Bargain Shopping

Occasionally, honesty is the best policy. But use it
sparingly, and only when absolutely appropriate.
--Addie Johnson

Every so often my work gives us the option to buy a bag (purse/tote/ laptop, etc) or a planner binder at cost plus 10%. Last week was such a time. There was a bag I'd been eying, thinking it would be great for church. Plus, it was gorgeous. But, since it's nice leather and retails for $220, even with our employee deal, it was still $92. Out of my price range, for sure.

Fast forward to this week, and an inventory-reducing warehouse sale. Same bag. $60. A steal, for sure--but still more than I like to spend. There were other very nice bags that were cheaper, $20 and $30, but this was the one I'd been eying forever, so I decided I'd just go ahead and buy it. It's only money, right?

After picking out a few other little things, I went to check out. Total: $43. Confused, I asked how much the bag was, and the checkout guy said $20. Fantastic! It must have been part of the cheaper tote pile after all!

But wait, here is where the story gets good! As I left, I started to wonder. I was certain I'd taken the bag from the $60 pile. Could the checkout guy have made a mistake? I made it down the sidewalk and to the curb before I turned around and went back in. The exchange with the checkout guy went something like this:

Me: Um, you charged me $20 for this bag, but I think it was supposed to be $60.
Him: Oh, let me see. Wow. Yeah. Thanks for being honest...
Me: Ok...
Him: Wow. Yeah. Don't worry about it. Even if it was ($60), you're good. Don't worry. Wow. Thanks for being honest.
Me: Ok, thanks.
Me: (in my head) SCORE!!

And this is how I come to have (legitimately) purchased a $220 leather bag for just 20 bucks today! Good day!