Thursday, December 23, 2010

Escape the Mall Challenge (for charity) – part 6: BFF

So, if you’ve been following along, you’ll know I was given a nice chunk of change ($1,000) from PayPal. My task, go shopping for five family members and friends, spend $500 online using PayPal and $500 at the mall buying comparable gifts.

Here’s the run down of gifts for your BFF:

Online

What: Maddie Scarf & Betty Mitts (sale priced at $41.30)
Where: Preloved for eBay
Cost: $46.67 ($41.39 Maddie Scarf & Betty Mitts + taxes, free shipping)

In Store
What: Scarf and Mitts set; Scarf and Hat set, Leather gloves, socks ($88)
Where: Smart Set, Yorkdale
Cost: $57.07 ($88 Scarf and Mitts set; Scarf and Hat set, Leather gloves, socks – buy one, get on 50% off – 20% off total for purchases over $70 + tax)

Outcome
I happened to tune in to BT on Friday morning just as they were having a segment about holiday shopping on eBay. I learned preloved had partnered with them over the holidays and saw an awesome wool scarf and mittens set. Wow! What a time saver. There’s no way I had time to shop at Queen West but I could spend a few minutes on eBay with a fully-loaded PayPal account and support a local designer/retailer at the same time. I’m seriously considering ordering a set for myself. Although this was the first item I ordered, it was the second last one to arrive but it was the only one to come in a canvas shopping bag.

So, I guess the fair thing to do would have been to look for a scarf a mitts set of comparable quality at the mall. However, since I knew these purchases would be going to people in need and Smart Set was offering deep discounts on winter accessories, I decided to go there instead of somewhere like Banana Republic or Aritzia. For $10 more than I spent online, I got more than twice the amount of stuff and that will be able to keep more young women warm and stylish this winter.

Donated to: Red Door Family Shelter, Dec. 22
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