My husband and I sat in our suite in Fez and watched the link you provided. He keeps asking me, "who are these people?".
Really enjoyed the performance--need to watch them do "Stairway to Heaven"--my HS graduation song!!

Were considering your offer, muttered the banker, but my SVP wants a face to face to settle some points.

Face to face. Points. Lets do it by phone! I said

Our office next Thursday by 1:00 PM, came the retort, or we pass and move to the next deal!

I have to catch the 6:00 AM to ATL..which means a 3:30 AM wake up, I grumbled, just to have a face to face to please your SVP?

No, it could mean catching the 6:00 AM to ATL..which may mean a 3:30 AM wake up for you, replied the banker, but if you miss the 1:00 PM face to face, we move on!

Clario! 1:00 PM, your office on Thursday, I agreed

Sweet Home Alabama

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
I hate dealing with these people!

I hate the first flight out of town to ATL the MD88 is jammed and I sure hate the morning scrum in the ATL connecting tunnels.

However, a good deal is hard to find these days and these guys would sink me in a second and toss a bone to one of my competitors.

Sounds like there is little or no hope for a sign on the line and back to the airport for the last flight home. Better plan for an overnight.

Thursday 1:00 PM.........Big surprise.......................................... .........................

The agreements are signed and the money is wired into their account by 2:00 PM on Thursday. The deal is done

Now what?

Pulled my Hertz out of the parking lot and headed to northbound I-59.I can be in Scottsboro in two hours or less and visit one of my favorite place to rummage and pillageUnclaimed Baggage! http://shop.unclaimedbaggage.com/index.html

After looking at all sorts of items people have left on flight or packed in bags that were never delivered nor located through the Lost Baggage systems of many major air carriers, I only bought two CDs and a DVD I wanted to add to my collection.

On the way out of the main store, the concierge (do they actually call this person a concierge YES) inquired if I had visited their recently opened Annex. I quickly learned Annex was a euphemism for small store where items were moved for their finally markdown, after being displayed in the mains store for some unspecified period of time. You know, said the concierge, we receive around 1,100 new items here each weeks, so if they dont sell quickly, we have to move them along.

Well, that sounded like there could be deeply discounted bargains, so I trotted along the clearly marked yellow lines which led me to the Annex.

Lots of stuff at the Annex, but nothing I couldnt do without. Then my eyes spied a large box with Nespresso Delonghi LATTISSIMA EN680 boldly emblazoned on the front and side. I looked at the price sticker which indicated $395 with a 25% stamp attached.

I quietly signaled for one of the sales ladies and asked if she could tell me anything about the item in the box.

She said, its a foreign coffee maker.

I said, is it broken, do you know if it works, why is so deeply discounted?

She said, its brand new..most of our shoppers dont wish to pay $300 for a coffee maker!

I said, do you know if it works?

She said, lets take it out of the box and plug it into a socket and see if any lights turn on. If you take it home tonight and it doesnt work, bring it back tomorrow and well refund your money.

The ALL SALES ARE FINAL sign on the wall would clearly indicate otherwise, I pointed out.

Sir, she smiled I just assumed you would pay with a credit card and if you discovered a problem this evening, you might consider calling them to stop the purchase and returning the machine to us in the morning.

I said, good point, may I assist you in opening the box?

And together, we unsealed the box, slipped out the sleek metal machine with all of the accompaniments and located a socket. Bingo, the power light went on.

I smiled and asked the sales lady if she would give me a moment to make a call to a friend.

Hey, youre not going to believe this, I said quietly into my blackberry, I am standing in Alabama at Unclaimed Baggage looking at your dreams.

What or who is it, came the reply, and how much will this cost me?

How about a Nespresso Delonghi LATTISSIMA EN680, I replied, brand new in the original box priced at $395, less 25%, which means I can walk out of here with the machine for $296 plus tax.

Are you sure, came the reply, thats an $800 machine!

Correcto, Senior Cinnamon Dolce Latte..you are about to become the proud owner and think of time you will save by not having to visit Starbucks daily, I added.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

.and so the day was good..a quick deal with the bank and a huge savings for my business partner on the coffee maker of his dreams.

Sweet Home Alabama

Message Edited by omegaet on 05-08-2008 08:39 PM

kyshel...sitting in a suite in Fez, Morocco with your husband reading my blog and watching The Leningrad Cowboys sing "Sweet Home Alabama"......there's an encrypted message here and I can't figure it out. Please report back when you arrive in the USA!

-O-, never been to Unclaimed Baggage, but have seen stories about the place on TV. Maybe I will have to make a special trip there just to see it and maybe get a good deal or two. BTW, what's the big deal with the Nespresso machine? Seems like your business partner must be some kind of a coffee fanatic or something. Keep blogging!

mountie....here's the machine. It works...my business partner is thrilled with his new toy and equally excited he got such a great deal from Unclaimed Baggage....which means some other poor slob lost his or her machine when it didn't arrive with their luggage!

btw....he prepareda cup of the Vivalto Lungo for me this morning and waited for my reactions...I told him I thought it was just a good at the new McDonalds PremiumRoast CoffeeI picked up at the Drive Thru window on the way in to the office!



Message Edited by omegaet on 05-12-2008 03:23 PM

-O-, be truthful, is Unclaimed Baggage just a big warhouse filled with junk? Is it just a yard sale inside a building? I just have visions of lost baggage filled with dirty laundry and other assorted items I would not wish to touch!

I have read newspaper articles about the place and frankly, some of the reports are just too glowing to believe!

Tell the truth!

t-2-f..."warhouse"....did you mean warehouse? UB is a series of joined buildings and a couple of smaller outbuildings. I guess it's the old "Trash" or "Treasures" conumdrum....it is an every changing collection of what people pack and/or ship on airplanes and for whatever reasons, the items are never delivered. I don't the nuts and bolts of how long airlines are responsible for holding on to "lost or unclaimed" baggage (ask kyshel)....but eventually, a large amount of this collection ends up here in Alabama. I know the place has been around for at least 10 years....since I have visited there several times during that period of time.

If you are an "informed shopper" you can certainly find bargains at substantially reduced prices.....many times, the items have never been used.

I don't out of my way to visit UB....but if I am in the general area, I do make an effort to stop by and see what them have!

Sometimes, you hit the jackpot....in the case of my business partner....he loves the new Nespresso machine I bought for him.....and he knows he has saved a great deal of money over the regual retail price....he even mailed in the registration card for the machine!

omegaet, do you think discussions regarding shopping at Unclaimed Baggage is an appropriate topic for a luxury travel web site? Please don't take my question as reproachful or critical. I just wonder about the luxury aspect.

jsattapr2, thank you for (1) reading my posting on Unclaimed Baggage and (2) inquiring as to whether I felt the topic was appropriate for a luxury travel site.

Unclaimed Baggage (UB)has something of a "cult following" among hardcore shoppers and bargain hunters (I tend to fall into the latter catagory in most buying situations...."retail pricing" is not compatible with my genetic makeup). Many, many news articles and TV snippets have been developed over the years on UB and the thousands of regular shoppers who visit there annually.

Scotsboro, Alabama is not a presently aluxury destination and it unlikely Luxury Link will ever offer a auction package in or near the small rural town.

At this point in the development of this blog, I feel discussing UB and the exceptional price I was able to acquire the Nespresso machine for my business partner is appropriate. And I would further mention UB does not fall intoanother category in a thread which was active for some time PLACE YOU SHOULD NEVER HAVE VISITED:

http://community.luxurylink.com/luxurylink/board/message?board.id=board-general&message.id=4544&query.id=50822#M4544

Please continue to visit this blog and share your thoughts, impressions and reactions to my Fragement Thoughts.

Lastly, feel free to post any comments, critical or otherwise, regarding any item I have already or may discuss in future postings in this blog.


Message Edited by omegaet on 05-20-2008 03:44 PM