You might be a shopaholic if....

[Mara]

I read this last December and fwd'd it to my best girlfriends...hmmmm...

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/advice/20030314a1.asp




Of course nothing in here sounds remotely familiar...hee hee..yeah right. I too am guilty of buying stuff and letting it sit in the closet unworn for about a year! Then I return it because it's out of season. Well I return it most of the time. Sometimes I forget.

 

[fire&ice]

Well, I can attest - you outgrown it!

I had to chuckle about men being "collectors". Men can be worse than women. I have men "collectors" that are maniacs. And, a husband who has a whole dresser full of Architectual scales, rulers, templates - from all time periods, etc. He says he uses each and everyone of them.

 

[Jaded Gem]

Hey Fire & Ice!

We need collectors to compete with the discarders.

I confess, I am a shopaholic. "Hi, my name is Jaded Gem, and I can have up to three to five colours of the same shirt...I try to stop by not going to the mall...but somehow, shopping calls to me, lures me in, and then takes my money. I am only stuck with a shopping bag full of items. Ahh, the horrendous life that I live. I need to find another outlet. Please send me to the farthest regions of earth and away from the mall. I am not safe to anyone. Outside street vendors beware of me." I have inherited my mother's genes. She has a basement full of shoes from the sixties and seventies. When that era was somewhat making an artsy comeback in my high school days, her shoe floor (basement) kept me "hip and trendy." God bless my mother and her keen fashion sense.

I attribute my so called "coolness" to her since my little blue and yellow striped tennis shoes were the envy of many. Gosh, and now my husband takes on the "discarder" role and wants to rid me of my livelihood of "old school" items. Bring back the tin lunch boxes!

 

[fire&ice]

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On 2/5/2004 3:16:10 PM Jaded Gem wrote:

Gosh, and now my husband takes on the 'discarder' role and wants to rid me of my livelihood of 'old school' items. Bring back the tin lunch boxes! ----------------

Well, they've been in. Maybe I should go through your trash!

Funny, I have a friend in another town that has a trash day. You put your discarded items on the sidewalk. She actually goes around and picks through every one discards. She has come up with some real treasures. But then, I've been known to frequent Good Will.

 

[Mara]

I do the 'don't go to the mall' thing as well. It has saved countless $$$'s from floating (by themselves of course) out of my wallet and into the shopkeeper's hands...hee hee.




Of course with online shopping, it makes it easy to window shop and even easier to buy that item that I don't really need. I am sure that I have skewed more than a few etailers cart abandonment statistics all by myself (what is this 5% that is consistently leaving each month...without buying anything!).




Now that my $$ is precious and I have broken the superflous shopping habit (or stayed it), I actually PLAN out purchases say months in advance. It's quite funny...I've got lists around the house of what I will buy with what check and/or bonus and/or tax return, etc. Buying for the house has been a blast because it's all APPROVED purchases by the fiance! Ooooh that's never happened before (he doesn't agree that a new Fendi purse is a staple like food and shelter). Better take advantage of it while I can.

 

[Jaded Gem]

Hey I would never cap on Goodwill. Let's say I know a certain someone's mother-in-law who is pretty "spiffy." You name any pretty decent high end shopping store and she probably shops there regularly like Macy's, Nordstrom, Bloomingdales, and the list goes on. Although I do know her little well kept secret. She has a love for antique English tea cups. You know the ones that are made from bone China and have a gold rim to the cup with all the nice and pretty pictures of flowers on them and that also have the matching saucers. Yep, she knows how to pick them, and I guess it gives her great pleasure to find these little treasures.

She is indeed embarrassed that she does go to Goodwill to find them. I guess someone's trash may be someone's treasures.

So no, I don't think anybody who shops at Goodwill is any less than anyone who didn't.

I would just say they are smart shoppers who don't like to pay full price or retail.

This is, of course, a compliment to you.

 

[fire&ice]

don't mind me - just F&I being computer challanged once again.

 

[fire&ice]

face="Comic Sans MS"Of course with online shopping, it makes it easy to window shop and even easier to buy that item that I don't really need. I am sure that I have skewed more than a few etailers cart abandonment statistics all by myself (what is this 5% that is consistently leaving each month...without buying anything[/quote]


I've know this friend since highschool. We were on the teen board together at the local department store - so shopping runs deep with us. I casually mentioned that my mom got a burberry scarf for my niece on overstocks.com. The next morning I get this call. 'I'm on overstocks.com - I see soooo many things. This is great. What's that other site you mentioned?' And, that was after a scarf & prada bag purchase. I told her to step away from the computer. Funny thing, before this, she used the computer maybe 15 minutes a day. Me thinks a monster is created.

That said, since I found this Burberry scarf for less money than the department store, all of a sudden my mom thinks I know where every deal is. Her next mission is to find a small Coach black bag(the dopey cc canvas bag - small over the shoulder - but lays kind of high up) or the Dooney & bourke one that is similiar ------ANY suggestions? And yes, I know they are so going to be yesterday - but you know kids - it's now it's wow.
----------------[/quote]


Did this work?

 

[Mara]

There aren't alot of authentic net deals on Coach like there are on Prada unfortunately. Overstock is exactly that...overstock from big department stores or manufacturers who just want to turn around large shipments in bulk and still make over cost on it. Overstock then turns it around for a profit and still a huge discount to the consumer. I know for a fact that Overstock's 600tc (and up) sheet sets are imported directly from India through this guy here in the BayArea who gets them for something like $10 each, and then sells them to Overstock in huge shipments, probably for around $30 each, then Overstock turns them around for $60-100 depending on thread count. Insane profits on mass amounts. I LOVE Overstock.

I just bought a new down comforter, a special memory pillow for Greg & a 600tc (!) sheet set yesterday at KILLER savings.




Oh so back to the topic. Unfortunately, there aren't that many quality name brands (e.g. Prada, Burberry, Escada etc) that will do that. Coach is one of them..I have yet to find a really good Coach deal EXCEPT on eBay. You may have to wade through alot of fakes, but check their feedback and check for the serial #'s...receipt from store..tags etc...anything to match it up and know it's authentic. I actually just sold my Coach bag (brand new, worn 2ce in a year) about a month ago (signature demi clip brown logo) for $100 and the retail is $165...so you can get a great deal..and I had bought it from a local Coach store so it was definitely legit.

 

[fire&ice]

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On 2/5/2004 4:27:02 PM Jaded Gem wrote:

Hey I would never cap on Goodwill. Let's say I know a certain someone's mother-in-law who is pretty 'spiffy.'

----------------

My parents are very cultured people. They never could quite get all my used stuff and penchant for things that once belonged to another.

They are 80 & my dad long out grew his Tux. He recently commented on my husband Tux & how he wished he had one again - but didn't want to spend the money. I told him to go to Goodwill. They did - he bought a fairly nice Tux for about $35.00. He is so proud. They have now become frequent visitors at Goodwill.

Consignment shops are great also. My Elsa Peretti silver floating heart belt on orgininal leather - $25.00. My Cartier valise - $15.00. I did check the retail on the Cartier piece - over $500.00 new. My Ridel ballon glasses $8.00 each. ....the list goes on.

 

[fire&ice]

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On 2/5/2004 5:06:10 PM Mara wrote:


There aren't alot of authentic net deals on Coach like there are on Prada unfortunately.

I actually just sold my Coach bag (brand new, worn 2ce in a year) about a month ago (signature demi clip brown logo) for $100 and the retail is $165...so you can get a great deal..and I had bought it from a local Coach store so it was definitely legit.
----------------

Yeah, I noticed that the Coach bags were like bright blue & such.

My mom wanted me to search ebay. I'm scared that I may get a fake as I know they run rampant there. Great tips about the receipts, serial number, etc. I will have to check that out.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

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On 2/5/2004 5:16:00 PM fire&ice wrote:

----------------
On 2/5/2004 5:06:10 PM Mara wrote:


There aren't alot of authentic net deals on Coach like there are on Prada unfortunately.

I actually just sold my Coach bag (brand new, worn 2ce in a year) about a month ago (signature demi clip brown logo) for $100 and the retail is $165...so you can get a great deal..and I had bought it from a local Coach store so it was definitely legit.
----------------

Yeah, I noticed that the Coach bags were like bright blue & such.

My mom wanted me to search ebay. I'm scared that I may get a fake as I know they run rampant there. Great tips about the receipts, serial number, etc. I will have to check that out.
----------------

There's web sites that also list exact details to look for that will differenciate between a fake and an authentic brand name purse, for company's like Kate Spade, Coach, etc. I'd suggest unless you can at least see a REAL photo of the actual item, versus one that someone downloaded from a site, pass the item up.



Michelle

 

[Nicrez]

How about the Coach deals on Sales at Coach? I got a FAB pair of wedge wood strappy sandals (retail $350) for $75! I was so super happy, I almost bought 2, but they only had 1 in my size...

Also, Filene's Basement and TJ Maxx have sections that sell Coach bags pretty cheap. I saw the mini logo hobo bag for $50 cheaper than the store. Again, you have to really search these places, since their invesntory rolls over SO quickly and differs from store to store.




Places like Marshall's, TJ Maxx, Century 21 (in NYC) and other places that sell brand names have overstock items but toally discounted. Case in point, when I worked for Polo Ralph Lauren, I got a great discount, sometimes 40% off. I had been eyeing their Signature 600Ct South Hampton Blue Pima Cotton bed sheets for ages...but when I went to Home Collections for it, I actually found that the SAME sheets sold at Century 21 for 30% less than what I would have paid at PRL with my 40% off!!




Goes to show you, you never know where you'll find a bargain!

 

[Mara]

I LOVE C21!!! We live in the West Coast but Greg's fam is on the EC so I go to the one in New Jersey every time we visit. I have to really control myself. D&G, Juicy, Gucci oh my. Greg limits my time there so I don't go wildly out of control, hehehee. Whatever I can get in an hour comes home with us!




My last great find was a sister pair of AG jeans that we had just bought 6 months before in NYC for $150. I got the pair at C21 (my fave jeans so figured 2 would work out better than 1 in terms of wearability!) for $55. Insane. Oh and this amazing extra long scarf with variegated colors and threads that retailed for $100 was $19. Score.




Nic, I am so jealous of your strappy Coach wedge deal! I coveted those for a year. I even tried to get them on eBay but my size never came on for auction.

 

[Nicrez]

Would you believe that those shoes are THE most comfortable things I have for summer?! I adore them! They have cute light blue, dark blue and camel colored straps that compliment anything from jeans to a spring dress!




Century is the BEST for higher end stuff at low prices. I have a few choice shoes from them, and if i wasn't so lazy to go downtown (there is the major one in NYC by the former WTC), that is just huge and lovely. It's a mecca... I almost bought a baby blue sequined and flowy silk Versace gown, but realized I am not a size 0...DAMN! If only they had it in a 1....(just kidding!)




My friend and I went there last year and found her a Chanel suit for $400!!!! We almost dies. God I hated her!




Either way, deals ARE out there, and it is my God given duty to find them....I just haven't recently had the time to shop!