Used Gear Sale

In my last post I believe I mentioned that we went to our first ever REI Used Gear Sale. REI has a 'no exceptions' return policy on items bought from their store. Whether there was something wrong with the item (big or small) or you just don't like something after using it a few times (or it's beat up from obvious use) they take the item back for a full refund. As a result of this they are getting items back that they can't put back on the regular sales floor but they still want to sell. For REI members this means a used gear sale. 

The sale doesn't start until they open at 10am on a selected Saturday, but you have to get in line early so you get dibs on the best stuff. We arrived at 7am and there were already 3 people in there. One of them had been there since 5am! Right in front of the door there is an awning that we were lucky enough to get to set up camp at since it rained the entire time. 

We came prepared with our chairs and rain jackets. Luckily there was a Starbucks not too far away so we could stay caffeinated and use the restroom.

We talked to random people in line with us and enjoyed just hanging out with friends.

The rain kept people away for awhile but eventually people started showing up with the hopes of getting their hands on something good. 

The rain really started to pick up and we felt a little bad for those standing in the rain....I guess they should have shown up earlier to have a little shelter! A few people tried to cut in line behind us and there were a few awkward moments when people further back confronted them about it. People get a little crazy at these sales.

When the doors opened they let us head to the back room of the store in a single file line and emphasized the walking part. This is when being at the front comes in handy because you can see where to go and grab what you want before everyone is back there and you have to fight your way through a crowd. Normally they have stuff outside but most of it was moved inside because of the rain so it was even more compact than usual.

The main thing we were after was a 2 person backpacking tent and we were extremely pleased to get one. The tent we ended up with normally cost $179 but we got it for only $60!!! The reason for return was 'used' so there were no known defects with it. We set it up when we got home and cleaned it up a little bit (just a little dirt inside) and got a free head lamp! The previous owner must have hung it up for light and didn't take it down before they returned it.

Other great finds included a heart rate monitor watch Kevin had been wanting and a pair of Keen water sport shoes for each of us. The previous weekend REI had a regular store sale and we purchased a few other items we had been wanting. Luckily we had a few gift cards to use which made getting all this stuff a whole lot easier.

 Now we are excited to get to use some of our new stuff. We have a canoe camping trip planned for the 4th of July weekend and hopefully another Yosemite trip soon after that. I can't wait for camping!