Great Shopping Therapy
August 27th, 2006 - 6:40 pm
We went to Sears. As has happened every time I have walked into a Sears store, I didn’t find a damn thing I wanted to buy. I don’t like their clothes, I don’t like the housewares, and what I really don’t like is the outrageous prices on stuff. The funny thing is they didn’t have any kitchen linens at all. None. It was weird.
Lin needed to drive around to a few of his work sites, so that’s what we did next, and when I noticed we were close to the shopping center that has a Big Lots store in it, I asked if we could stop for a minute or two. We did, and that was when I found the dish towels of my dreams.
100% Egyptian cotton, lint free, and embroidered with kittens and dishes. They are even blue and unbleached white. It wasn’t until after I bought two packs of three and got them out to the truck that I noticed they are Martha Stewart brand. I can’t believe I got them for a dollar a towel plus tax. So they aren’t hand embroidered, don’t have the weekdays on them, and I only have six, but hey … they are PERFECT all the same and a great bargain! I’m so excited, I am doing the happy dance! I may even be inspired to do the dinner dishes right after dinner tonight, just so I can use one of my new towels (which are going in my load of laundry for today about five minutes from now).
Then we stopped at Goodwill where I found one of those drain plugs with the little metal sieve on it (to keep crap from going down the drain) for a whole buck-fifty. We haven’t had one since we moved in, and it’s been annoying me no end. It doesn’t work for plugging the drain, because I swear our sink is a nonstandard size or something, but I have a plug that works just fine. I just wanted something to catch anything and keep it from disappearing down the sink and causing plumbing issues. Now I can stop stressing about that.
Yippee! Shopping therapy worked today! Finally! Amazing how happy getting dish towels can make a person isn’t it? 
Now I am off to call Mom for a few minutes and start planning dinner. Lin and I both had a semi-productive day today, and that’s a good thing. I’m hoping I can keep it up. 
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2 Responses to “Great Shopping Therapy”
Good for you!
Finding these items at the prices you did, which is always a small windfall for the consumer, illustrates to what degree goods (and services, as well) are artificially overpriced. Mass merchandizing shamelessly exploits instant gratification, trendiness and buyer ignorance. I own certain durable items now that I didn’t even bother to look at before because of the cost. Thanks to Goodwill, eBay and the various dollar and bakery outlet stores I’m able to circumvent much of the nonsense. About the only time I enter conventional retail businesses is when I take advantage of loss leader items. I’ve lately found out that some of my co-workers do the same.
On a semi-related note: Friday I was looking at the second quarter performances of the eight funds offered in our 401k. Only the bond fund and the foreign equities fund were outperforming inflation; the American-based portfolios were all sucking wind. The scary thing isn’t so much that this is happening, but that no one is discussing it.
The only regular retail establishments I willingly walk into are art supply and grocery stores. The only times I end up in places like Sears or Walmart is when someone drags me there or I get a gift card from someone. Anything else I might want or need can be found MUCH cheaper at outlets, thrift stores, or on eBay. Sure, you have to work a little harder at finding it sometimes, and you aren’t going to get instant gratification (there was one book I wanted, and it was a year before it showed up at the used book store), but it’s worth it for the savings alone.
Having started my retail career in the fabric industry, I know exactly how much it would cost to make those towels in a Martha Stewart sweatshop in India … not nearly as much as they would like you to believe. Markups are insane right now on everything. The prices at Sears are ridiculous. A simple little teeshirt for $24?! Not going to pay that even if I have a gift card. The only thing Sears is good for is tools. Craftsman tools are the bomb. Lin has a tool he wants to get there that’s on sale, so I’m probably going to let him have my card so I never have to go in that place again. Nothing but a bunch of over-priced crap, and it’s the same at most major retailers.
You don’t have to tell me about American-based portfolios sucking wind. Mom’s retirement is taking a big hit, and it started last year. She usually gets a bonus check at the end of the year that totally covers her property taxes. Last year is didn’t quite make it. This year, they are talking NO bonus check at all, and she’s starting to panic about what’s going to happen to the size of the monthly checks if things keep going the way they are. The retirement fund isn’t going to be able to keep paying out what it is to everyone it does if it isn’t taking in enough money to do so. Very scary. I don’t even want to think about it.