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Permalink Reply by Adam Herstein on April 8, 2013 at 4:57am

I only bought the membership so I could use the members-only coupons, and purchases with those don't qualify for dividend funds. So I got a whole $1.20 this year…

James BlackHeron said:

I recently got my "dividend" notice in the mail and it was for a whole $0.00 since I didn't spend any money this past year there.   Years back I'd have enough for a bunch of bonus gear as it would usually be for over a hundred bucks -sometimes even more. 

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Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on April 8, 2013 at 5:52am

The ability to return stuff is a great feature, although I've almost never had to return anything. But I have bought a LOT of stuff that other folks have returned at their semi-annual "garage sales" over the years.  Serious deals were to be had there and I would try and go to them a couple times a years at the various locations. 

Unfortunately they don't seem hold these garage sales for members any longer and the last time I was in the Lincoln Park store (for Smitty's bike-touring talk) I noticed they were putting garage-sale type items in a special section to be sold all the time as they get them in, rather than saving them all up for a member-only special event.  That's member appreciation for you and why I don't feel REI is the member-driven coop that it used to be.  I've bought literally thousands of dollars of stuff at their garage sales over the years and now no more :(  I suppose it was too much work to hold the special garage sales so they just don't do them.

Liz said:

The return/exchange policy really is the best feature.  If you're a member you can bring anything back for any reason.  I've had plenty of times that I've bought something, but didn't really test it out as I intended to use it for a couple months, only to discover it didn't work for me, and brought it back with no hassle.  REI outlet online often has last year's equipment for great prices, and I've never had a problem with staff.  

As far as security guards, I've honestly don't recall seeing one there when I've gone, the NATO summit guard must have been temporary, sometimes stores hire security during the holiday season as well, since that's a high theft time of year. 

David Barish said:

I have always had good experiences with REI as regards returns, exchanges, customer service.  I used my dividend along with the 20% off to get a free pair of bike shorts.

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Permalink Reply by Julia 3.5/7.5 mi on April 8, 2013 at 6:48am

Love geartrade and backcountry.com.  If you have time to check it often, SteepandCheap.com (by backcountry.com) sometimes has bike gear too.

I made out like a bandit on this year's REI sale - rear rack from REI Outlet, Detours Ballard pannier from REI, and a cargo net. Used both 20% off coupons, my dividend and free shipping - got it all for almost nada!

James BlackHeron said:

These days I troll http://www.geartrade.com/ and often find a lot of "garage sale" type returns listed from http://www.backcountry.com/ or I just buy from them directly.   Amazon has a bunch of good gear & stuff too and Niagara also carries a ton of camping/hiking gear so if I'm buying bike stuff I can combine shipping with that.

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Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on April 8, 2013 at 6:51am

Don't forget that this time of the year Nashbar has some sort of sale, free-shipping deal, or something like that just about every day.  I'm subscribed to their email newsletter so I don't miss anything and it seems that as soon as one 25-40% off sale ends, the next free-shipping deal starts.   Today it is "Brand Blow-Out!" and is up to 80% off on certain brands/items. 

Another great site to check, and check often, is http://www.gearscan.com/ as they monitor a bunch of the limited-time offer sites like Steep & Cheep, Whiskey Militia, and Chainlove (among others) and keeps them all in one handy website for easy monitoring. 

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