Sometimes a bargain hunter receives less than she bargained
for.
That’s what just happened to me.
Yesterday, my daughter and I were stuck in another city,
about a 90-minute drive from home. We had a couple of hours to kill, waiting
for an appointment, so we decided to explore the area a bit.
That’s when we
stumbled upon the thrift store.
I don’t wanna mention any names, but the store’s name rhymes
with Wood Gill and our family actually supports this nationwide outreach with
donations of apparel and household goods every month or so.
Back to the story.
This particular store was located in a rather affluent area.
And, as any savvy frugalista well knows, the best deals on quality thrift store
merchandise are often found in such neighborhoods. It all boils down to which
closets are contributing to the collections in that milieu.
So we popped in to
peek around.
We scored several screaming deals, scooping up our favorite
branded stuff. Both of us picked out sweet plaid flannel shirts – perfect for
fall days at the barn. The tags say things like American Eagle, Cruel Girl,
and Aeropostale.
A Hollister shirt was marked $1, simply because it
required a little sewing along one shoulder seam. I’m a pretty handy
seamstress. I’ve sewn everything from draperies to business suits and prom
dresses, so that was no big deal.
My daughter grabbed a pair of trendy jeans with cute Cowgirl Tuff jeans with rhinestone pocket bling and a fabulous Western leather belt with silver conchos, still
in pristine condition.
We lined up to check out, estimating our purchases would
total about $15 for six still-fashionable and useful items.
That’s when it
happened.
The cashier called out our total: $21.42.
That must be a high
tax percentage in this town, I thought, as I counted out bills and change.
Later, when I unloaded our bag of thrifty treasures, I
discovered the checkout clerk had charged us $4 for the $1 Hollister shirt. But by then
we were more than 50 miles away.
Well, you get the
picture.
OK, it's only $3, but that's almost a gallon of gas. On the other hand, it would have cost us a lot more than that (and tons of time) to return for a refund.
I have to wonder. Did we support the mission a little more
than expected? Did the cashier make an honest mistake? Or did we line her
pockets with some extra lunch money?
Either way, we still picked up some bargains, which we’ll
wear well this fall.
Image/s:
Photos/graphics
created and copyrighted by
Nickers and Ink
Creative Communications /
Practically at Home
No comments:
Post a Comment