Pier One Imports Outlet Store deals

Over the last few years I've shared some great stories regarding my favorite little thrift store. I've made some incredible scores at this shop, including expensive sewing equipment, a genuine railroad crossing sign and other awesome stuff. Lately tough, finding good deals at the store has become harder. Part of the problem is Dana, the store manager. She continues to price items based on comparisons with eBay listings. The women is killing me! Stuff that use to be priced at no more then five bucks, now is priced at over $20! For example, Dana recently priced a vintage Fisher Price school house and toy airplane at twenty dollars each. In the past, each would have been reasonable priced at five bucks. But because Dana got a little crazy with the eBay comparisons, the overpriced toys  sat on the shelf for nearly a month. When they finally disappeared, it was only because Dana grudgingly cut their prices.

But despite the higher prices, the little thrift shop is still one of my favorite stops. Not long ago the shop produced yet another outstanding treasure...a beautiful dining room table with six chairs. For me, the timing could not have been more perfect. Mrs. Dude has been bugging, I mean, suggesting that we buy a new table and chairs for the kitchen. We even went to a few furniture stores to do some comparison shopping. But being a thrifty dude, I was not loving the hefty

Pier One furniture in the thrift store...incredible!

price tags on many of the sets. Most ranged in the area of $1500 dollars. That's a lot of dough!

So after seeing the high price of dining room sets in the stores, imagine how my heart skipped a beat when I discovered a beautiful dining room set at my favorite thrift store! The set was like the one seen in the photo on the right. The dark wood table and six heavy chairs were in great condition and exactly what we were looking for. There was only one little problem...the set was sold! Oh the agony!

Mourning my loss, I ran my hand over the table's dark wood grain. As I did, Dana gave me the back story on the set. It had been donated by a women who'd recently been divorced and decided to clean house. She and her ex-hubby had purchased the set from Pier One Imports. Torturing me further, Dana told me the set had been out on the sales floor for two whole days before some lucky lady finally bought it! Hearing this, I was crestfallen and wondered why I hadn't stopped by the shop sooner? But the final crushing blow was the selling price.....only $200 dollars!!! Based on my window shopping with Mrs. Dude, I would estimate this set sold for around $1200 at Pier One Imports. It was unbelievable! Finding such a great deal was better then having a Pier One discount coupon in your pocket!

In this business, nothing is more painful then missing out on an incredible find. Pier One furniture is quality stuff, on par with Pottery Barn or Crate and Barrel. Haunting me further was the fact that even though it was sold, the table was still on the sales floor. A small paper "sold" sign was taped to the table top. A sold sign on a beautiful piece of furniture is really a cruel taunt to fellow thrift store shoppers. Why can't they move the sold stuff in the back of the store where it can't torment us? In this case, I ignored the sold sign, asking Dana if she was absolutely sure the buyer was coming back to pick up the set? Unfortunately, Dana assured me the lady was coming in just as soon as she could arrange transportation. I took the news with a big sigh, accepting the fact that this was one awesome deal that got away!

Although the grand prize had already been claimed, I was able to come up with a decent runner-up prize. Regaining my composure, I noticed Dana was carrying a large collection of BeyBlade toys onto the sales floor.

BeyBlades..$8 into $80!

If you are not familiar with them, BeyBlades are glorified spinning tops that do battle with each other as they spin in a plastic stadium. They consistently sell well on Ebay, and the more BeyBlades you have in a lot, the more money you'll make. I'd be a lousy poker player, because when Dana walked by me holding the Bey Blades, I could barley contain my enthusiasm. Pointing to the BeyBlades, I blurted out, "How much for those?" My outburst may have worked in my favor though. Dana didn't get a chance to research the sets on eBay. Instead she shrugged her shoulders and quoted me a price of eight bucks. Knowing the popularity of BeyBlades, I didn't quibble over her price. 

Although the BeyBlades could hardly make up for missing out on the Pier One dining room set, the plastic toys did ease my pain a little bit. My eight dollar purchase turned into an $80 dollar sale on eBay. Ironically, my BeyBlades sale would have covered nearly half the cost of that beautiful dining room set! All of which goes to show...you just never know what awesome deals you'll find in the thrift store. That's why I keep going back!

Have you ever scored some nice furniture at a thrift store or garage sale? Feel free to brag in the comment section below.



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