# What's the best deal you've ever gotten in a store? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 5, 2011, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-deal-youve-ever-gotten-in-a-store/591561 "2011-08-05T07:10:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-deal-youve-ever-gotten-in-a-store/591561/21 "2011-08-05T15:55:21Z")
A J.C. Penney’s was selling these pet travel bags at 90% off. They were like nylon briefcases, to carry your dog paraphernalia in them. I think they were originally about $30, a ridiculous price, which is why nobody bought them, and were down to $3. They had 8 or so, and I bought them all. Kept one and donated the rest to my dog rescue group. We have somebody who is the most talented artist, and she painted pictures of dogs and pawprints and other little things on them, and we have been putting them in auctions for our rescue fund. We have raised hundreds of dollars on my little donation. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-deal-youve-ever-gotten-in-a-store/591561/22 "2011-08-05T16:09:22Z")
I snagged a $120 fire bowl from Kohl’s for $7. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-deal-youve-ever-gotten-in-a-store/591561/23 "2011-08-05T16:10:00Z")
Liquor store was having to get rid of a mid range brand of vodka a few years back. Something like 20 dollars a bottle give or take. Apparently the maker was changing bottle styles and didn’t want the old style hanging around. So, this place was selling it for a dollar a bottle just to get it out of there fast. We did our part by getting three cases. Enjoyed really cheap bloody mary’s and souped up orange juice for a good long while. ---
**Author:** ![potatoequeen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e36b37/32.png) [@potatoequeen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/potatoequeen)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-deal-youve-ever-gotten-in-a-store/591561/24 "2011-08-05T16:14:10Z")
I got a blouse for 10 cents… but boy it was pink ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-deal-youve-ever-gotten-in-a-store/591561/25 "2011-08-05T17:16:09Z")
Last spring I called a billiards store to see what it would cost for them to move and set up a pool table one of their eprevious customers was selling. They decided rather than just make $500 off a move that they’d rather sell me a new one. They offered me my choice of tables, Teflon felt, wood stain, felt color, high end cues and balls, delivery and set-up and all for the price the other guy was selling his used table for, sans delivery. In the start of the down economy no one was buying non essentials like new pool tables, so they were very, very motivated. Win. ---
**Author:** ![tumbleddown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tumbleddown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tumbleddown)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-deal-youve-ever-gotten-in-a-store/591561/26 "2011-08-05T18:25:05Z")
A combination of a “location moving” sale, a chainwide buy-one-get-one sale, a clearance on the item, a coupon and a poorly thought through policy of allowing all four factors to be stacked on top of one another netted me 100 yards of cotton muslin for $14. That was roughly a 97% markdown, normally that should’ve cost about $480. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-deal-youve-ever-gotten-in-a-store/591561/27 "2011-08-05T18:58:52Z")
I was the grocery store a few years ago and I saw a nice fresh King Ranch Chicken casserole for sale. I thought it looked nice, but way too big for what I needed. How big was it? I picked it up and to check the weight. My arms said about three and half pounds, but the tag said 0.02lbs. The price of $0.23 seemed very reasonable. ---
**Author:** ![Shark\_Sandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Shark\_Sandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shark_Sandwich)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-deal-youve-ever-gotten-in-a-store/591561/28 "2011-08-05T19:44:22Z")
My wife is one of those “extreme coupon” people. There are certain things she routinely gets for free. We haven’t had to pay for toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, body wash (men’s and ladies), bars of soap, dishwashing liquid, hand sanitizer, salad dressings, and condiments for quite a while now. And from the looks of our storage cabinets, it’ll be a while before we have to. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-deal-youve-ever-gotten-in-a-store/591561/29 "2011-08-05T20:46:30Z")
**tumbleddown** - What in the world will you do with 100 yards of muslin? I once scored a[French mandoline slicer](http://www.amazon.com/Paderno-World-Cuisine-Stainless-steel-Mandoline/dp/B003M2Y1L2/ref=sr_1_4?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1312577134&sr=1-4) that retailed for over $200 for $2.50 at Goodwill. With box & instructions - it looked like it had never been used. StG ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-deal-youve-ever-gotten-in-a-store/591561/30 "2011-08-05T20:49:35Z")
Went in to buy a couple of doughnuts in a bakery one time. I asked and paid for two and was given about twenty. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-deal-youve-ever-gotten-in-a-store/591561/31 "2011-08-05T21:19:47Z")
When I was a kid, I remember my mom got a pair of crutches for $1.97 from a going out of business sale. 95% off or 99% off, something like that. We didn’t really need crutches, but they made playing doctor a lot more realistic. And she was a nurse, so she viewed them as something handy to have around. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-deal-youve-ever-gotten-in-a-store/591561/32 "2011-08-05T21:35:16Z")
I’m scrupulously honest when it comes to making sure I’m not undercharged or overcharged. I’ve gone back into a store to point out that I owed them more money. But on one occasion I was buying new drawer and cabinet pulls at Home Depot for our kitchen renovation. I really dislike HD, but they had exactly what I was looking for; they were expensive at about $4.00 each, and I needed some 24 of them. So I grabbed a full, sealed box of 25 and went up to the register. Well, the cashier gave me a real ration of shit because I had taken these off the upper shelf, and the price wasn’t on the box. Lots of roll-eyes and heavy sighs and asking people with exasperated looks. Mind you, there was nobody behind me. So she finally thinks to look up the stock number on the computer, and rings up $3.84 or some such. I assumed that she would hit the proper buttons to account for 24 of them, so I hand her a $100 bill. More rolleyes and staring anywhere but at me, then drags out two 20s, a five and a stack of fucking one dollar bills and starts counting out 50 of them, combines them with the other bills, slams them on the counter and turns away from me to look elsewhere. Now, my inner moral code is screaming at me: SHE’S UNDERCHARGED YOU, GIVE IT BACK!!! But I’m sorry to say that I just picked up the stack of cash and my drawer pulls and left the store. Not a pretty story, but a killer deal! ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-deal-youve-ever-gotten-in-a-store/591561/33 "2011-08-05T22:05:28Z")
A customer got a great deal on a laptop thanks to me. The assistant manager had been serving him, brought the laptop up to the register and handed it to me with a copy of the shelf price tag, then disappeared. I scanned the machine and a different price came up. If register and shelf price disagree, we have to honor whichever one is lower. The store was flat out and I couldn’t find another staff member to check for me so I ducked up the aisle, compared the price tags and found they matched and ran back to my register. I marked the register price down to match the shelf tags - $250~ discount. Later we discovered the assistant manager had handed me the wrong model laptop. 999 times out of 1000 I would have checked the product code and realized they didn’t match but this one time I didn’t do that. I just had a little too much faith in the AM and didn’t think he’d have given me the wrong machine. The store manager had a word to us both but he admitted his part in the mistake, I admitted mine and we were both told to be more careful in future. ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-deal-youve-ever-gotten-in-a-store/591561/34 "2011-08-05T22:08:04Z")
My current car (which hit 100,000 miles yesterday) was bought over 10 years ago. I went in and negotiated what I thought was a good deal on a Saturday, but I specifically said that I would not buy it that day as I needed to do more research. We tentatively agreed on $17,200. After research, it looked like a reasonable deal. On Sunday I return to the dealership. The exchange went like this. Me: OK, I’m going to take the car. Salesguy: And we agreed on, what, $16,200? Me (furiously suppressing emotions): If you’re OK with that. Salesguy: Yes. So I got a $1000 savings from dumb luck. Probably offsets some of the other car deals I’ve done where I got screwed by being dumb. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-deal-youve-ever-gotten-in-a-store/591561/35 "2011-08-05T23:35:33Z")
Last week with e-mail coupons and a special cash rewards offer, I got $85 worth of stuff at Staples. With rewards, instant rebates, and mail in rebates, my actual out of pocket expense will be … not just zero, but making a profit of about $4 And … I have the $85 worth of office supplies to apply to my self employment taxes. Paid for on a card with 2% cash back. Felt pretty good about that one. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-deal-youve-ever-gotten-in-a-store/591561/36 "2011-08-05T23:38:50Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I’m scrupulously honest when it comes to making sure I’m not undercharged or overcharged. I’ve gone back into a store to point out that I owed them more money. But on one occasion I was buying new drawer and cabinet pulls at Home Depot for our kitchen renovation. I really dislike HD, but they had exactly what I was looking for; they were expensive at about $4.00 each, and I needed some 24 of them. So I grabbed a full, sealed box of 25 and went up to the register. Well, the cashier gave me a real ration of shit because I had taken these off the upper shelf, and the price wasn’t on the box. Lots of roll-eyes and heavy sighs and asking people with exasperated looks. Mind you, there was nobody behind me. > > So she finally thinks to look up the stock number on the computer, and rings up $3.84 or some such. I assumed that she would hit the proper buttons to account for 24 of them, so I hand her a $100 bill. More rolleyes and staring anywhere but at me, then drags out two 20s, a five and a stack of fucking one dollar bills and starts counting out 50 of them, combines them with the other bills, slams them on the counter and turns away from me to look elsewhere. > > Now, my inner moral code is screaming at me: SHE’S UNDERCHARGED YOU, GIVE IT BACK!!! But I’m sorry to say that I just picked up the stack of cash and my drawer pulls and left the store. Not a pretty story, but a killer deal! Ever see Steve Martin, Buck Henry, and Terri Garr doing the Absent Minded Waiter? ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-deal-youve-ever-gotten-in-a-store/591561/37 "2011-08-06T00:00:42Z")
My German Mom (rest her soul) had the talent of going to our local supermarket (forgot the name) in Villa Rica and asking, if she bought a whole wheel of swiss cheese could she get it for such and such a price? I think the manager actually enjoyed it when she came in for our weekly groceries, so the two could haggle. (I also think he had a crush on her!) Until… … in her older days, with her cataracts (which couldn’t be repaired because she was such a heavy smoker) me or my bro used to take her to that same grocery store, followed her around with the cart, watched her throw items in it, only to for her to say at the end (to the cashier): “_How_ much??? Oh, nein, I’m not paying that!”, and started moving the things she thought she really needed away from the other stupid stuff. Well, shit. That got so bad me and my brother used to toss a quarter to see who’d drive her to get groceries. Guess who lost about 90% of the time? Thanks Q ---
**Author:** ![tumbleddown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tumbleddown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tumbleddown)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-deal-youve-ever-gotten-in-a-store/591561/38 "2011-08-06T02:24:42Z")
> [@StGermain](#): > > **tumbleddown** - What in the world will you do with 100 yards of muslin? At the time, I was doing all manner of technical things for a local theater, so that 100 yards was used for costuming, for set pieces, for all sorts of things from covering a cushion on a donated settee to make it useful to reinforcing a character’s fan when she had to unfurl it dramatically and it didn’t have enough weight to really pop open properly. Across about 10 productions we used every last bit of it, and it was good use too, no waste. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-deal-youve-ever-gotten-in-a-store/591561/39 "2011-08-06T03:25:12Z")
You can also make a [cathedral window quilt](http://hyena-in-petticoats.blogspot.com/2007/08/cathedral-window-quilt-tutorial.html) if you happen to score a lot of muslin, and also happen to have a lot of smallish scraps of fabric. ---
**Author:** ![dinahmoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8797f3/32.png) [@dinahmoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dinahmoe)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-deal-youve-ever-gotten-in-a-store/591561/40 "2011-08-06T06:18:47Z")
> [@DianaG](#): > > I so miss the original Filene’s Basement in downtown Boston. I used to get the most amazing deals there. Three that immediately spring to mind are a Hype bag that I got for $23, a Tahari suit for $17, and a Via Spiga coat for $60. All were current season, and when I went to the websites I usually shop at just to see the going prices, they were $220, $180, and $580(!), respectively. 🙂 I miss the Vault. I love my $29.99 silk Lilly Pulitzer skirt. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-deal-youve-ever-gotten-in-a-store/591561.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-deal-youve-ever-gotten-in-a-store/591561.md?page=3)