It's Worth Shopping Around

We are still working on getting our "married" house in order. The other week Michael came up from the garage and declared that we really needed shelving down there to help get organized. I supported that idea. We were discussing what freestanding shelves would cost. I figured at least $50. He thought that was entirely too much and thought we should look for something less expensive or scrap the idea. My thought was that if it's something that we really do "need," and it could be used for a long time to come, we should go for it.

It just so happened that the next Sunday a set of shelves like I already have in a basement closet was on sale at Target for $50 (regular $55 -- not a huge savings, but a savings none-the-less). I already know that I like this shelving unit, so I suggested we get one or two more to put in the garage.

Michael suggested that we shop around. Ugh. There a bit of irony here, but when I get my mind set on something, I don't actually like to shop around. I know that seems really strange given my frugal-ness. But I knew it was a product I liked, and the price was reduced. What more could we need? However, I agreed to get other "bids."

I checked out the websites for Target (in case they had something better than this shelving unit), Wal-Mart, Lowe's, and Home Depot. We don't actually have a Lowe's or Wal-Mart very near us, so it would have had to have been a great deal for us to consider buying anything from either of those stores. But I needed to check them out. I also thought I should check out Craig's List.

As it turned out, we found a great shelving system that someone was offering on Craig's List. There were two sets, and each held more than the one I liked at Target. The seller was offering them for $25 each, so we could get two for the price that I was willing to pay for one. Home Depot sells them, and the description sounded great and the ratings from consumers on the website were nearly perfect. We went to check them out, and they looked great. They come apart and can be reassembled so easily. Best of all, the seller was offering them for 38% less than we could buy them new at Home Depot. (I doubt Home Depot would ever put them on sale with that deep of a discount.) They are in good condition...maybe a little dusty/dirty. However, they are going to be in our garage and probably get dirty anyway.

We got them last week the night before we were going out of town for several days. Michael put them together that evening and we started filling them. We haven't finished yet, but they are perfect!

Wow! I couldn't believe this deal. I was so glad that Michael strongly encouraged me to shop around, despite my resistance. Looking on Craig's List really paid off. We are on our way to having an organized garage -- at a discount. You can get much better than that! ;-)

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