Reply
Trusted Contributor
Posts: 1,919
Registered: ‎08-31-2010

Re: Why it Pays to Shop Around!


@Its Me LuLuBelle2 wrote:
@Irshgrl31201, hey, great question! A $12 pillow weighing mere ounces would have been $4.95 for shipping - which I just wasn't willing to pay.

My DH and I were just talking about things we were happy to pay for and things that we could certainly afford, but shocked our sensibilities. Mediocre movies, for $15 a ticket, that will soon show up on TV, are ridiculous and we won't go see it. But two weeks ago we took 2 very good friends out to dinner and dropped almost $300 for the 4 of us for a fabulous meal and were more than happy to do it.

I hope you find the bargain on your "dream" purchase! Remember, it took me 3 years to score that bird pillow! Hang in there! LuLu

My time, effort, mental energy and gas are worth more than $4.95.  I always factor that in when looking at shipping charges.

Read it! New England Journal of Medicine—May 21, 2020
Universal Masking in Hospitals in the Covid-19 Era

“We know that wearing a mask outside health care facilities offers little, if any, protection from infection.
Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,188
Registered: ‎03-11-2010

Re: Why it Pays to Shop Around!

[ Edited ]

@Its Me LuLuBelle2

I bought my brown/grey leather loveseat (called Sheldon) from Costco. It's difficult ordering a loveseat on-line --- but I knew I could return if not happy. It's perfect - and the 3 throw pillows look beautiful on it. 

It replaced a 20-yr ugly beige leather sofa I had (which I donated to a religious school) -- now my living room looks spiffy. My desktop computer is on the other wall of my living room - so I look at it all day - I'm so pleased with myself.

I buy good-qualilty items --- but never pay full price.

Respected Contributor
Posts: 3,968
Registered: ‎04-27-2015

Re: Why it Pays to Shop Around!


@AngelPuppy1 wrote:

@panda1234 wrote:

If I don't buy something I really want and it is gone, I obsess over it. Right now there is a handbag that was on Zulily that I did not buy because I didn't need it. Wasn't a lot of money, just didn't need it. That was several months ago and it has never been back and I can not find it anywhere else. 


@panda1234

 

I am exactly the same way!  I tell my husband I usually try and "visit" an item in a store a couple times to decide that I really want it!  Generally speaking if I see something once and I don't get it and then can't get it out of my mind, then I really like it and chances are I have to go and get it!  Most of the time, the item is still there and I joyfully bring my new purchase home!  Sometimes though, I go back to retrieve something and it will be gone.  I hit myself over the head mentally for a good while before I eventually let it go.  Another thing I try to remember --- if it's still there when I return for it -- it was meant to be.  If not, then I wasn't meant to have it!!! 


Spoiler
@AngelPuppy1  Marshalls and TJ Maxx are famous for this. If you go back it will never be there.
Honored Contributor
Posts: 19,811
Registered: ‎03-13-2010

Re: Why it Pays to Shop Around!


@panda1234 wrote:

@AngelPuppy1 wrote:

@panda1234 wrote:

If I don't buy something I really want and it is gone, I obsess over it. Right now there is a handbag that was on Zulily that I did not buy because I didn't need it. Wasn't a lot of money, just didn't need it. That was several months ago and it has never been back and I can not find it anywhere else. 


@panda1234

 

I am exactly the same way!  I tell my husband I usually try and "visit" an item in a store a couple times to decide that I really want it!  Generally speaking if I see something once and I don't get it and then can't get it out of my mind, then I really like it and chances are I have to go and get it!  Most of the time, the item is still there and I joyfully bring my new purchase home!  Sometimes though, I go back to retrieve something and it will be gone.  I hit myself over the head mentally for a good while before I eventually let it go.  Another thing I try to remember --- if it's still there when I return for it -- it was meant to be.  If not, then I wasn't meant to have it!!! 


Spoiler
@AngelPuppy1  Marshalls and TJ Maxx are famous for this. If you go back it will never be there.

@panda1234

 

So, in this case --- if it speaks to you --- grab it quickly!!! 

"A day without sunshine is like, you know, night." - Steve Martin
Honored Contributor
Posts: 19,811
Registered: ‎03-13-2010

Re: Why it Pays to Shop Around!


@jlkz wrote:

@AngelPuppy1

 

The post about pillows reminded me of how I left a large department store and didn’t buy a gorgeous hand worked pillow that would have been perfect in the middle of my white sectional couch.  It featured a large magnolia which is the accent flower in that room...and a large $ tag !!!

 

Well, I had to go back and find it.  I paid the full price and it was worth it.  From the sofa years later, it now is the center point in a bay window opposite the new sofa:

 

9DE1574F-9EB3-4AF4-9A6D-6C062A31CB29.jpeg


@jlkz

 

That is beautiful and perfect!  Nothing else would have worked or made you happy!  In a case like that, you have no choice.  Even if you have to spend more than you would have liked, this was the perfect choice and you are totally happy with it!  I did that years ago with a comforter set.  I knew the second I saw it that it was made for me.  I keep thinking I should get a new set but I can't bear the thought of parting with it. 

"A day without sunshine is like, you know, night." - Steve Martin
Respected Contributor
Posts: 3,968
Registered: ‎04-27-2015

Re: Why it Pays to Shop Around!


@AngelPuppy1 wrote:

@panda1234 wrote:

@AngelPuppy1 wrote:

@panda1234 wrote:

If I don't buy something I really want and it is gone, I obsess over it. Right now there is a handbag that was on Zulily that I did not buy because I didn't need it. Wasn't a lot of money, just didn't need it. That was several months ago and it has never been back and I can not find it anywhere else. 


@panda1234

 

I am exactly the same way!  I tell my husband I usually try and "visit" an item in a store a couple times to decide that I really want it!  Generally speaking if I see something once and I don't get it and then can't get it out of my mind, then I really like it and chances are I have to go and get it!  Most of the time, the item is still there and I joyfully bring my new purchase home!  Sometimes though, I go back to retrieve something and it will be gone.  I hit myself over the head mentally for a good while before I eventually let it go.  Another thing I try to remember --- if it's still there when I return for it -- it was meant to be.  If not, then I wasn't meant to have it!!! 


Spoiler
@AngelPuppy1  Marshalls and TJ Maxx are famous for this. If you go back it will never be there.

@panda1234

 

So, in this case --- if it speaks to you --- grab it quickly!!! 


YES

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 6,889
Registered: ‎03-13-2010

Re: Why it Pays to Shop Around!


@Blahblahvampemer wrote:

@Its Me LuLuBelle2 wrote:
@Irshgrl31201, hey, great question! A $12 pillow weighing mere ounces would have been $4.95 for shipping - which I just wasn't willing to pay.

My DH and I were just talking about things we were happy to pay for and things that we could certainly afford, but shocked our sensibilities. Mediocre movies, for $15 a ticket, that will soon show up on TV, are ridiculous and we won't go see it. But two weeks ago we took 2 very good friends out to dinner and dropped almost $300 for the 4 of us for a fabulous meal and were more than happy to do it.

I hope you find the bargain on your "dream" purchase! Remember, it took me 3 years to score that bird pillow! Hang in there! LuLu

My time, effort, mental energy and gas are worth more than $4.95.  I always factor that in when looking at shipping charges.


 

Yes.  I would have happily paid $4.95 for shipping.  If I wanted it so much, I would have been thrilled that my search had ended.  :-)    I wouldn't have given a thought to how much the pillow weighed or if they were over-charging for shipping.  I always assume that shipping costs don't reflect the actual cost of sending an item. I look at the grand total, and $17 for a pillow I was dying to have would seem just fine.  For me, it's about the convenience.

 

We're all different though, and I'm glad this story had a happy ending!  

Valued Contributor
Posts: 925
Registered: ‎10-12-2016

Re: Why it Pays to Shop Around!

I'm a bit of a "collector." My first love is depression glass of all types from plates to serving pieces - but my favorites are lemonade/ice tea pitchers, with their lids (which are getting increasingly difficult to find). I also love paper dresses from the 1960s in their original packaging. I collect vintage chicken/rooster pitchers and salt & pepper shakers, along with hammered aluminum trays. I love old cocktail sets and decanters along with very old post cards. My latest "thing" has been vintage dresser/vanity sets and beautiful old perfume bottles. My point being, for me, the hunt is almost as exhilarating as the find! So finding my bird pillow, for what I was willing to pay was a big part of the thrill!