I sold out to Black Friday.
I had to go out to feed myself earlier. So, I stopped into the local Big Lots. I said I was not going to buy anything today, but then I remembered the toy drive at work. If I was going to pick up toys, might as well do it today. I pulled into the BL parking lot. Normally empty, it was overflowing with an array of cars whose backseats were bursting with shopping bags, proof of the earlier morning shopping endeavors.
Of course nothing I picked out was on sale, but Big Lots is so cheap, it would not really have mattered. I picked up 3 toys. I decided that I would get 2 girl toys, and 1 toy for a boy. I’m going to let my 2 nieces and nephew know that instead of getting toys from me this year, I gave gifts to kids their age who wouldn’t have gotten toys otherwise. We’ll see how that goes…
The thrift stores are hoppin’ today
Attn: If you decide to go out today and shop, check out your local resale shops. Many are having insane sales. I saw that at ThriftSmart everything is 50% off. I’m sure many other stores are following this black Friday sale trend. This is a great way to get an awesome deal on a unique gift. Shabby chic is where it’s at.
Thou Shall Not Switch Tags at Ye Goodwill….
One of the first Testaments of thrifting. Don’t switch tags. Even if the stuff is overpriced. Yesterday, while continuing my GW saga I saw a manager yelling at people who just stared at him like that had no idea what he was saying. Apparently, they had switched the tags on all their items, and got caught. Ahh….it took me back to my 8 years of resale retail experience. I couldn’t believe how many people I had switching tags. Some really sucked at it, and I’d call them out at the register…the ones that didn’t suck…no they all sucked because they were all idiots. See I think tag switchers, seem to forget that a lot of times in smaller stores the same people ringing the item up, also priced/tagged that item.
So anyhow, I’m not sure what happened with the switchers at the GW, but the moral of the story is don’t switch tags, and also check your tags to make sure they haven’t been a victim of switching. Some switchers try to become sophisticated by not discarding the switched tag and reattaching it to the item they took a tag from….sneaky!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Where there’s a Will, Theres a Way
I took my boss to the Goodwill outlet yesterday. I don’t think she knew what she was in for. I am the first to admit that this outlet, is a whole another world. I was getting really nervous, that she was not feeling it. Then…victory! She found 3 vhs tapes, they were all washed up pop stars. She got thaes with NKOTB, Aaron Carter, and the Spice Girls. She was literally so happy, she took a picture. It’s like that stuff was meant for her to find, because I know I wouldn’t have looked twice at it. Maybe I would have, but I probably would have pointed and laughed.
Lonely Ebay
I was getting ready to throw some stuff up on ebay, until I realized that my auctions would end on a holiday weekend. The last time I did something on a holiday, it was a garage sale on one of the busiest streets in town. Well, normally busy street. Two people showed up, it was so sad. I learned from that mistake and am going to assume that Thanksgiving weekend may not be a good time for ebay. I’m not going to risk it, so I’ll wait til’ next weekend I supposed…I hear that Thanksgiving weekend is the busiest travel weekend of the year.
Black Friday is Salty…
Let me preface this buy letting you know I have a degree in Marketing. So I understand that the economy needs spending, but when half of the spending is being put on credit cards to buy stuff that we don’t need, is that really helping anyone?
Somehow, the media manages to put such hype around “Black Friday”. I find myself now looking forward to the footage of people running each other down at the Wal-Mart. (Remember the wig falling off that one year?) It’s usually for items Wal-Mart has made people think will only be on-sale that day, and not only will it only be on sale that day, but it will also spontaneously combust that night and they will never be able to get their hands on it again. This makes it okay to run their fellow mans heels over with their cart. Don’t get it. It’s been proven that the same deals are available on the internet, and throughout the holiday shopping season. So chillax…that’s what I’m doing this year.
I’m taking part in NATIONAL BUY NOTHING DAY, the day after Thanksgiving. Check it out, consumerism really isn’t fabulous. The average American carries 7 credit cards with an average of $1642 of debt on each (source:USA Today), thats over $11000 bucks! For what?! So, cut up those cards and buy nothing. On Friday I’m chopping up my Southwest card, I guess I’ll be thumbin’ it if I need to go anywhere far this year.
Who needs to go shopping the day after Thanksgiving?
I started my Christmas shopping this weekend. I was on a mission. I needed four hardback old copies of Dolly Partons’ book, My Life and Other Unfinished Business. If you haven’t read it, I recommend it, it’s the best. I wanted to pick it up for the ladies at my work as Christmas presents. I thought it would look great wrapped up with ribbon and a simple card, and best of all it would be super cheap! I have always had a hard time buying for co-workers and bosses, I’m not selfish, but once I start buying I immediatley equate the amount of the gifts with the amount of hours I had to work to pay for them. So I figure a nice small personal gift is the way to go with people at the workplace.
I started off at a true-blue used bookstore. They had no Dolly book, but they tried their hardest to find me one. Calling people, and looking upstairs in the attic. Granted , they would do this for me at he Borders, but it’s not the same (and the hardback copy of this book is like $30 if it’s still in print). I always try to shop at small business for lots of reasons, but mostly for the great customer service. Represent. No luck at my first stop, but the man recommended one of my favorite thrift shops down the street.
No hardbacks, but something even better, the Dolly book on tape! Brand New! $4.99. Perfect for my car which has no CD player! I promise I’m not selfish, but I had to get this one for myself. If my girls at work weren’t always attached to their mp3 players I maybe would have considered it for one of them, but I don’t think they rock Walkmans. So…here’s to trying again next weekend..I still have a few weeks right?
Love this How to Consign site!
One of my favorite sites! and today they are representing a consignment shop from my hometown on their homepage! Check it out! <3
It’s Raining Clothes…
I was just about ready to run some clothing over to a trendy resale shop. In my opinion the stuff is overpriced, but it’s a great place to sell your items at, because they give you a decent amount of cash for designer labels and such. Although, now it’s pouring rain, and I am not going out.
If you’ve never sold any of your clothes this way, you should try it. It’s quick and easy. These places are usually more picky than consignment shops because they are taking a risk by buying the inventory outright. So I always have to keep in mind that’s it’s nothing personal if the sales girl rejects half my stuff.
Here are some of my tips for getting the most for your old stuff at these places:
1. Choose a shop with a good reputation, and in the most afluent part of town. These places recognize name brands, and so do their customers.
2. Be oh so nice to the person taking in your clothing. Even if it’s a teenager with a ‘tude. This person needs you as much as you need them, but they are in control of your items destiny…this means no multi-tasking between your cell phone and them!
3. Make sure everything is clean and folded. I usually give my stuff a once over w/ Febreze …just in case
4. Bring less than 20 items at a time. More than that and some ‘buyers’ may get overwhelmed or rush…who knows, but this also saves time since in many of these stores you need to stay in the shop while they process your items
5. Don’t be afraid to ask how much you got for a particular item, but don’t make the clerk list everything. They price it at what they can. It saves everyone time if you take an ‘ashes to ashes, dust to dust’ approach with the old stuff.
6. Don’t feel guilty about getting rid of anything! A cluttered closet makes a cluttered mind. It’s freeing to know that you can live without so much ’stuff’
See how simple and therapeutic? I love it. Below are some great buy outright chains, checkout their policies and try em’ out.
…and many, many more!
Inspirational Image
Dear Gray Louis Vuitton Velvet Blazer,
You were so sexy with your burned LV logo. I just had to have you when I saw you. When I got you home reality hit. I knew that I had no use for you. So I had to sell you. Thanks for making me $500 on ebay.
Love,
Me
