This page contains a single entry from the blog posted on November 5, 2011 8:20 AM.
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An old girlfriend of mine used to say stuff like "That's a great deal even if you never did wear it." Her pearls of wisdom came to mind as we pondered a consumer dilemma the other day. We were thinking about picking up a few pair of boxer shorts, and the kind we've been wearing lately were on sale, buy-one-get-one-free. But they came in five-packs, and that meant we'd be buying 10 pair all at once. The sticker on the bag said something like 32 bucks.
We're not in desperate need of any at this point -- we just wanted a couple to add to the rotation. And so 10 seemed like too many to buy at the same time. Then again, we'll most likely wear them eventually, as our handy-dandy "efficient" washing machine slowly wrecks the elastic in everything that goes into it. Should we have bought two five-packs for the price of one? There may still be time to do it; we think the sale ends today.
Comments (22)
To me, buying in bulk means that I have the appropriate storage capacity and that I will live long enough to use the product. Be a pragmatist and an optimist!
If the per shorts price for the five-pack bag is comparable to buying them singly, and you really don't think you'll use the extra bag, why not donate it? The groups that put together clothing boxes for the needy are always looking for new underwear and socks.
It's the dryer that wrecks the elastic, more than the detergent or washer. Hang them on a clothes line, they'll last longer. And, btw, since you're sharing with the world you're a boxers not briefs guy, please tell us you don't use "fabric softener" or those godawful "dryer sheets."
I'm not talking about Goodwill. There's a lot of stuff they won't take, and unless you feel like lining the pockets of their excessively paid execs, I wouldn't donate anything there.
Homeless shelters, for instance. Our school district takes donations for low income students of all ages and their families. A veteran's group in our area is always looking for this kind of stuff.
And for goodness sake, isn't it obvious that donations of underwear and socks would be for new items, still in the package? Seriously...
If you go for 10, what if your waist size "changes" in the next couple of years? Or suddenly realize you're a briefs guy. If you buy bulk, go with socks.
Seems like you should be looking at a new washing machine and/or dryer. Before we bought our home in the Reno area we leased a home that had a gas dryer that ruined more items than I care to think about. The washer was also very low end; and we used to joke that all that was missing were the coin slots.
When we moved into our current home we bought a new GE top loading washer and dryer set with stainless steel baskets. Everything from delicate cycle items for my wife to filthy auto shop towels comes out clean and fluffy. Lots more options for hot/warm/old water, extra rinse cycles and drying options too!
Sometimes you gotta spend money to save money.
Just put the extras away in linen closet or something and gradually rotate them in.
Yellow in front, brown in back! (As my loder bro used to say.)
Your colleague Richard Posner would urge you to compare the savings from buying the additional five pairs now rather than later to the time value of holding the money until you need to purchase the next five pairs. Also you need to determine the probability that the boxers will be on sale next time you purchase them. Or he might just urge you to free ball it.
With the giving season approaching, and ex-bartender having the story half correct, it is the PTA clothing center (site info referenced above) NOT the district itself that is always in need of new socks, underwear and other gently used clothing for pre-schoolers to high schoolers. The woman that runs the place, Sharon Meigh-Chang, is a saint along with the parent volunteers that are supplied from each elementary, middle and high school in the city. The center has been over whelmed in the past year (or couple of years) with increased demands for services so give the extra pack to them or better anyone who reads this make an effort to help refill the closet.
Charamba, Douro 2008
Horse Heaven Hills, Cabernet 2010
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills Pinot Grigio 2011
Avignonesi, Montepulciano 2004
Lorelle, Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2011
Villa Antinori, Toscana 2007
Mercedes Eguren, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Lorelle, Columbia Valley Cabernet 2011
Purple Moon, Merlot 2011
Purple Moon, Chardonnnay 2011
Abacela, Vintner's Blend No. 12
Opula Red Blend 2010
Liberte, Pinot Noir 2010
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Indian Wells Red Blend 2010
Woodbridge, Chardonnay 2011
King Estate, Pinot Noir 2011
Famille Perrin, Cotes du Rhone Villages 2010
Columbia Crest, Les Chevaux Red 2010
14 Hands, Hot to Trot White Blend
Familia Bianchi, Malbec 2009
Terrapin Cellars, Pinot Gris 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2009
Campo Viejo, Rioja, Termpranillo 2010
Ravenswood, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2010
Waterbrook, Reserve Merlot 2009
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills, Pinot Grigio 2011
Tarantas, Rose
Chateau Lajarre, Bordeaux 2009
La Vielle Ferme, Rose 2011
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio 2011
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir 2009
Lello, Douro Tinto 2009
Quinson Fils, Cotes de Provence Rose 2011
Anindor, Pinot Gris 2010
Buenas Ondas, Syrah Rose 2010
Les Fiefs d'Anglars, Malbec 2009
14 Hands, Pinot Gris 2011
Conundrum 2012
Condes de Albarei, Albariño 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2007
Penelope Sanchez, Garnacha Syrah 2010
Canoe Ridge, Merlot 2007
Atalaya do Mar, Godello 2010
Vega Montan, Mencia
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir, Marlborough 2009
Portuga, Rose 2011
Revelation, Chardonnay, Pays d'Oc 2010
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 2005
Monte Alto, Tinto Reserva 2005
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Cabernet, Indian Wells 2009
Espiral, Vinho Rose
Vin-Koru, Pinot Gris 2011
14 Hands, Hot to Trot Red 2009
Rodney Strong, Cabernet, Sonoma 2009
Abacela, Vintner's Blend #11
Portuga, White 2010
La Bourgeoisie, Red 2009
Januik, Red 2009
Three Rivers, River's Red 2008
Kirkland, Alexander Valley Merlot 2008
Muga, Rioja Rose 2010
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2009
Mauro Molino, Barbera d'Alba 2009
Garda Chiaretto Rose
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Vineyard 10 White
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Pinot Gris, Columbia Valley 2009
L'Hortus, Rose de Saignee 2010
Maculan, Pino & Toi 2008
McKinley Springs, Bombing Range Red 2008
Trader Joe's Pinot Gris 2009
Montes Alpha, Cabernet 2007
Gran Sasso, Sangiovese, Terre di Chieti 2009
Garda, Classico Chiaretto Rose
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1999
Picos del Montgo, Tempranillo 2008
Chateau de Montmirail, Vacqueyras 2008
La Granja 360, Syrah 2009
Montgras, Carmenere Reserva 2009
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet 2008
Kirkland, Pinot Grigio 2010
Trader Joe's Coastal Syrah 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Merlot 2008
Trader Joe's Coastal Chardonnay 2009
Vieux Papes Red
Domaine de l'Aujardiere, Chardonnay 2009
Santa Rita, Cabernet, Medalla Real 2007
Penfold's, Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008
Guild, Red, Lot #02 2008
Dievole, Dievolino Sangiovese 2008
Laforet, Burgogne Chardonnay 2009
Columbia Winery, Merlot 2007
Bonterra, Cabernet 2008
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2009
Maquis Lien 2006
Scott Paul, Pinot Noir, Le Paulee 2007
The Occasional Book
Hope Larson - A Wrinkle in Time, the Graphic Novel
Rudyard Kipling - Kim
Peter Ames Carlin - Bruce
Fran Cannon Slayton - When the Whistle Blows
Neil Young - Waging Heavy Peace
Mark Bego - Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul (2012 ed.)
Jenny Lawson - Let's Pretend This Never Happened
J.D. Salinger - Franny and Zooey
Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol
Timothy Egan - The Big Burn
Deborah Eisenberg - Transactions in a Foreign Currency
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - Slaughterhouse Five
Kathryn Lance - Pandora's Genes
Cheryl Strayed - Wild
Fyodor Dostoyevsky - The Brothers Karamazov
Jack London - The House of Pride, and Other Tales of Hawaii
Jack Walker - The Extraordinary Rendition of Vincent Dellamaria
Colum McCann - Let the Great World Spin
Niccolò Machiavelli - The Prince
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries
Brian Selznick - The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Sharon Creech - Walk Two Moons
Keith Richards - Life
F. Sionil Jose - Dusk
Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting
Justin Halpern - S#*t My Dad Says
Mark Herrmann - The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law
Barry Glassner - The Gospel of Food
Phil Stanford - The Peyton-Allan Files
Jesse Katz - The Opposite Field
Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
David Sedaris - Holidays on Ice
Donald Miller - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
Mitch Albom - Have a Little Faith
C.S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Ivan Doig - Bucking the Sun
Penda Diakité - I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Grace Lin - The Year of the Rat
Oscar Hijuelos - Mr. Ives' Christmas
Madeline L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time
Steven Hart - The Last Three Miles
David Sedaris - Me Talk Pretty One Day
Karen Armstrong - The Spiral Staircase
Charles Larson - The Portland Murders
Adrian Wojnarowski - The Miracle of St. Anthony
William H. Colby - Long Goodbye
Steven D. Stark - Meet the Beatles
Phil Stanford - Portland Confidential
Rick Moody - Garden State
Jonathan Schwartz - All in Good Time
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Anthony Holden - Big Deal
Robert J. Spitzer - The Spirit of Leadership
James McManus - Positively Fifth Street
Jeff Noon - Vurt
Road Work
Miles run year to date: 32
At this date last year: 66
Total run in 2012: 129
In 2011: 113
In 2010: 125
In 2009: 67
In 2008: 28
In 2007: 113
In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269
Comments (22)
To me, buying in bulk means that I have the appropriate storage capacity and that I will live long enough to use the product. Be a pragmatist and an optimist!
Posted by Prep | November 5, 2011 8:36 AM
Should we have bought two five-packs for the price of one?
In the unforgettable word of Bob Dole: "Depends."
Posted by Allan L. | November 5, 2011 8:53 AM
Wheres the box to vote for tidy whities...
Posted by john dull | November 5, 2011 8:55 AM
Costco
Posted by Ben | November 5, 2011 9:20 AM
Buy them. If we are ever going to get out of this recession everyone must spend! spend! spend!
Low wage service and retail jobs do not create themselves.
Posted by Brian | November 5, 2011 9:46 AM
You're young. You'll wear them.
Posted by nancy | November 5, 2011 10:22 AM
If the per shorts price for the five-pack bag is comparable to buying them singly, and you really don't think you'll use the extra bag, why not donate it? The groups that put together clothing boxes for the needy are always looking for new underwear and socks.
Just a thought...
Posted by Ex-bartender | November 5, 2011 10:46 AM
It's the dryer that wrecks the elastic, more than the detergent or washer. Hang them on a clothes line, they'll last longer. And, btw, since you're sharing with the world you're a boxers not briefs guy, please tell us you don't use "fabric softener" or those godawful "dryer sheets."
Posted by Mojo | November 5, 2011 11:06 AM
Are you not a "brief" kind of guy?
Posted by 67falcon | November 5, 2011 11:31 AM
Butt then, if we were to experience a 10 day series of life threatening events you would always be prepared.
Posted by Abe | November 5, 2011 12:35 PM
That category of item is not available at Goodwill. And even if it was . . .
Posted by pdxnag | November 5, 2011 1:57 PM
I'm not talking about Goodwill. There's a lot of stuff they won't take, and unless you feel like lining the pockets of their excessively paid execs, I wouldn't donate anything there.
Homeless shelters, for instance. Our school district takes donations for low income students of all ages and their families. A veteran's group in our area is always looking for this kind of stuff.
And for goodness sake, isn't it obvious that donations of underwear and socks would be for new items, still in the package? Seriously...
Posted by Ex-bartender | November 5, 2011 2:31 PM
With 10 pairs of underwear I could go a month without doing laundry!
Posted by reader | November 5, 2011 2:55 PM
New underwear is always a good idea.
Posted by Mister Tee | November 5, 2011 3:01 PM
You could donate the extra ones to Ocupy Portland.....
Posted by john dull | November 5, 2011 3:14 PM
If you go for 10, what if your waist size "changes" in the next couple of years? Or suddenly realize you're a briefs guy. If you buy bulk, go with socks.
Posted by pete s. | November 5, 2011 3:32 PM
Seems like you should be looking at a new washing machine and/or dryer. Before we bought our home in the Reno area we leased a home that had a gas dryer that ruined more items than I care to think about. The washer was also very low end; and we used to joke that all that was missing were the coin slots.
When we moved into our current home we bought a new GE top loading washer and dryer set with stainless steel baskets. Everything from delicate cycle items for my wife to filthy auto shop towels comes out clean and fluffy. Lots more options for hot/warm/old water, extra rinse cycles and drying options too!
Posted by Dave A. | November 5, 2011 4:38 PM
Sometimes you gotta spend money to save money.
Just put the extras away in linen closet or something and gradually rotate them in.
Yellow in front, brown in back! (As my loder bro used to say.)
Posted by dm | November 5, 2011 4:55 PM
Jack, that depends,are you prone to skidmarks? If the answer is yes,double down on the purchase as it will all come out in the wash!
Posted by Jeff | November 5, 2011 6:10 PM
Your colleague Richard Posner would urge you to compare the savings from buying the additional five pairs now rather than later to the time value of holding the money until you need to purchase the next five pairs. Also you need to determine the probability that the boxers will be on sale next time you purchase them. Or he might just urge you to free ball it.
Posted by Erik | November 5, 2011 6:47 PM
The time value of the money doesn't much impress me when my bank account is paying a big 1%.
Posted by Jack Bog | November 5, 2011 7:00 PM
http://www.pps.k12.or.us/families/6269.htm
With the giving season approaching, and ex-bartender having the story half correct, it is the PTA clothing center (site info referenced above) NOT the district itself that is always in need of new socks, underwear and other gently used clothing for pre-schoolers to high schoolers. The woman that runs the place, Sharon Meigh-Chang, is a saint along with the parent volunteers that are supplied from each elementary, middle and high school in the city. The center has been over whelmed in the past year (or couple of years) with increased demands for services so give the extra pack to them or better anyone who reads this make an effort to help refill the closet.
Posted by teresa | November 6, 2011 12:50 PM