Every now and then we must digress to spotlight another form of retail recreation: The utterly awesome 99 Cents Only store. Not sure if this chain spans the country, but they’re ubiquitous in Southern California. Some quality staples can be found – brand-name canned goods, fresh produce, freaking Spaghetti-o’s, frozen food and paper towels – nothing ever more than 99 cents. But the real fun is finding treasures that come and go quickly, with books at the top of my list. We’ve scored excellent hardbacks with list price from $25 to $30, including “The Great Experiment,” a fascinating and smart history of mankind’s attempt at globalization by former deputy Secretary of State and Time Magazine correspondent Strobe Talbot. Sports fans are well-served too, with titles that chronicle dream seasons (U of Miami football and NASCAR to name two) and bios (the cyclist who beat Lance Armstrong because, I think, he tested positive for ‘roids).
Also, you can get a nice hardshell case for several iPod models – the same kind you’ll find elsewhere for $10 to $20 -- a motherload for Ebayers who service far-flung folks who might not have access to dollar iPod cases. Speaking of Ebay, I spotted a woman piling her handbasket high with Season 5 “Friends” DVDs. Must have been at least 30 discs.
99 Cents Only is cool, but admittedly it’s no Costco. Let’s not lose focus here. This is, after all, a blog for Costco devotees, and we’ll be posting tons more useful stuff on here, as soon as people actually start reading it. So please spread the word!
We’re planning a long-overdue trip, and a full report and sample lineup will follow, along with genius recipes.
Monday, May 3, 2010
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