Dilemma! Old Navy T-Shirt Sale is the same day as Teacher Appreciation Day!

Old Navy has been having some great sales lately.  Earlier in the month they had all ribbed tank tops on sale for $2, and all women's jeans are currently $19 (kids' jeans are $10!).  On Saturday, August 22, 2009 they are running a one-day promotion where all basic tee-shirts will be on sale for $3 (limit 5).  For those of you who are not math teachers, that means you can get 5 shirts for $15 with tax.

Also, every Thursday night Old Navy updates their Weekly Ad, and they include hidden clickable coupons in the pictures.  Grab your mouse and start clipping, and you can find some good deals!  Mostly I've found 10% off your order (which brings the shirts down to $13.50 for 5 / $2.70 each) but there are better deals floating around out there.  There is even a $75 off orders of $100 or more (!!!!).  That's almost free!

So what's the plan now for Saturday, where I have two Teacher Appreciation days and the Old Navy sale (which, remember, is while supplies last?)

Scenario One:  Get up at 7:45.  Be on line at Staples by 8:30 to get my package right at 9:00.  Check sales quickly and make some purchases (if I find anything good).  Leave by 9:30.  Get on train to Office Depot in Manhattan and arrive by 10:30.  Grab a free coffee and a gift, check sales and be on line by 11:00.  Rush to nearest Old Navy (14th st?) on the Subway, get there between 11:30 and 12:00, buy t-shirts (unless I found a major coupon, in which case I'll get other stuff too).

Scenario Two:  Get up at 7:00.  Drive to the shopping center that has a Staples and an Old Navy, about 15-30 minutes away depending on traffic.  Get to Staples by 8:15 and get on line.  Take my time shopping the sales, get a gift and head over to Old Navy around 10.  Skip Office Depot.  (Less free stuff, but less hassle)

Scenario Three:  Get up at 7:45.  Be on line at Staples by 8:30 to get my package right at 9:00.  Check sales quickly and make some purchases (if I find anything good).  Leave by 9:30.  Get on train to Office Depot in Manhattan and arrive by 10:30.  Grab a free coffee and a gift, check sales and be on line by 11:00.  Skip Old Navy and pass on the super cheap t-shirts.  Go home.  Cry.

I'll let you know which one I choose!  :-)

What's the deal with Recession Penny Sales?

I became a teacher in 2007.  The summer before I started teaching, I found out about Penny Sales and my life was forever changed.  I stocked up!  My first summer I got rulers for either a penny or a nickel (can't remember, but I got about a million), two-packs of scissors for 5 cents, white Elmer's glue for 5 cents a bottle, the coveted paper folders for a penny each, 12-packs of pencils for a penny, individual pencil sharpeners for 5 cents, 24-packs of Crayola crayons for 15 cents, and all sorts of other good stuff.  My second summer, I got the pencils, folders, glue and sharpeners again.  I also got crayons again, but they might have spent 20 cents on them.  I got some other things that I'm not remembering, but I know for a fact that both summers I STOCKED UP.  Remember that even though there are strict limits on these deep discounts, teachers get up to 25 as their limit (instead of like, three).  You can bring friends to hold baskets and get back on line to do several transactions, or you can shop several times over the course of one day or a few days.  Some cashiers will override any limits and let teachers get away with overages (within reason) if you beg and flirt a little.

But what's going on this year?  I have been striking out at Penny Sales this year.  So many of my favored items are either not on sale at all (I'm looking at you, folders!  I get 90 of these every year so I can color code things, and there's a big difference between 90 cents and the $13.50 that they'd cost at 15 cents, which is the full price).  Other items have turned up, but at less of a discount.  These are still awesome deals for parents buying school supplies for children, but are kind of hurting my pocket.  

Here are the deals that are currently running:

STAPLES, who started the penny sales (to my knowledge) are really falling down on their deals.  There are still some good opportunities, and of course I'll take them, but I'm hoping they ratchet things up a notch in the last weeks of August.

-This week they have 25-cent marble notebooks.  This is awesome for parents, but not so good for me.  I have 12 students, so to get them each one book is $3.  My kids need 5 books (school rules) so that's $15.  If half the parents buy their kids books (which is what happened last year) I can get them all notebooks for about $7.50.  I'll do it, but last year it cost me less than half that.

-They're also offering computer/typing paper for $1, which is an AMAZING deal.  I am running out to do this tomorrow, but it's on a rebate.  Rebate limits can't be extended for teachers (not sure why) so I can only get 2 reams of paper.  I'm not sure if I can just keep getting on line, either, since Staples rebates are filed for online.  Maybe I could beg some friends to file for my rebates for me, but that feels so moochy.

-Packs of pens and hilighters are on sale for $1.  This is an OK deal but I'm going to hold off for now in the hope that they or someone else run them cheaper in the next 2 1/2 weeks.

-Other penny sale items I've gotten that have expired include 6-packs of spiral notebooks for 6 cents (I got 2 packs for 12 cents and have to figure out what to use them for, since marbles are preferable... maybe homework notebooks?) and... that's it.  I haven't seen the pencils, so maybe I missed them when I was on vacation, but those usually repeat.  Also... where are the folders?!?!?!

-Remember that Penny Sales Expire on Wednesday of the week they are listed.  New sales will still be released on Sunday.  I like to check staples.com in advance, but I often just walk in.

Office Max started running commercials about a week ago for their "back to school for pennies" sale.  Cute name.  Except that it's so hard to tell from the website what, exactly, is on the sale.  Unlike Staples, they don't seem to list the penny sale on their Weekly Ad, which is frustrating.  Because I haven't gotten to an Office Max to check out what they're offering, I can't complain as hard as I did about Staples, but I know from seeing the commercials that they weren't mentioning anything that made me want to rush out to an Office Max.  Maybe I'm biased because there is a Staples 5 minutes from my house and Office Max is a 20-30 minute train ride away.  I am going to try to get out to an Office Max this week to scope out the sale situation.  Hopefully they won't have been hit by the recession the way Staples has!

In other news, the best deals I have found so far this year have been at Target.  This post is getting unwieldy, so I'll address that in my next entry.  

Teacher Appreciation Days/Weeks/Months

Have I mentioned that I love free stuff?

The month of August means a lot of things to teachers.  We leave town.  We try to cram in as many days at the beach as possible.  We lament the end of vacation.  We start stocking up on supplies.  We maybe get together with other teachers to plan.  We start having those awful back-to-school stress dreams that all teachers seem to get in August.  

Fortunately, several retailers sweeten the dog days of August with Teacher Appreciation celebrations.  Staples is probably the most well-known, but Office Max and Office Depot seem to be getting in on the action, too.  

(1)  Staples has been doing their Teacher Appreciation Day for 6 years and this will be my 3rd Teacher Appreciation Day.  The New York date for this event is August 22 (this Saturday, kids!) starting at 9:00 am (I get there early).  Some states have had their TA Day already, but I had trouble finding out what the swag was online.  It seems there was a reusable shopping bag (so trendy!) filled with notebooks and other supplies.  For the last two years I got plastic expandable file folders, dry erase markers, sharpies, pens, a legal pad and some postits.  It's nothing major, but it's nice to be appreciated, no?

This brings me to an (embarrassing) story from when I was a brand-new teacher.  As a NYC Teaching Fellow I was due to start teaching in September and had (somehow) managed to sign up for a Staples Teacher Rewards card even though I didn't have a DOE ID yet, so I was eligible for Teacher Appreciation '07.  I woke up early and super excited, marched into the store all proud with my Rewards Card, claimed my prize and... went home.  It was a little anti-climactic, but I was so excited.  I picked up a cup of coffee and the newest Brookyn Parents newspaper and went home to bask in my new teacher glory.  August was a wonderful month that year.

(2)  Office Depot Teacher Appreciation Day is - horror of horrors! - the same day as Staples TA Day in New York!  Fortunately, Office Depot is celebrating for a full week, from 8/16 - 8/22.  All week there are 10% discounts storewide for teachers, but the cool stuff is happening on Saturday.

First of all, I love free stuff, but I love free food most of all.  The fact that on Saturday, 8/22, Office Depot is giving away free breakfast AND free giveaways for teachers puts them a notch above Staples in my book (though I'll reevaluate when I get my swag)!  The plan is for me to hit Staples right by my house (and the train station) upon opening at 9:00 and then get right on the train to go to Manhattan to be at Office Depot at 10:00.  It'll be stressful, but I don't think Office Depot will run out of materials because it sounds like they're making a day of things.  Staples, on the other hand, really just gives away a package and some discounts, so I think I'll be able to do both.  For others who need to multi-task, The Office Depot event is from 9:00 - 11:00 am.

 (3) I missed the Office Max Teacher Appreciation Day this year (did any of you get there?) on August 9th.  I didn't know they held one, or I totally would've been there... maybe.  The truth is, this deal was not that exciting to me.  All attending teachers were given a reusable Office Max tote and given 15% off of "everything you can stuff inside."  Okay, first off, I love free anything, but 15% is not that great a discount to make me rush over to Office Max, free bag or none.  I can do much better at Target or Staples Back to School sales, or even at the new Office Max Penny Sale than 15%.  While it might've been nice to get the discount on things I need for myself (does Office Max sell plan books?), this is not a stock-up event, and the giveaway was not enough to get me out of bed and onto a train.  If they were closer to my house, maybe.   

Also, I can imagine the madhouse.  I love sales, but I have trouble with big crowds of people pushing each other to get the best deals on different items.  While I like to think that the Cheaper Teachers out there who went to this event conducted themselves with dignity, I just picture the melee that seems to be attached to the "stuff this bag" discounts I've encountered.

Anyway, that's all for now.  Next post will discuss the Staples and Office Max penny sales, which are OK this year, but not really doing it for me.  Are they worth it?  I'll let you decide.