6 replies

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admiral_stabbin

@zentex: You quoted...Robocop.

I always remember him saying, \"I'd buy that for a dollar!\", but I don't have the greatest memory.

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nybiker

@admiral_stabbin & @Xkeeper:

[www.imdb.com]

Bixby Snyder: I'd buy that for a dollar!

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Xkeeper

@admiral_stabbin: I'm somewhat sure it was \"I'd\", too.

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howie_in_az

@zentex: Well give the man a hand!

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dpeters11

@zentex: Plus tax!

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Herbz

@dpeters11:
Plus the .99cent fee for buying it from them.
And the $25 buy-it-at-the-store fee
and the $20 opening sale fee
and government tax fees of $105

... and it comes to $154.21

Wait, I think I have this story confused with something else....

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jayphat

@Herbz: Yes, and now that industry is asking for help from the government because they're falling on hard times.

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Saites

@Herbz: Airliners?

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Oranges w/ Cheese

Wow! That is a great deal. Surprised it didn't turn into a riot.

5 replies

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korybing

@Oranges w/ Cheese has 2 cats! ahahaha.: That was the first thing I thought of too. I thought this article was gonna report some horrible riot because everybody wanted 99 cent ipods. Good to see it went pretty well.

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Kimaroo - 100% Pure Natural Kitteh

@Oranges w/ Cheese has 2 cats! ahahaha.: That's the first thing I thought, too.

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GitEmSteveDave_HurtHisKnee

@Oranges w/ Cheese has 2 cats! ahahaha.: So you predict, you predict a riot?

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Coelacanth

@Oranges w/ Cheese has 2 cats! ahahaha.: It's San Jose. Everyone's chipped and tracked over there. :P

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dorianh49

@GitEmSteveDave_HurtHisKnee: That's right, Chief. Or, do you prefer Kaiser?

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barb95

I love going into 99 cent stores and asking the employees for price checks ; )

1 replies

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Michael

@barb95: I'm sure they love it too.

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jhuang

And of course I am all the way across the country when this happens in my hometown *headdesk*

1 replies

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Rectilinear Propagation

@jhuang: Awww, that sucks. :(

Maybe something awesome will happen where you're at before you have to leave again.

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TruthHog

Brilliant marketing. Impressive.

1 replies

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Oranges w/ Cheese

@TruthHog: Most impressive. But you are not a jedi yet!

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coan_net

$.99 is a good deal, but that tax on the item pushing it over $1.00 kills the deal.

2 replies

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ZeusThaber

@coan_net: People muttering, \"It'll be a cold day in hell before I'll give you $.06 in sales tax.\"

Then they flip the cash register over.

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Pandare

@ZeusThaber: $.06? For sales tax? In CA? HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA... but not really. It's a $.09 to the dollar and rising.

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ZeusThaber

@Pandare: Geeze, I never notice when I'm in Los Angeles.

and I though $.06 was on the high side.

*shakes fist at the fat cats in Sacramento*

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Nascar24Dude

@ZeusThaber:
Here in Tennessee, $.09 in sales tax on a $1.00 item is about right (I think it's around 9.3%). But, then again, we don't have a state income tax here.

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nybiker

@Nascar24Dude: Here in New York City, we pay 8.875% sales tax. It's a function of three tax rates:

1. State - 4%

2. New York City - 4.5%

3. METROPOLITAN COMMUTER TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT - 0.375%

And we have New York State income tax, New York City income tax as well.

Isn't it wonderful to live here in the Big Apple?

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Nate128

The article adds, \"Shopper Jolon Nicolau would later be disappointed to realize that there was sales tax on the scooter and the sole dollar bill in his possession, by itself, would not be enough to purchase the item. After hours of waiting, he left with his head hung down, defeated.\"

8 replies

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theblackdog

@Nate128: How old was this guy? I learned that lesson the hard way when I was 6.

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bobloblawsblog

@Nate128: LOL. LOL...

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korybing

@Nate128: Honestly? He went down to a store to wait for hours in line to buy something and he didn't bring more than a dollar with him?

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Oranges w/ Cheese

@Nate128: That's what I hate about the dollar menu commercials. You can't buy anything for $1 because there's always tax.

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pecan 3.14159265

@Nate128: So this guy thought because there was this awesome promotion, he'd be exempted from sales tax?

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billy

RTFA: [abclocal.go.com]

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larrymac thinks testing should have occurred

@Nate128: Damn, nobody could give the guy a dime? 'tisn't the season yet, I guess.

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LadySiren is murdering her kids with HFCS and processed cheese

@larrymac - please put me on your do not call list: LOL, seriously. Someone throw the guy a bone, let him get his cheap scooter.

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MeOhMy

How much is your time worth? If it's really an iPod Nano (and not a Shuffle) maybe it's a good deal.

But the Scooter? It's worth $50. Even if you only value your time at the federal minimum wage of $7.25/hr, you \"spent\" almost $50 worth of time waiting in line for 5-6 hours!

7 replies

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TVGenius

@MeOhMy: At least when they opened here they did full-on iPods. And the two or three that got them were in line about 18 hours, during the summer when the low here is about 90˚.

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sprocket79

@MeOhMy: It really was an iPod Nano. Not an imitation. I considered lining up, but I have early morning meetings on Thursdays and it's really cold at night (for CA, which I realize is shorts weather in South Dakota or whatever).

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treimel

@MeOhMy:

One thing about these \"what's your time worth\" arguments: if the actual time your spending is not being compensated, then it's pretty close to meaningless. That is, if you have to take time off from a strictly hourly job, then, yes, the argument works--otherwise, no, you most certainly have not \"spent\" any money in opportunity cost any more than you \"spend\" more than $50 sleeping every night.

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MeOhMy

@treimel: Not at all. Notice I didn't say \"how much do you make at work,\" I said \"How much is your time worth\" and \"even if you value your time at the federal minimum wage...\" That is to say not \"How much does your job pay,\" but rather if you stop and think about it, do you REALLY consider trading 5-6 hours of your life for a cheap kick scooter a worthwhile trade?

When you're not \"at work\", you presumably compensate yourself for your time doing things you find rewarding. If you find sitting out all night in line to get a cheap scooter for $1 rewarding, more power to you. As long as you've considered whether it's worth it to you. I think most people just say \"Oooh free stuff\" and never give it any consideration beyond that.

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mazzic1083

@treimel: Thank you for mirroring my exact thoughts and counter arguments to that position.

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Kimaroo - 100% Pure Natural Kitteh

@MeOhMy: But if you're unemployed you might as well try.. Got nothin but time anyway, right?

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pecan 3.14159265

@MeOhMy: If I was in line for about five hours, I could read a whole book and start on another one. Some people wait forever at the DMV - some people wait for 99 cent iPods.

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fruvous

Hmmm, wonder if it was a real iPod or an \"iPod like\" knockoff.

1 replies

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iron_chef

@fruvous: it was a real ipod. They did the same promotion when they opened one in Redondo Beach. It was a zoo.

ipod Nanos 3rd gen 8GB for 99 cents. (to the lucky first 10 people)

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JohnDeere

practically have to give away ipods now. glad i got a zune. just kidding i dont have a zune or ipod.

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Segador

I've been in the .99 Store here in San Antonio, and it was perhaps the most depressing experience I've had in recent memory.

1 replies

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legwork

@Segador: Agreed. Petroleum to shelf to landfill in as few steps as possible. They do cut the profit-fat on some items but the vast majority is the most depressing display of enabling I've ever seen.

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BoredOOMM

The 99CentsOnly have consistently made money even before the economy tanked. We shopped there all the time when we had one close by. They cut back for this, as they usually give away 9 9 inch TV's at new store opening.

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kaceetheconsumer

Man, I wish we had a 99 Cents store in Austin. They were my favourite dollar-ish store in Vegas because they were always really clean with actual decent merchandise. I mean, I still followed the \"don't buy anything from a dollar store that goes in your mouth\" rule, but honestly, I've subscribed to the CPSC recall list for ages and never seen something from their store on it, while other dollar stores are on those recall lists all the time.

But when I moved to Austin I emailled to ask why it looked like they'd just closed some in Texas, and they replied that Texas hadn't been good sales for them so they were pulling out of the state entirely. Odd...

1 replies

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henneko

@kaceetheconsumer: Getting out of Texas? There was one the wrong way up the street from me (never needed to go that way for work or shopping or anything). I should see if it's still there, maybe they'll be having some good liquidation sales ;)

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temporaryerror

I bought a car slim jim at a $.99 store in the mall once. It was labeled as a \"universal lockout tool\". Rather cheaply made though (imagine that!).

2 replies

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LeChiffre

@temporaryerror: LOL,,I must be getting tired. When I read \"slim jim\" I was thinking the beef stick you eat. Then I read \"universal lockout tool\". Mmmmm,,,after breaking into a car you can have a snack too. Now that's convenient.

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nybiker

@LeChiffre: Hey, I read it the same way. You are not alone.

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brandmuffin

The Best Fricking store on the planet after Nordstroms.

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creativecstasy

Oh no, I work right by that store and didn't know it had opened yet! I live in a different area, so I didn't get the ad at home. I totally would have been there for the opening if I had known! Oh well.

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AoE

@theblackdog_FeelingRandom: I suspect he was old enough to read the article and to detect obvious sarcasm on the internet. ;)

Here's hoping you learn that lesson next!

I kid, I kid. But seriously, read the article instead of taking comments at face value, most comment sections of most of the internet are chock full of sarcasm and other bits of humor. ;)

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H3ion

That's really good marketing. How did they maintain order; that is how did they avoid the Walmart fiasco?