REI is the most awesome store ever, it's like an adults Toys-R-Us. They have the greatest return policy of any store I know, if you are unhappy with the product you are able to return it at any time, used or not. So as you can imagine many people take advantage of this to try out new gear risk-free which results in an abundant amount of merchindise they can't put back on the sales floor. Thus "garage sales" are put on so those deal seeking people, like myself, can go pick up those used items (many are brand new and they just didn't like the fit) at an unbelieveable discount!
If you've ever participated in Black Friday after Thanksgiving then you can have an idea how it goes, just at a smaller scale. People started camping out in front of the store the evening before, when we drove by we saw the first tent being set up around 6:30 Friday evening (the sale was not until 9:00 Saturday morning). We were one of those people, tho we didnt get there and set up our tent until 10:30 Friday night. We ended up being the 11th & 12th people in line with only a few more tents set up behind us and after that is when people started showing up early saturday morning.
Saturday morning, a little after 8am, we were greeted and handed tickets according to where we were in line. These are what got us in first, making camping on a concrete sidewalk worth it. (It was fun regardless...but maybe i was camping deprived) By 9:00 there were people all over the parking lot waiting for their chance to snag some deals. A portion of the sidewalk was taped off and lined with boxes and boxes of boots and shoes while backpacks of all sizes hung on the fence next to skies and snowboards also propped up. There were roof racks, tents, bikes, TONS of clothes and all sorts of gadgets and gizmos.
I suggest scouting out your plan of attack before they open the doors. They only let so many people in at a time and everyone will be racing to the item they spotted from the outside and chances are someone else has spoted what you did...like the tent I wanted to check out but a guy grabbed it while I was walking back from the backpacks! He never did set it back down, darnit.
It's also a good idea to bring a friend so you can both keep your eyes out for what you're looking for. Where they had the clothes hanging up some of the racks were really high, I couldnt even reach things that I wanted, so it might be nice to have a TALL friend! ;)
Grab a bag!!! I didn't notice the shopping bags hanging up at the enterance but since we snagged a backpack first thing we used that to hold the other treasures we picked up. My problem was I wanted everything...my hands filled up very quickly as yet another thing caught my eye.
It's a mad house in there. Snag now and look later. My suggestion is to grab what you like and take a closer look once you're in the free and clear. I dont mean just take everything off the rack that catches your eye, but if it looks nice and you might want it then hold on to it until you have a chance to really look it over and decide if you actually want it.
Read the return lables. REI puts big lables on the used items describing the reason for the return. Some things are broken/ripped/stained/etc while others are perfectly fine (some things even have the new tags still on them!) and it's up to you to decide if the deal is worth it or not. Just because a backpack is originally $400 but they are selling it for $100 doesnt mean you can deal with a huge hole in the bottom and missing straps. Well maybe you can if you're a really good seamstress, it all depends on what you're willing to work with.
Some things won't have a price on it, but lukcy for you there are employees walking all around to answer your questions and give you a price quote. Be nice to the employees!! They will decide what price to put on that blank tag after all. If you want to set a tent up or ask for help fitting a pack to your body, they are there for that as well. Like always, REI staff are some of the nicest most helpful people. A nice fellow actaully helped us set up a tent after he described it and said he wanted it to go to a good home since it was a really nice tent....we ended up buying it.
All sales are final at the garage sale. If you end up not like it you will not be able to return it to the store. You can always sell it yourself if you really dislike it...maybe to a friend or on craigslist?
This was so much fun, we spent literally 12 hours at REI from the time we set up camp to walking away with our treasures. I would definitely do it again, not that I really need anything, but it's the hunt that I love!
To find out when your REI store is having a garage sale just to to their website and look up your location. And remember to get there early!
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