"Instead of a Lemonade Stand, I should open up a "You know what I can't stand?" stand. I'll sell rants in small, medium, and large."
~Jarod Kintz, This Book Title Is Invisible
Does my hubby rock or what? He worked a 9 hour shift from 10:00 PM Sunday night 7:00 AM Monday morning, and still took me to IKEA anyway! You see, IKEA had a very special sale on a certain duvet set that I have been eyeing for the better part of a year! It's called Ransby. I have the same duvet set in green, and it looks lovely in the bedroom, especially against the cornflower colored walls, but I really lusted after the purple set. I have some deep purple and lavender splashes throughout the room. So, $9.99 for the purple set, priced down from $39.99 was something I couldn't pass up, and Alan kinda liked the idea as well!
Have you ever shopped at an IKEA on a holiday? LOL. Have you ever shopped at an IKEA on a holiday that falls on a Monday? LOL. It's an experience! The very first time I ever shopped at an IKEA was, coincidentally, on President's Day, 2011. Alan and I were in the process of packing, and moving to a new cottage that fell into our laps, which was a little way down HWY 580 in Hayward, Ca. We were needing some new curtains, and some rugs, and it was time to get a new bed, so off to IKEA we went! We fell in love with the place at first purchase! The new cottage opportunity fell through, amid some really bizarre circumstances, but our love of IKEA goes on! LOL. Anyway if you ever vist us, you will notice right away that we are pretty much an IKEA showroom, from one end of the cottage to the other!
Okay, so, the good part about shopping at IKEA is the awesome sales, the good and the bad part is that the place is usually packed with... wait for it... consumers. But, as you know, the best part about being packed into a big box retailer on a holiday, is watching the consumers around you share the experience of a good sale! Being a people watching person, I am always happy to see what I can see. And what did I see? Let me tell you... plenty.
As I walked into the downstairs showroom, I found that IKEA had recently decided to move their showroom sections around! Yikes! Where were the Textiles? Somebody moved the TEXTILES! OMG! Okay, no time to whine about it, it was time to face the scavenger hunt for what it was... FUN! Alan had an item he was wanting to pick up, so we divided and conquered! "Alan... you go find the kitchenware's and grab your steak knives, and I am going to find the duvet sets, and I will meet you by the checkout! Okay... I was a girl on a mission!
As I navigated through the sections, I saw multiple women pass me with multiple purple Ransby duvet sets! OMG... WILL THERE BE ANY LEFT? Well, I wasn't ready to just give up! I found a lady carrying 3 duvet sets, and asked her where they could be found. "They are near the checkout lines, hurry... there is a long line. I am a 50 year old woman, with 90 year old knees, but I am pretty sure I took flight at one point! Finally arriving at the back of the line, I made eye contact with a formidable woman who wanted the place in line I was about to claim. I wasn't having any of it! "I got here first, you have to get behind me in line! "I KNOW I WAS HERE FIRST!" said she. To which I replied with a quiet, deep, long stare. Guess who won? Yep... I didn't budge. I might be 3 ft 17 but I am no pushover!
The line moved pretty fast, it was a comfortable endeavor. Less than 10 minutes total, but in that 10 minutes I saw plenty of interesting sights. One woman had her 4 children with her, and she and the 4 children each had two sets, which was the limit per consumer. It was in the rules, and children are consumers, so no harm done, but the scene reminded me of the old Beanie Babies days when I would see ladies, with bugged out eyes, purchasing multiples of the cloth toy, and getting so addicted to the whole proposition that they resembled cocaine addicts, rather than collectors of that certain novelty toy, and it wasn't unusual to see those ladies buck the system by bringing not just their own children, but whatever children they could bribe in order to get more than their share on the babies!
Don't get me wrong, I purchased some Beanie Babies back then, and one of my best gal pals worked for a toy store, and when she found out I was looking for one of the deer babies, even saved one for me because I found it so cute. I still have that little guy, sitting on my cedar chest. I gave a couple of the bears to my mother after she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. She was prone to violence on and off, and when she threw the toy at me, it didn't hurt. It was a busy, sad time in my life, but those little toys made her happy, and in turn, they made my life easier. I have a special place in my heart for Beanie Babies, but I don't think about that time in my life much. Just today I did I couldn't help but think about it a little bit today.
I kinda doubt those purchasing the duvet sets today because it hurts less when thrown at you, but what in the world did the lady buying 10 sets plan to do with them? Was she going to sell them out of the back of her car, just as some Beanie Baby profiteers did? Did she have 10 different relatives that never had contact with each other, that she was going to gift the sets to? Who knows? Personally, when I finally reached the front of the line, and they still had one set left in Queen/Full size, I didn't give it all another thought. And while an IKEA duvet set will probably never reach the cult status that Beanie Babies did, today proved that a bargain is a bargain, and when possible some are still willing to push the limits and rules, and there will still be folks like me, happy to observe the trends, shopping habits, and values of her fellow consumers.
Life... you gotta love it!
I found a great article about the Beanie Baby phenominom. Go take a look!
Wall Street Journal: How I Got Burned By Beanie Babies
By Karen Blumenthal
"I'm not a consumer, because consumers are consumed with shopping. No, I prefer shoplifiting."
~Jerod Kintz
Mood: Happy But Tired
~Me :)
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