Boscov's Non-Profits Day

Periodically our regional department store Boscov's runs an important promotion.  They call it Friends Helping Friends, and each time I subscribe.  Basically a charitable organization enrolls and sells discount cards for $5 each.  They keep the $5.  Purchasers go to Boscov's on the designated day where they purchase what they want.  The card has three bar codes with discounts of 25%, 15%, and 10% depending on the department of purchase, with some announced exclusions.  Clothing gets a big discount, other stuff less.  And at the bottom of the coupon, the purchaser enters a raffle for a $1000 gift card.  

I need very little, but made a small list.  My nylon parka with its Houston Rockets logo served me well for decades.  Zipper getting difficult to use, but serviceable.  Maybe look at a replacement.  My last black leather belt disconnected from its buckle.  Look at a new one.  I broke my good fleishig salad bowl.  See what they have.  And I have a few airline trips looming so maybe a new carryon case if the price is right.

Stores since Covid have been mostly empty, with people like me drawn to amazon.com or walmart.com or specialty online retailers for furniture.  They don't seem to have as much stuff on the shelves or on display when I roam their aisles, perhaps supply chain issues or perhaps a credit crunch that limits what the retailer can borrow to purchase from a wholesaler.  Salespeople can be hard to find, particularly at Boscov's.  Since this store has registers scattered in the various departments instead of the more common unified checkout, finding a place to pay for what you want to take home sometimes needs some effort just short of a hog call to see who comes.  But I can look at what I want to get, check for defects, make sure most things fit, see what the luggage compartments would be like to use.  And when I shop in stores, I rarely encounter a lot of people.

Yet everyone loves a bargain, even when only the illusion of a bargain.  When I got to Boscov's this time I had to park farther from my customary entrance than usual.  Despite this, I encountered fewer shoppers than expected.  With my coupon in my shirt pocket, I checked the winter coats.  Apparently technology of fashion has passed me by, as my current ski parka remained faithful for decades.  No team logos.  Even nylon with puffy fill has given way to a more canvas-like fabric on the majority of the coats, but I still found some similar to what is being replaced.  Hoods no longer zip off, at least on the ones in my price range.  Pockets adequate.  I picked one in navy, priced at $40 discounted to $30.  Then the belts.  I really liked my infinitely adjustable black belt, but the buckle separated.  I assume they no longer carry them because of similar quality issues.  Boscov's has a sponsored house brand for their clothing, usually a best buy.  My size for a belt is a medium, which they call 34-36 inches.  When I get specified sizes, 34 usually fits better than 36, but for an item discounted to $12 this is a low risk purchase.

My state has a no plastic bag law, so consumers bring their own or purchase a paper bag at the register, or since I usually only buy one or two things, I just carry it out with the receipt in hand, to show the attendants who now monitor the entrances.  No go for Boscov's.  Everything goes in a container.  My coat did not fit in their paper bag, so they put it onto a hanger, which I really neither need nor want, then draped the kind of thin plastic that becomes a smothering hazard over it, much like the laundries do.  The lady at the register stuffed the belt into the plastic, tied the bottom, and I was on my way.  To the car, place the reasonably protected new garments into the trunk, then return to see what's on the second floor, where the discounts were only 15%.   No suitable salad bowls.  Their carryons came in two genres, cheap and expensive.  Even with the discount, the expensive exceeded what I wanted to pay, and the on display selection far less than I had seen in other places and a pittance of what is offered online.  Cheap they had a lot of, but for a single one time purchase, I'd rather spend the extra $50 and only have to buy a small suitcase one more time.  I already know the cheap ones either have something break or be replaced by new technology, which is why I am buying one now, even though I do overnight travel infrequently.  Returned to elevator, then car, empty-handed from the second floor.

So it worked out well.  Hadassah got $5.  Boscov's got customers who got a bargain and might want to come back for something else on a day without discounts.  I got a coat and belt.  And Boscov's reinforced its reputation as the last department store that is not part of an international conglomerate.  It still has a presence unique to our community and its shoppers.