The Money Mustache Community
Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: HipGnosis on February 01, 2019, 11:37:54 AM
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Where do you shop for misc. items of value?
I need a toilet (bowl) brush.
I've bought the last few from the grocery store.
But I've gone through a few, so I'm now looking for value.
I also would like a new table lamp.
Is there a (USA please) store that has items of value?
Note; I'm specifically not asking about cheapest. I'd go to a dollar store or WalMart for that.
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If you have one near you, Ikea has a lot of surprisingly quality items for low prices. Not heirloom quality or anything, but I've been happy with most of what we've gotten there as low cost, sturdy, every day item. Even their particleboard furniture holds up quite well for what it is.
Without knowing your location, "USA based store" is pretty general.
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I think our toilet bowl brush came from bed bath and beyond. Definitely not one of the cheap ones. It's one of the fancy ones that with the little door that opens up. It must be at least 5 years old if not older. I honestly have no idea. You can replace the brush part. We almost always have a couple of coupons from there which generally makes the pricing comparable with what you can find online.
The Wirecutter (https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-toilet-brush/) is a good site for finding extensive reviews of things like toilet bowl brushes that you know you'll use for a long time until they die, so it can be a good place to look for things that will will last. Looks like their pick is either exactly the same, or a newer version of what we have. It's $16 on Amazon and also on bed bath and beyond, but if you're like us you probably get BB&B 20% off coupons in the mail constantly.
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Usually I buy all stuff from Amazon.
If it's something I need to see in person: Target.
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Costco has a two pack of toilet brushes currently that look pretty nice and we all know their return policies are excellent if they don't hold up (and comes with two replacement brush heads :)
https://www.costco.com/Polder-2-pack-Stainless-Steel-Toilet-Brush.product.100464290.html
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What is happening to your toilet brush?
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I buy quite a bit of stuff from Amazon, because I know they have it and I don't have to drive all over town to find it.
For lamps, I bought mine at both Amazon and Old Time Pottery. OTP has a huge selection for decent prices and while not designer quality I have been very happy with the ones I bought. I love the ones I bought from Amazon. I wanted some bling in the bedroom so I bought two of these: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00UCM00TW/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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For table lamps, I'd always go to Craigslist or FB marketplace first. It's easy to replace the light fixture if necessary.
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I've become disenchanted with Amazon, esp. for small, relatively inexpensive things.
I bought a knife sharpener. It's slightly different from what was on Amazon and the instructions didn't match what I got. I could NOT EVEN write a review to inform others. It said the item was 'under review'... but you could still buy it!!
I bought heated car seat cushions - I based my decision on the avg. customer reviews. They don't heat! I confirmed it with my IR thermometer (bought on Amazon). I read thru a LOT of reviews then, and realized that the GOOD reviews were of a previous model, with hi and low settings. The current model has temp. settings.
Another problem with small, relatively inexpensive things on Amazon is the (often) high shipping costs, which aren't refunded.
I'm going to Target.
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I'll asking again - why do you need to replace your toilet brush? I'm pretty sure that I've left a couple behind when moving, but I've never, in 40 years, had one break. I don't think that needs to be a high quality item, and I think you'll get just as good a deal at Dollar General as at Target, though the Target toilet brush may be more aesthetically appealing, if one can say that of a toilet brush.