After an incredible start to the Canada Day long weekend with a trip and concert, I had one thing in mind. I wanted to maximize the Shopper’s Redemption event. The app kept reminding me of the greatest potential, 500K points for $900.
Sunday morning I was on my own and decided to tour the city for the best deal. I had an inkling that I would spring for a Canon digital SLR camera if I could find one. The first location had nothing but I was not deterred. From previous tours I knew certain locations were more likely to still have electronics. The second stop was all the way across town, a locaton I only visited during these events. Walking over to the glass cabinet section I was disappointed to only see Apple products and basic electronics (cables, headphones, ect). “Oh well, onto the next one” I thought. And then almost tripped over the cart full of clearance games.
Long story short; 15 games, 1 Google doorbell, and 4 little blind-pack collectibles. Total out of pocket: $65 (insert smug smile here)
The last step was taking my loot to my favourite pawn shop to see if I could upgrade. Traded 5 titles there and paid an extra $12 to get a Switch game and (drumroll) Spider-Man 2 (PS5)!
And that’s about it. It sounds like bragging but it’s just extremely regimented planning. I want other people to feel the rush of a deal. To not feel guilty for buying stuff for yourself. Collect points, wait for an opportunity. Anyone can do this.
I swear I was going to do the responsible thing this morning. A respectable deal at Shoppers Drug Mart had me planning to restock the essentials. I expected to pick up some toilet paper, paper towel, toiletries, and maybe some food if it was on sale. But it all went wrong/right.
Today’s deal was a regular one at Shoppers. An offer to spend $60 and get a mystery bonus of either 20k or 30k in points. Potentially 50% back in points but at a minimum 33%, not bad. The only real restriction with this bonus is to limit yourself, purchasing only as close to $60 pre-tax as possible to maximize your bonus.
The path I travel through this particular location had me pick up deals on cookies (2/$5) and then I drifted over to my guilty pleasure, the coffee-flavored Monster energy drinks. They were 2 for $6 which is now a better deal than the Dollarama and I thought I should treat myself. I drifted through the aisles glancing quickly for sales before aiming for the paper products. Although I had decent stock at home, if any were on sale, it was always a good idea to pick them up. And that’s when I saw the clearance section at the back of the store.
I had generally been ignoring this section of the store since Shoppers announced they were getting out of the electronics business. Although this was my favorite location for grocery shopping it didn’t have a great game section to begin with. From what I could tell the only remaining games were Xbox One titles behind a glass case and they were still at full retail price. So it became a routine to quickly look at the case, make sure nothing was on clearance and move on. But to the next of this section was a cart and some baskets, evidently the most recently clearanced items in the store that had yet to be put on shelves or out front to be seen. I thought nothing of it but then did a double-take when a PS5 logo appeared amidst a small collection of movies. Long story short, I grabbed every non-sports title.
Most were $10 each but the real score for me was Avatar at $25. This game had been on my radar for a while as it was current-gen exclusive and I knew it would showcase the power of my PS5 or Xbox Series X. It consistently sold for $50 in my favorite pawn shop and I was not willing to buy a potential Far Cry-esque experience with all my unfinished titles in that series still on the shelf. But thanks to this deal I was spending $25 plus tax and getting 25% back in points (yes, I did the math).
Will I play all these titles? Probably not anytime soon but we all know I’m a hoarder and at these prices I don’t feel that guilty. I’ve even been toying with the idea lately of reselling some of my collection if I know I’m not going to play them. I’m sure I’d be able to get $20 for most of the $10 games, heck they’re still sealed.
NIck Wilde Disney Infinity character acting pretty impressed with his new buddy
On top of that this weekend started amazing with the end of my work day on Friday. A client surprised me with a 3D-printed Deadpool that I had always wanted. Modeled after the Disney Infinity toys I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out. He wasn’t thrilled with the work as it was challenging and the model was not easy to work with. He insisted on giving it to me for free. We agreed that I would be buying the Deadpool mask from him in the future and I’ll make sure to repay him then.
Finally, because it’s also geeky I’m excited to be going to my colouring tattoo for my Skull Kid in the next couple of hours. Stay tuned for more pics.
Hope everyone has a great weekend whenever you read this.
This weekend didn’t look great. I’m convinced the Mystery Offer promotions are geared against Point-Ninjas like me. I keep getting the offer for a free product; the least interesting of the offers to me. Fortunately I checked my texts and found Shoppers had sent a 20x coupon with a min $60 purchase. It was the deal I had wanted anyways, a chance to stock up on household items and maximize discounts.
I started the day with 278K points and ended with 307K, not bad. I focused on bathroom supplies on sale; conditioner, toothpaste, face wash, ect. I stocked up on toilet paper (reserves were already decent but a sale is a sale) as well as cookies (because I deserve them)
The most important thing is to always check all your offer options. Be aware of things you’re looking for. In my case, hair conditioner was a must have. A quick look at my paper products before I left told me I could afford to pick something up (to maximize the 20x) but wasn’t necessary.
A small combo was earned using my PC Financial bank card. This should reward me with 1.5% back in points. This usually takes a couple of business days to appear but it’s always nice to have small constant flow of points coming in through regular transactions.
Bonus! According to my app I got the Mystery Offer anyways. Apparently I got a free pizza (4.99 value). Hey, a win is a win.
wickedchadwick 
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