First I had to make come copies for my running club. 200 double sided on card stock. First I stopped by my local copy shop, the Park Slope Copy Center. They wanted 8 cents an impression and 12 cents per slice of card stock. I thought 12 cents for each slice of paper was crazy so I walked over to staples. They wanted a dime of copy plus 34 cents extra for each slice of card stack.. That was easy, I walked back to 7th Ave to keep my $ in Brooklyn.
Tonight the wife and I went shopping for curtains. First we walked around the corner to Laytner's. The had one set of curtains. They were in a few different colors. We were not impressed. The we went to Ikea. They had like a billion curtains, but they all looked like crap. Who need a billion choices when one choice is nice. Again, we will keep our money in Brooklyn. (Let me clear things up. I realized there is nothing about curtains I like. I thought I would find something "cool" at Ikea, No just complicated with more places to gather dust. The one choice at Laytner's was fine there was not need to go to Ikea.)
Anyway, below is a map of Ikea:
Amen to buying locally.
ReplyDeleteI've only been to an Ikea shop once, in Hong Kong because we have none in Manila, and it made me dizzy!
You were good to shop around and not buy the first thing you saw. So many people would because they're short on time.
ReplyDeleteI remember my folks would shop around and carry coupons. People should shop around more.
I personally don't claim the deposit on cans and bottles for many reasons - 1. my bottles can be claimed by someone more needy, 2. the machines at the store are often broken, 3. if my bottles are unclaimed, it's more money for the state, and hopefully that will better everyone.
It does seem like a lot of work though, collecting the bottles.
You lost me a little there, you say you were not impressed with the curtains at Laytner's, so, where did you buy curtains?
ReplyDeleteLet me tell you my shop local story. Shopping local is nice if you can afford it around here, as you know, this is a well off neighborhood and I would be happy to shop local more if I could afford it. Yesterday I was at Barnes and Noble, they have stainless steel reusable water bottles there, all of them were around $13.00. I was in the market for one, so, I looked. I didn't buy one simply because I didn't like any of the colors.
I walked about a block away to a small locally ownded gift shop on 7th Avenue, they had water bottles displayed in the window. Same water bottles, same sizes, same materials, just a different company. But, they were selling theirs for $23!! As much as I would have liked to give my money to a local "mom and pop" shop, I simply cannot afford to spend that much extra on one time.
I do try to shop local stores as much as I can, but, around here, it is very difficult, I find most of the time the price differences to be way out of my leauge! By the way, in the end, I did keep my money local, I got a nice steel water bottle at Neergard's on 5th Avenue. But, that is not always possible to do
So, that's why I always get lost at Ikea! I need THAT map! LOL
ReplyDeleteIKEA designs the showroom and marketplace to ensure you have to pass everything in order to get out. I bought a couple of lamps which looked cool in the Times but never worked right, and by the time I brought them back could only get store credit. So I'm going to have to go back there.
ReplyDeleteMy shopping local story: I decided I had to get one particular toy (Fisher Price singing teapot, don't ask) for my boss's expected daughter, and went to Toys 'R Us in Manhattan to get it rather than looking around Park Slope because I figured I needed a big store to find such a thing, and who in Park Slope would still get a daughter such a sexist gift? Well, then I went to the card store on 7th Avenue at Carroll for the card to put on the gift, and they had the same teapot. The price was about the same, but the shlep wasn't worth it anyway.
and lets not forget Liss Polansky in 7th Ave. Why got to Modell's to buy crap that falls apart before a 9 year old out grows it.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.lisapolanskyinc.com/
I am shocked to hear that the card store was about the same price as Toys R Us, I have been in there many, many times and have found their toy prices much higher than other places. For example, a Nerf gun (yes, I let my kids play with toy guns) was $36 there, at TRU, it was $22.00, just an example. I do shop there, I buy cards, gift wrap and have even bought other gifts there. As a matter of fact, both gifts bought for Christmas for old Chicken Underwear's kids were purchased there.
ReplyDeleteAs for Lisa Polansky (or, as I always called that place, the "no name" store), they own the building, that is why people can afford to shop there and their prices aren't too bad comparatively.
Wow, that's a pretty nice website for that store! I bet people are shocked if they see the website first and then go to the store, LOL!
ReplyDeleteToys R Us does jack up the prices for the Manhattan store (At the old Union Square store they once "explained" that was why the marked price was lower than the scanned price on something I was buying--they'd gotten the stock from another store. I explained that they couldn't charge me more than the marked price and they didn't). I don't drive so that's where I went, a lot quicker than the trip to Bay Parkway on public transportation. Since I was getting only one thing, the $14. premium would have been worth it anyway--and maybe my initial theory, that no one in Park Slope is buying singing teapots for their kids, is correct and it was on markdown.
ReplyDeleteA singing teapot sounds kind of fun to me, maybe I will go over and get myself one, LOL!
ReplyDeleteI always find it hard to find certain toys in this neighborhood, I remember when my oldest was younger and he would see things on TV he wanted. I could never get them around here because all you could find were educational toys, etc.. Used to love Al's ToyLand for that reason, they always had everything, even though the guys behind the counter were a bit odd, LOL