Have you thought to....

Hi lady! I have been worrying about you and was about to email you to see if you were okay. I know how tough it is to go through what you're going through right now. It's great that you came on the lot! You really ought to try it more. It is a ton of fun, and it saves a bunch of money. I miss the ability to haggle with store owners like I did in Thailand. I can get some of that same fun here in the States by looking for discounts and haggling for them at various stores. I even use the logic of the cost of shipping items back to the warehouse for credit...that usually gets me the discount.

Sorry, I'm not doing very much these days. I slept 22 hours yesterday and then all night until 8:30 this morning. Getting up is harder and finding anything of interest is even harder. Maybe later I will be back to something resembling normalcy.

Like you I buy a lot as second hand items. I even find fabric at the thrift shops and that is great as well. I buy in bulk at some stores here and always save when I do.

I usually buy second hand, but the second hand stores have gotten out of sight on the prices of their clothing and many other items. I can often find the clothing at our local department store on sale for less than I can buy it at the thrift shop. Plus if I can find a dirt spot or other problem I can get an additional discount so it is even cheaper. I only feed myself, so buying in bulk doesn't work too well for me. I do buy larger packages of the foods I use a lot and will freeze the extra. But for a lot of the day to day things I find that buying in bulk just doesn't work.

Don't pass over anything that might have a scratch, ding, or other imperfection. I always go for blood when I shop!! I've even gotten discounts at Wal Mart. NEVER NEVER [/B] [B][I]NEVER [/i] be afraid to ask for a discount no matter where you go. I have gotten them not only at Wal Mart but also Nordstroms, Nieman Marcus, Macy's and more places. They want your money, and if they are going to get it, they will knock money off the purchase...especially when it is something that might be passed over by another shopper. There are a LOT of shoppers who want everything pristine and in excellent condition. So an item that may have a scratch, soil or other problem will sit on the shelf for ages. Plus it is a blemish on the store if there is an item that isn't in prime shape. Don't pass the item by if it is a problem that doesn't matter or affect the useage.

Great job!!! Now if you're like me it turns into a passion and you search for the items that are in a ripped bag, dented box, or a bit dirty. As I said previously, it never hurts to ask. The worst that can happen is that they will say NO. Plus it saves the business the cost of shipping the item back to the warehouse. I always cruise the shops watching for the possibility of discounts. I got my boyfriends new microwave in a box that was damaged on one end. I got it at a discount store with an additional 15% discount!

My family likes to pick on me but I do it at the food store all the time. I mean our store has a shelf for dented up cans and boxes and I score there all the time and my coupons still work on the items to boot. We got pantene shampoo for free yesterday. They all had some sorta spray paint that went through the box on them and they had the small bottle out there for $1 each. I had coupons for buy one get one free as well as 3, $1 off two coupons, so I got 6 of them! FREE

When they tell you that they ship the item back to the source, point out to them that the cost of shipping it back will be more than the discount that they will be giving you. I have had store and shop owners state that to me, and I point that out to them...they can't argue with that logic. Usually stores do their shipping through UPS (United Parcel Service) and the cost of shipping through them is huge! I used to ship via UPS constantly until they went wild with raising their rates. Now it is either Fed EX ground or the Postal Service. With the economy in the dumpster, it is much easier to get discounts. They cannot afford to lose customers and their money. It is a huge plus for the shop if the person leaves happier because of a savings. Happy customers tend to tell others about their purchase and their friends will go to that shop to browse or buy items. My most favorite place to shop is a Goodwill outlet store about 50 miles from my home. I can spend between $20 to $30 dollars there and have the back of my station wagon loaded. This last trip I got a new bedspread for my bed in the theme that I want to decorate my bedroom in, a brand new leather jacket that I can resell, and a bunch of items to incorporate into the teddy bears I make. I also have found Starbucks mugs to add to my collection, brand name Christmas Village buildings, antique furniture, a new carpet cleaner, and more. Bill (my boyfriend) loves watching me in the place because he never sees my head, I am always folded over double digging in clearance barrels! I have even found signed artist teddy bears!! Those are a real find because for the most part they are valuable and the stores are now auctioning them off. I have turned a lot of people on to the place, but they walk in and turn around an walk out.

If you are good in finding the real deals then you can discover lots of things in great price. Some people don't have the patience to look through the stuff and find what's really unique. Sometimes I go to small clothing fairs that are organised by the local communities, but I find it difficult to search and find what I like. It is because I get confused with all those things and I don't know what should I buy :) I will definitely try to ask discount next time from the shop owner if I find something damaged or dirty. I had no idea that they have high costs for shipping them back. Thanks for the tip! :)