I have the most unholy, avaricious love of a good bargain.
Late events have stimulated this. Over the course of the last year or so I’ve lost 35 pounds. I didn’t want to spend much money on clothing sizes that might fit me for just a month or two, so I took to going to Marshall’s and Goodwill.
I have consistently found Liz Claiborne and Ralph Lauren garments at Marshall’s at some degree of ridiculous savings. A $120 skirt for $29, a $95 pair of tweed herringbone slacks for $24, etc. Not to mention the countless little sweaters and blouses for about $12 each. Amazing.
At Goodwill I only wanted to buy a couple of pairs of jeans, but I ended up finding an unworn Ralph Lauren silk top for $5.00 and a pair of woolen grey flannel fully-lined slacks for $3.50.
My weight has stabilized and I’m staying the same size (I hope), but I don’t think I’m ever going back to Macy’s anymore. It feels too damned good to get these great deals.
(Teela Brown, I thought you stayed on the Ringworld.)
I watch the Staples, OfficeMax, etc. software and hardware rebates and specials. I have not paid full price for antivirus in years. By far the best one was Peachtree $165, free after rebate.
Pep Boys always seems to be running a lot of specials on tools. I picked up a 6’ ladder-- normally $80 or so-- for $30.
I always look to eBay for cellular telephone and similar batteries, instead of paying full mfr’s price.
T-mobile sells a 100 minute card that’s good for a year, so I pay $8/month for cellular service.
Only $14.99 for a two-record set. Two records! Ooh Zoidberg at last you are becoming a crafty consumer. I’ll take eight!
I sometimes get caught up in the bargain I am getting, and forget that I shouldn’t be spending anything at all, or that I didn’t need to buy so many. I have a vast collection of 128MB SmartMedia cards because I kept find outrageous deals on eBay.
I always shop online clearance specials for clothing and bedding. I usually pick up things under $20 and if it’s season clearance, I save them for presents for friends & family.
Ebay comes in handy once in awhile - I just got a new bathroom sink setup on “make an offer”. It’s one of those “new” glass bowl designs with the waterfall spout. The bowl design has dancing faeries & is gorgeous… of course, I now need a place to put it =D.
I collect zodiac and faerie things as well as Brian Froud and Nene Thomas art so am always on the lookout for unique items.
I’d be careful on that one. There was a scare email going around about talking on your cell phone while it’s plugged in. It said that your cell phone could electrocute you and had pics to “prove” it. My BS meter went off and I did a quick snopes check. There have been a few cases of getting burned by cell phones, but they have all been the result of using cheap knock off batteries.
I love, love, love shopping at Winners, the Canadian equivalent to Marshall’s.
I think my best buy so far was a pair of Nine West brown leather and denim stiletto sandals $29, down from over $100, though I’ve also snagged a Jones New York dress for $12 and various pairs of work pants for $30 or less.
I also hit up the twice-annual Clothing Show, because many of the local indie designers sell off last season’s goodies for dirt cheap, in addition to showing off their new collections. I have a gorgeous knit turtleneck dress that cost me all of $5, and a pair of cute denim capris that cost $15… both items were originally well over $100 based on what I found online. I figure it’s win-win… I’m supporting local industry, I stock up on super-cute clothes that no one else is wearing, and I’m essentially getting them at cost. Yay me.
I love the post-holiday clearance sales. A few weeks ago I stopped by JCPenney to buy suits for a professional conference. There was a huge selection of clearance items at the back of the career section. I spent $129 on $600 worth of clothes. The pride of my collection is the $200 suit that I got for $17.99 (and that my boss absolutely loved).
Fatwallet deal forum for the cheap and lazy, like me!
I once got two Minolta digital copiers with all the bells and whistles (duplex, stapler, sorter, etc) for $35 from the Govt. My friend in the business said they were nearly new (85,000 count?). I took one apart to see what was inside and have used the other for years with no problems. Taxpayers paid at least $7500 each.
We always shop at the outlet mall near us, to start with; I always check out the clearance racks/tables wherever we shop. Our latest steal of a deal was a dvr that was being sold without its box - a $700 machine for $300, simply because it had been on display and they lost the box. I’ll take it! It was even loaded with a couple of movies that they hadn’t bothered to delete. I love the clearance racks for clothes - I don’t wear stylish clothes, just regular clothes that have classic styles, so whenever I find something that suits me in last season’s clothes for half the price or less, it’s MINE!
There’s always the daily woot. www.woot.com has a new deal every day. Today’s is a lovely 5.8 mhz wireless phone station and three phones. The other day, there was golf clubs. Before that, a mp3 fm transmitter for cars.
I went to a JC Penney store last weekend to check out their clearance sale. I bought 2 chamois shirts (originally $80 each) and 3 fleece pullovers (originally $48 each) and paid a grand total of $19.64. That is $4.24 each plus I had a 15% off coupon.
I found a silk shirt for $4 at Goodwill a few years ago. It was in perfect shape. I think it had never been worn, or maybe worn once or twice. It’s one of my favorite tops; it’s a gorgeous deep indigo blue.
Mid- to late January is an amazing time for toy shopping, especially online and in grocery stores (where they have those seasonal displays). Great for February birthdays.
I bought “marble racers” for 75% off. Had to buy 4 of them (per my bargaining with the store manager), so the cost was a wash, but you should SEE the maze you can make with 4 boxes of marble racers!
I love thrift stores. Marshall’s and Penney’s sale days are expensive when compared to the 50% off days at the thrift stores. I rarely pay over 2.50 for shirts, 4-5 bucks for sweaters, and 7 bucks for jeans. I can fill my cart with clothes and pay less than 50 dollars for the whole thing.
