The price of the hunt

[sadowsk1]

I have read in many threads where people weight the pros and cons of going around town and hunting down an elusive clearance or limited sales. How many stores consist of your own local Lego run? What are the stops you make? Do you figure the cost of the hunt into your total cost or is it part of the hobby?

I currently don't have a down pat route that I go but I was thinking of coming up with one to streamline the whole works since there are lots of options in the area. I don't consider the cost of gas in because I enjoy driving around and looking at the toys. I don't think I have ever driven more than 10 miles in the hunt of a good sale that wasn't in store pickup. My main stops are Walmart, Target, St. Vinneys, Goodwill, Salvation Army on a regular basis. Usually because I either need more stuff there or I hunt for things outside of Lego at the thrift stores. Some late additions might be Kmart, Barnes and Nobles, and TJ maxx. I don't go those places very often. I buy a lot online too and I guess I don't know my price point on gas before I start reducing my trips...

[brickarmor]

The deeper the discount, the farther I'll drive. I live in a mildly hick town so I factor in a certain amount of adventuring. I've found that 30% off sales or clearance will usually be matched online at some point, so that eliminates some driving. I try not to go out and about just for Lego, but to make it part of some aggregated errand running. All this is past tense, I can't buy anything else until November...