On Sunday I went to Staples to pick up a few of the deals and noticed they were out of the free (after rebate) label maker. I borrow my parents label maker all the time and have been wanting one of my own but I figured Staples would be out since I couldn't make it until later in the day. I asked the clerk if they had any in the back and she said there were people lined up waiting for the doors to open that morning so they could get the label makers. She said it was crazy. This story just added fuel to the fire of a topic that has been bothering me - people going crazy over free or nearly free items.
Pardon me as I get on my soapbox for awhile. I've noticed several bloggers recently getting a little too excited over a good deal. I've seen some buy more of an item than they will use in several years. I've heard of people calling ahead to the store so they can have the entire inventory of an item waiting for them when they get there. I personally quit doing the whole CVS game because we only have one location in town and the deals were always gone within the first 30 minutes of the store opening. Also, they never restocked the deals, including those that were supposed to be month long.
Please use common sense when stocking up on incredible deals. Sometimes the excitement of it gets to people and they go overboard. Sometimes greed plays a huge part. Whatever the cause, please leave something for the rest of us.
This post isn't coming from the fact that I did not get my label maker on Sunday. In fact, I was able to purchase it off their website and I combined my order with my dad's order so the shipping was free. This comes from the frustration of finding empty shelves at almost every store I go to and hearing of people buying 200 of an item because it was free and they can always sell it at a garage sale if they decide they bought too many. It comes from seeing pictures of stockpiles that could feed entire neighborhoods yet they are still going crazy over the deals. It comes from the disappointment of not being able to use printable coupons at some stores because people have been committing fraud in order to buy more items.
Please, next time you are picking up a deal, think about how many you really need and if you later figure out you went overboard, then share it with a charity who could really use your help in this poor economy.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Going Overboard When Finding Great Deals and Freebies
Posted by Julie at 7:04 AM
Labels: Freebies, Living on Less
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7 comments:
You must have read my mind - I agree 100%. Before I read this I had decided I can better use my time than trying to chase the small amount of deals I do go looking for.
It is highly frustrating for others to be dishonest and spoil it for others who are doing things legitimately. Remember all the great $/off $$ CVS coupons? They are gone due to dishonest people. Recently I went to Walgreens and was told they are buckling down too, especially on those who keep rolling register rewards or who come in with tons of internet coupons.
The greed out there is just terrible. If you have enough, have some empathy and donate your extra items. No one's family needs buckets and buckets of HBA items! What you put out into the world will surely come back to you, whether good or bad.
I notice the lack of comments so I am wondering if some people are feeling convicted? Hmmmm....
I choose to spend my Sundays doing something other than shopping and I know that when I see a great deal, it will most definitely be gone by the time I get there Monday or Tuesday. It's too bad we can't all share the love. It used to bug me that there was a limit on some of the deals, now I appreciate it.
I agree with you 100%. People like that ruin it for the rest of us. Recently, an online beauty company offered a free sample of one of it's products with free shipping. But the system allowed you to add more than 1 sample to your cart. What did people do? They added 10, 20, even 50 samples to their cart and caused the company to halt the offer. (They were bragging about it in the comments section of the blog that posted the deal.) That's just one example of the greed that runs rampant in this country. Have a little respect for everyone else.
Thanks for the great comments. It makes me feel good to know there are a few honest people still out there.
Great post! I love that you can get stuff free or cheap, but also don't like the people that take advantage of it. Come on people, save some for the rest of us. I try to support 5 of us, plus help out my mom when I can and it's hard when there's people that clear the shelves before I even get up.
I wish they would just buy 2 or 3, and come back at a later time for more, but I know, it's just wishful thinking.
I got fed up with the CVS deals that I haven't been to ours(just one store in a good size metro area) that I haven't been back since last December.
I, too, have quit playing the CVS game because by the time I get there, they have nothing left. I had a person who works at ours tell me that, even though you are only supposed to have 1 savings card per household, people had several and would use them to purchase the maximum amount per card. That is dishonest and unfair to the rest of us. If a clerk sees that happening, the manager should put a stop to it. I only purchase the amount I am limited to.
I'm getting fed up with both CVS and Target. I haven't been to CVS much at all these last few months as I don't live too close to ours. Sometimes I am lucky when I go and they do have the sale items (I go on their "Truck" days), but more often than not I am getting rainchecks. I just wish we had more than one CVS for our city! The same with Target, the deals there run out too fast as well. I only do the deals once, I wish everyone else would, too! I have a drawer for all my HBA items, and when it gets full I donate to charity or neighbors in need. The Bible talks about helping those in need!!
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