Sunday, August 29, 2004

The REI Labor Day Sale

I spent this afternoon finally dragging myself to Costco to buy those bulk things that I need every six months. 36 rolls of toilet paper, the quantity one must buy of Costco's Kirkland brand, will last me an entire year. The most important purchase I make at Costco are the 10 pound bags of frozen fruit that I use for my smoothies. Along the way, I did pick up cantaloupe, honeydew, lemons, and grapes, all of which are of surprisingly high quality.

I bought most everything I wanted at Costco, but there are two items at Trader Joe's that I must buy at TJ's and no where else. I really like TJ's Rice Dream Soy Milk. It isn't flavored vanilla, which is what Costco only sells, unless I didn't see the plain soy milk at Costco. The second Trader Joe's only item is their low fat cottage cheese. Last year, after eating this particular cottage cheese, I then bought a Safeway brand and I simply couldn't eat it. I was and still am completely familiar with the taste of Trader Joe's low fat cottage cheese.

Costco and Trader Joe's are a hop, skip and jump from San Francisco's own REI store. I had received a flyer in the mail, perhaps one of the few times an advertising piece actually worked on me, about REI's Labor Day Clearance Sale. So I went over to see if there was something I might want.

I found not one, but TWO.

The first was something that I had been needing and didn't buy earlier because of its steep price.





My new REI Ultra Lite Waterproof (not water resistant mind you) Jacket


The original price was $125 and the sale price was $89.99. But for all of you who know that I am the KING of the fleece vest, an actual rainjacket is a breakthrough fashion move for me.

I then went to the shoe section and saw what I thought to be really cool looking running shoes, and they were on the clearance rack, AND they had my small foot size.





My new Vasque Lightweight Running Shoe


You'll note that I am on an orange kick.

So I went to the cashier to make my purchase. The rainjacket rings up as $89.99, just as I thought it would. Then the cashier scans the shoes. The tag on the shoe showed that the original full price of the shoes was $85 and the sale price was $49.83. But the price screen flashed $24.91. I told the cashier I thought that the $24.91 was a mistake. He then said that every price that ends in .83 is given an additional 50% off the lowest price. BONUS. I was so happy that I almost did the Snoopy dance.

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