll take a little morbidity.

[Mockingbird]

I bought a former co-worker's soul for four slices of white bread.

[BrentLumkin]

I bought a really old Baseball card off of eBay for $5, and as soon as I got it in the mail, I put it right back up for auction. I got over $500 for it, woohoo.

[roadrunner70]

About 14 years ago, I got a sweet deal on a slightly used, short, Italian woman, from some guy that was looking to get her out of his house. So far, she's only cost me about a couple hundred thousand...

But I wouldn't take a buck and a quarter for her...

[tygre]

I have two: an Aigner purse that retails for $98.00 that I got for $1.98 minus my employee discount, so about $1.50 with tax. I also got a Scepi handbag that was $168.00 regular price for $2.99. Store was dropping the line and a few items hung around for a while and I got the deals!

I have picked up a number of books and resold them on eBay or half.com . Just sold a DSM-IV Casebook for $27 that I bought for $1, and another book that I got for a quarter went for $23. Not too bad!

[runner pat]

Gore-Tex rain suit,my size,local thrift store, $4

[Eva Luna]

Last week, in a local thrift shop: perfect condition Ann Taylor cashmere sweater, lovely shade of blue: $2.00. It cost more to dry-clean it than to buy it!

[Adridne]

Working eight-track player with speakers and stereo amp for $1.

[beegirl13]

Brand new pair of Nike tennis shoes (in my size, even!) for $1. They usually run around $35-40 in stores.

[yosemite]

eBay bargains: Looking for an old copy of Photoshop, so I could register and upgrade it to the latest version.

Got version 4 on eBay for $91. Would have gone higher, but someone else backed out at the last minute, and the bidding never did recover. The ad says I get the manuals and other stuff, and charges me a high price for shipping.

I get the Photoshop 4 CD. No manuals. Shipping cost only $1 and was shipped in a slim envelope which offered little protection to the CD. I felt ripped off. Until I see the registration card, which was for the latest version of Photoshop. I called Adobe, and tell them my entire story. They told me to register the new Photoshop number, and for a $25 fee they'll send out a "replacement" CD. I go for it. Ordinarily I'd have told the eBay seller that he'd made a mistake about the registration card, but since so many details of the transaction weren't right, I didn't trust him. And with Adobe knowing the whole story and advising me to register it...well, I didn't look back! So—I got a $600 version of Photoshop I got for about $120! Cool!

I also got a good deal on other software. I do really well by buying older versions and then upgrading them. I always try to get software that can be registered (it's all fair and square that way).

[Burnt Sugar]

I found my favourite coat (I looooove coats) at a closing down sale. It's grey and feels like teddy bear fur. Knee length, lined, with a hood, for $AU15, which would be about $US8. I thought the attendant said $50 and I was going to buy it for that. I love it.

[Craneop2]

Memo came down at wifes work"there are 2 old company cars in the lot that we would like to sell; we will accept bids untill thursday".

Turns out one was an '85 chevy wagon(this was in 89) "damned thing keeps eating batteries", we were told.

Since my old truck was about to quit We decided to bid a hundred bucks, Turns out we were the only bid!!

I bought a new battery, went and the car started IMMEDIATELY!! Even had a full tank of gas!!

On the way home I kept hearing a "CLICK" every time I turned a corner! To make a LONG story short It was simply a stuck horn relay and I fixed it in about twenty minutes.

We drove that car for nine more years! Sure could use a deal like that today!!

[Wonko The Sane]

I got a used, slightly chewn, (yes chewn on by a dog) atari 2600 with several games, and working joysticks, power adapter and video switch for $1.00 at a storage-place auction.

[elmwood]

In 1998, I bought a 1920s era Arts and Crafts bungalow in Northwest Denver for $130,000.

[Shirley Ujest]

I live by deals. If I didn't, I'd actually have to ::::;shudder::::work in the real world.

I bought my sons entire wardrobe ( minus socks and underwear) for preschool at a garage sale for $13. The stuff was better than consignment shop shape. One of the mom's at his preschool commented on how nice my son's clothing is and I told her where I bought it, on what road...turns out it was a mom who's son attended school there last year. Best dressed boy in class. New outfit every week.

I once scored about 10 things of Dove Deoderant for a $1 each. All brand new. (this guy buys stuff off of major stores that close out certain lines of stuff due to label changes.) I didn't have to buy the stuff for a good long while.

The most recent that gave me a high was finally finding a used copy of Sinbad and Me which is a) out of print and b) usually $75 and up where ever you find it on line. Hubby was visiting his best friend out of town and I really didn't feel like making the drive that time as all I wanted to do was go into one book store to see if they had any books that are on my list. So he does this. Owner is very familiar with Sinbad and Me and is sure it is storage. I call him a few days later and get the copy for a whopping $3.00 which included S&H. ( He knew he had a real prize, but would rather give it to someone who really wanted it and would read it and come back to his place than try to make a quick buck. Integrity and someone who grasps the bigger picture in this day an age, who'da thunk it. I was at his store about three weeks after that and bought $75 worth of books.)


Oh, and for years I've wanted to take a cool looking vintage woman's bicycle and spray paint it all one color and turn it into a lawn decoration ( putting flowers in the baskets) but a) these bikes are now collectors items b) or in really shit shape to begin with or C) not found anywhere. So, I opt for plan D) Wait for the Goddesses of Trash Picking to Guide Me. I waited nearly 9 years.

Found a bike (and other assorted garage floatsom) on the curb with a sign marked Free and I took this absolutely perfect bike in perfect condition ( except the rubber on tires was kaput) and spray painted it London Gray (which looks like a puky mushroom color and is getting repainted in spring.)

[Lamia]

I got this hat at a garage sale when I was in high school, a kind of Indiana Jones-type hat. Looked brand new, high quality, probably cost $50-$75 originally, if not more. I had gone out with some classmates to distribute flyers for a fundraising event, and we passed some people having a garage sale. They took a flyer, so I felt like I should buy something. I asked how much for the hat. They were asking a quarter for it. TWENTY-FIVE CENTS, baby! I bought it with my change from lunch. Still have that hat, too. I don't wear it real often, but it was a heck of a deal.

[Audrey Levins]

Perfect condition, hot-pink and yellow Land's End raincoat, for $5 at Goodwill. I don't know what they retail for, but I know Land's End is pretty proud of their stuff, so I think it was a steal.

My current 15-inch ViewSonic Professional Series computer monitor, with brilliant color and astounding clarity, for $9.99 at Goodwill. (The guy in that department said he didn't have the time or equipment to test 'em, so that's why they were all so cheap. Works perfectly. LOVE IT.) Plus their logo is three adorable little finches, so The Girl in me also digs it.

Pentax K1000 SLR camera, pristine condition, at a pawn shop for $20. Works like a charm.

[Francesca]

I got the duffle coat I've been wearing for the last five years for £5 in a charity shop. I love my duffle coat.

[Tapioca Dextrin]

My white John Paul Gaultier Jacket. $900 new, $61 outlet store on sale. It's unbelieveably nice.

[DAVEW0071]

Two that my wife managed to find. She's the shopper in the family.

At a garage sale, we found a copy of <i>The Annotated Alice</i>. She carried it around all day while we browsed, then wound up stuffing it in a paper bag at the end of the day, when it got down to "Everything you can stuff in a bag for fifty cents a bag." The book probably only cost us pennies by then.

She also found a plaid blazer at Macy's, marked down from something like 75 dollars to twelve. A darn nice blazer, too.

[Fretful Porpentine]

I paid $1 for a nearly new pair of jeans, size unknown, at a sidewalk sale. As it turned out they fit perfectly.

[-zorch]

I like the Mannheim Steamroller christmas cd's, and even bought one as a gift once, but always balked at the $15.95 price for one, so never bought any for myself.

Then, at a local 'closeout' store, I found ALL FOUR christmas cd's, and they were only $1.99 each...and on top of that, they were having a '50% off' sale, so I got all four for $4.00

I love that place.

[voguevixen]

I lucked out at the thrift stores last week. I found a pair of Florsheim wing-tip golf shoes for my husband marked down to $15. If they're not brand new they were only worn around the house becuase there's no dirt or wear inside or out on them. Lord knows what someone paid for them originally.

Another thrift the same day: I found a pair of Lee Casuals in my size that was marked down to $2.50 (these are the only brand of pants that seem to fit me, and they usually run about $40 new.) They announce over the loud speaker that everything is half off today so I end up getting them for $1.25. I get them home and relise that unless the previous owner washed, pressed and starched them before giving them to the thrift store, they WERE new. Sweet deal.

Also at the same thrift store I grabbed a pair of Lee jeans that were a size too big and the wrong length (according to the tag) thinking "well, they're fine for the price." ($4.99 but half off, so $2.50.) I get them home and try them on and find that the previous owner was my exact size and had had the pants hemmed and altered so they fit me like a custom pair of jeans. Freaky!

[Vixenation]

tygre, my best friend's uncle OWNS Aigner! So I've gotten quite a number of very expensive purses for free, which is certainly a good bargain. In the mall, I found a pair of $60 Candie's heels marked down to $10 and a pair of Manolo Blahniks that were originally $1,000 (marked down to $98!) at a consignment shop. Both pairs were in VERY good condition. I'll second the idea of going to outlet stores for designer brands.

[Annie-Xmas]

I buy almost everything at the thrift store. Some of my bargains that people love: a pair of lavendar suede work shoes for $7; a white jacket with rainbow stripes for $7; and a beautiful jacket with huge block letters on it in all sorts of colors for $3.

I got the 1988 Japanese POTO CD (400 copies and everyone is looking for it) for $75. Even the store admits they made a mistake in the price.

A friend gave me a sweatshirt from the obscure musical Blondel. A total stranger at the mall offered to give me $50 and a new sweatshirt for it.

[fizgig]

I'm getting a bargain buzz just reading this thread, I love great deals!

My favorite deal is a perfect DKNY leather jacket, retail $500, for $100 at the Nordstrom Rack.

Steve Madden ankle boots - $7 at Marshall's

Last summer I picked up a pair of Cole Haan sandals ($150-$200) for $10 at Ross.

I also love the Marshall's here for Max Studio clothing. $250 sweater coat - $40, $50 sweater - $20 etc.

A few years ago, I was in need of a nightstand, and found a funky one at the Salvation Army for for $10. It was surprisingly heavy. When I brought it home, I looked at it better, and decided to strip it and replace the nasty rusty drawer pulls. Judging from the layers of paint, it's from the '20's or so. It turned out to be a beautiful solid maple nightstand with dovetail joints and the whole bit. I spent an entire days stripping it, then restained it a light honey color. It's now my nicest piece of furniture, and cost probably $30 with all the stain and new drawer pulls, etc.

[Lady Ice]

I had looked at a Hilfiger coat at Marshall Fields. I loved it, but at $129, I knew I could never afford it. Several months later, out garage saling, I found it for 5 bucks. Perfect shape, right size and everything. Even the woman working the sale gave me a "lucky you" look when I paid for it.

I also got a new pair of Nike Airs still in the box for $3 at the same sale.

[Dragwyr]

I was at Abbott's Magic Get-Together this past August perusing the street vendors. One of them had a set of the Tarbell Series (vol 4-8) he was selling. He offered them to me for $100 and I turned it down. Then later that morning, he offered it to me for $60.00!!! I snapped that deal up straight away.

Each volume easily goes for $25.00 a piece. I got mine for half that easily.

[Rico]

Anybody ever see the Ben's Bargains website?

If you're into rebates and coupons and the like, this is incredible stuff.

The December bargains I got from this site:

Casual Khaki Pants, normally costs me $59.95 on sale at the big and tall shop, only $9.99 each (no rebates required) at the Gap online store.

A Lite-On CD-RW drive normally $79.95, after 2 rebates only $29.95.

I check it every day - there are some incredible bargains on there. Sure, the guy collects a click-through on each site you visit, but the research on coupons and rebates can save you hundreds of dollars.

[SparrowHawk]

I wasn't going to post to this thread since my bargains are never so outrageous. But Mr. Hawk just called me up chortling. He has just purchased a pair of $70 Brazilian loafers for $7.25. How come I never find this good stuff?

[Liberal]

Sorry, but what is a White Elephant story?

[Shirley Ujest]

White Elephant would be something you would receive from someone because they received it as a gift and cannot ( out of conscience) sell it, and it (presumably) hard to give the WEG away.

I once outfitted myself for skiing for $10 for down hill skis, $10 for ski pants (new) $30 for X country skis (new skis/bindings/old shoes that leaked, but I wore plastic bags on my feet over my socks to resolve the problem) and poles ( that I used for downhill.) All from either resale shops or ski swaps.

And entire set of womens golf clubs for $20 ( if I took all the woman's baby clothes at this garage sale) which are used, but considering how often I've gone out on the course ( never) and go to the dome ( never) or have been asked ( never) it was a steal. I was offered $100 for them and I wish I had given in. Took the baby clothes I needed, the rest I sold to a resale shop.

A nearly complete set of children's books (4) that sell for $10 a peice new, for $2 at a resale shop. I was soooo happy when I landed that.

[Hello Again]

Another story: I was at a moving sale, and I got a microwave, a shelf system, and two neutered, front-declawed, and very friendly cats all for $5.

My biggest garage sale regret came when I passed over a ColecoVision complete with paddles, small TV, and BurgerTime, all for $2.

[racinchikki]

I got several high-quality men's fedora-type hats in a very desirable size for $2 apiece at a thrift store.

My first car cost $50 cash in 1999. It was a 1986 Subaru GL sedan. It needed some brake work that my father did, costing $50 in parts. It only lasted a year before something went in the motor and it burst into flames in mid-drive, but $100 still isn't much to spend on a car.

We found a vintage 1950s diner-style Hamilton Beach milkshake machine, made of metal covered with enamel in that Nifty Fifties minty turquoise color, with chrome trim and a chrome whirring spindle, and three big cups, in perfect working order, for $20 at a yard sale. The modern, smaller, all-plastic version cost $40 at Lechters.

[astro]

4 months ago - 5 - 15" IBM SVGA monitors, lightly used with swivel bases in perfect shape for $ 5.00 each at Salvation Army.

Last week - Open box HP Pavilion 510n with 1.2 gigahertz Athlon / 256 megs RAM + 40 gig hard drive + CDRW + XP Home + keyboard + speakers - missing mouse, install CDs and and docs for $ 235.00 with full warranty from Circuit City -

[Vanyel]

ahem

[MrPeabody]

Well I am a garage sale person so I have made a few good deals and had a few pass me by.

My two best bargains are a set of stainless flatware purchased at a garages sale for $2.50. It turned out to be a Danish modern dansk pattern. The set sold for over $900 on ebay, it went to the Frank Lloyd Wright Museum.

But my favorite deal was an antique coke machine that I purchased sight unseen out of the paper for $235.00. To make a long story short it turned out to be a vendo 81 7up machine which restored is worth about $9500.00

My kids won’t let me sell the 7up machine; it is in my den full of beer and cokes.

[Angel of the Lord]

Formal dress for 17.50. Looks great. Yay me.

[honkytonkwillie]

A few years ago I was at our 24-hour Walmart just after midnight, and I see them wheel out four display pallets of Sorel boots. On sale for $15 a pair, marked down from $90-100.

So I bought six pair which equals about 30 years of winter boots for me.