
This morning Rob and I got up dark and early and headed to our local REI store for their garage sale, a members only sale where you can buy used and returned items at crazy prices. REI is extremely generous with their returns when you are a member, you can return something dirty and worn with no questions asked. Whatever, more stuff for me to buy at the sale!

We got there at 7:30am, 2 1/2 hours before they opened. People had actually set up tents and camped out over night. When we got there, the line was past the building and into the parking lot. Now I went last Nov, got there around 30minutes early and was up near the front of the line. Crazy.
Once 10am hit, the doors opened and people started being let in into the back storage area. Gear, bike racks, strollers, backpacks, camping gear, clothes, shoes, watches….anything and everything! Worn, dirty, damaged, broken zipper, missing buttons or just the person who originally bought it didn’t like it. I headed straight to the clothes and found a bunch of tops for super cheap. I wish I found some shoes, but it was slim pickings by the time I got to that section, which was like 10 feet away from the clothes. Rob tried looking around at outdoor gear, but it was just way too packed. But in the end, we scored some awesome things for me!

I got all these tops and hoodies for just under $5 a piece! Now these are good quality outdoor clothes made with wicking material, fleece and even wool.
-Pink Plaid button up: Originally it says $22, but I think it was more. It was a display item, no damage.
-Teal top: Org.$35.50, returned for a stain. I just put some stain remover, washed it and now it’s gone.
-Pink Long Sleeve Running Shirt: Org.$29.50. It just said used, nothing wrong. Granted, it’s a bigger size that what I wear, but whatever, running isn’t a fashion show and I’ll be warm.
-Orange Wool Button Up Sweater: Org.$44.83(this had to be more too), the person didn’t like the fit. It fits me just fine. It’s pretty pilly, but whatever, it’s warm and wool…and $5
-Grey Zip Up Hoodie: Org.$49.50, seam stitching under the arm came undone. I’ve got a sewing machine, I’ll stitch that right back up!
and the bestest buy today!
-Garmin Forerunner 110 with Heartrate Monitor: Org. $200, I got it for $60. Reason returned, says the person believed it wasn’t calculating correctly. A friend told me a firmware update should fix that….if it was even funky to being with.
I got Rob a Garmin running watch last time, said it didn’t hold a charge…worked totally fine. Their loss, our gain.
Fun Fact: I almost bought a pair of used fitness underwear for $2. Yeah…
Overall it was totally worth it! It’s awesome that REI does that! It’s putting good use the stuff that might’ve just been eventually thrown out. And when it comes down to a fantastic deal, people really don’t care what condition it’s in. Or who last wore those underwear.