Now I know a bit of what the REI dividend will fund. I am in serious need of some pants that fit the new, somewhat lighter version of yours truly. I loaded up on some pants at the end of last summer thinking that would do me for a year or so (I hate shopping so I concentrate my buying in a few, short periods of intense activity). Gravity can take those pants down to my ankles if I remove my belt now that I dropped a few pounds this past fall/early winter. I, like Jared, will have to make room in the closet for skinny pants to reside alongside the fat pants.
I have asked The Wife what she would like from REI, as I prepare to spend the spoils of being the buyer for my workplace. She has her eye on the latest in cycling footwear, the Keen Commuter cycling sandals. I am a big fan of cycling in sandals, as I blogged about last year. The Wife got a pair of cheap sandals a few years back but never got into riding in them. One of her concerns was lack of protection for the toes, and she maintained that if Keen’s ever made a cycling sandal it would be perfect. I think a pair of those will definitely make it in the shopping basket. Still looking at what else we might want or need from REI, especially that one item that will make maximum use of our “20% off one item” discount.
Some might read that this new shopping list indicates which way I decided to go on the data collection device decision (say that fast three times in a row). Not so fast. At this point in time the Garmin Edge is still the front-runner, but I realized that REI was not the place to purchase said device. The full kit (head, cadence/speed sensor, HR strap, cables, mount, software) is $359 at REI and is not eligible for the “20% off one item” discount. Other vendors sell the same package for $250. Even if it is ‘funny money’ (dividend) it seems silly to pay that much extra for one item.
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March 7, 2008 at 2:57 pm
PandaElf
This year my brothers & I (who do the majority of the REI shopping on the family account — yeah, I’d get my own but a challenge has been issued by my dad, who “inherited” my mom’s account by doing all the shopping, and at this point I get all the snail mail & email correspondence delivered to my address in my dad’s name…mere steps away…I digress) decided to let Pops have the dividend.
My money’s on his buying camp cook wear. He can’t resist that kind of thing. Then again, he also can’t resist having the potential of dividend money in his hot little hands, so he might not end up with anything!
March 7, 2008 at 6:00 pm
CyclistRick
Panda - camp cook wear has a lot in common with high zoot cycling stuff. The new, fancy stuff often involve titanium, it is uber light, and quite pricey. Dividend allocation time is a great time for wishin’.
March 10, 2008 at 11:03 pm
velogirl
many bike shops (including mike’s bikes) have stopped carrying garmin products because they’re now being sold at target at a deep discount. deep, deep discount. let’s just say the $350 edge 305 is selling at target for about $150. deep.
March 11, 2008 at 10:54 am
CyclistRick
VeloGirl - Hmmm, Target? Looks like the margin on those when sold near MRSP is higher than I thought. I think the Garmin knows the 305 is becoming a ‘commodity’ item; GPS and HR functionality is appearing in watches, cell phones, etc., so the high prices cannot be maintained. The MRSP for the replacement for the 305, the 605, is not that much more. But Garmin and their premier dealers make the margins on devices with extra functionality like auto-routing maps and power device compatibility; the 705 which differs from the 605 in including the auto-routing maps and the ANT+ power device protocol, only, has an MRSP that is 75% or so higher than the 605. I am sure the costs of adding those two features is relatively small, but they can ask for a lot more.