Ask MetaFilter questions in the shopping category

Do-do-do-do dooo, ouch goes my ears...

thisjax — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 01:56:26 -0800

Can anyone recommend a good piano tuner near Toronto? There's an upright piano (not too old, probably about 20 years) at my mom's place that hasn't been tuned in about 7 years. Does anyone know of any tuners in the GTA who can make it sound decent again for not too much money? Thanks!

Absorbing sound...as a bunny.

janepanic — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:59:34 -0800

Hello all! I am looking for a particular kind of mask, and I am hoping you can help me find it. I'm looking to get a couple of masks as seen in this Mates of State video:
link!

I've never seen them for sale anywhere, and I'm not sure if they have a special name. I really like the squirrel and the owl, but really I am not picky. I live in Hamilton, so a real-life store in Toronto would be fine. Or somewhere online. Whatevs. Anyone seen these around and know where to get them? Thanks!

What's the coolest thing I can buy for $200?

andreux — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 15:28:41 -0800

What's the coolest thing I can buy for $200? I have $200 to blow. What's the coolest gadget, camera, household item, computer accessory, service, software, etc. that I could buy?

I'll consider just about anything. I have an iPhone and an iMac if that helps.

Where to buy an Asus EEE in SF

demagnetized — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 09:09:00 -0800

Does anyone know anywhere in San Francisco that stocks the linux version of the Asus eee 901 netbook other than Central Computers? Central Comuters don't currently have any in and I would like to get one while I'm here which is only for the next week.

Children's Bento Box?

FunkyHelix — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 10:53:52 -0800

Suggestions for bento box dealers? My son is a fussy eater, and the thermal sack we bought for his school lunches is not going to carry things like peanut butter and jelly crackers well. Someone suggested a bento box, and I've been reading up on them since.

Which on line sites are good places to find relatively cheap children's bento boxes, that also have quick delivery?

What's your favorite bookstore in NYC?

captainscared — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 07:59:17 -0800

I have the week off and want to visit some great bookstores I haven't been to before. What are your favorites in Manhattan and why? Thanks.

How do I know if former library books for sale really are former library books?

jamaro — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 18:26:13 -0800

I have some books I purchased online that are purportedly retired from their originating library's collection. How do I know if they are retired or on the lam? I frequently purchase used books from Amazon Marketplace. The sales description of the book will state it is a former library book (or retired library, ex-library etc) and when the book arrives, sure enough it will bear stickers and stamps common to library books. Usually the books will also be stamped with words to the effect of “Removed from XZY Library collection.” However, this week I received two used books from different vendors which have no such stamp. Further, the description made no mention that the books would be ex-library, and the only modification to the books are the Sharpie scribbles over the library inventory bar code. This makes me nervous because I’d hate to think that some schmucks are fulfilling book orders by ‘shopping’ in the aisles of his or her local library. Checking back through previous purchases, I've found several other suspect books. Short of calling these libraries all over the country, are there any other ways of determining if these books were really retired from collection vs stolen?

None of these books are out of print or otherwise rare. Most are children's picture books.

looking for hand lettered signs in NYC.

abirae — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 21:07:23 -0800

Where can I get hand lettered signs in NYC? I want to get hand lettered signs made for a friend's wedding. Ideally I would like signs like those in old grocery stores and times square tourist shops. Here is a picture I found on flickr.

$6.99 sign

The sign at the bottom of the photo that says $6.99 is the kind of thing I am looking for. I have also seen much more complex ones that use a lot of neon orange and blue.
Where do all of the souvenir shops get them? I have tried asking at the stores, but no one seems to know.

Confession: I really miss the McPizza. Take me back to those glory days!

Keter — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 15:59:07 -0800

Help me, I want to be a corporate guinea pig! A friend of mine is headed to a city known for its preponderance of market testing (Columbus, OH), which got me thinking... are there any sites or blogs that could inform me as to chains undergoing market testing in particular regions of the country? I'd love to sample some of these wacky, soon-to-abandoned products of retail R&D departments everywhere... if only when I visit my friend in a few months. Any ideas as to how I can do this?

Need a new desk chair!

Gideon — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:33:54 -0800

I need a new desk chair. My last desk chair is about 5 years old and on its last legs. It was a rather pricey chair, and I really can't afford that level of expense again. I need a good, ergonomic chair for around $200. So here's the nitty gritty.

I'm a big guy, so I need a chair that can both accommodate and not break under it.

I've also had some problems with sciatica so I'd like something that's a bit ergonomic.

Otherwise, my only other requirements are that it has wheels, arm wrests, and can lock into a "straight back" position as well as leaning back.

Thanks!

I made an involuntary donation for the sake of art

Wavelet — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:15:44 -0800

My favorite web comic took my money, didn't send the T-shirt...I feel robbed! And torn! But also robbed! Ugh. I ordered a t-shirt and hoody from my absolute all time favorite web comic (a long running internet institution and a favorite of many Mefites as well) on June 27th. I got sent the hoody in late July, but no T-shirt. After three emails to orders at myfavoritestwebcomic.com which elicited no reply, I finally (reluctantly) decided to file a dispute with Paypal. Alas, given all the time I gave myfavoritestwebcomic guy to respond, I am now outside the statute of limitations as far as filing a Paypal dispute goes. I get: "This dispute closed because it was opened for more than 45 days after the transaction date or did not meet other filing criteria."

So, now I'm torn. This is my favorite web comic. Did I mention this? I've ordered things from them in years past without issue. I also know that myfavoritestwebcomic has received a great deal of mainstream critical acclaim in the past year, and is probably doing a much larger volume of online retailing, while still handling orders processing personally. So, should I cut the dude some slack and treat this as a 22.50 donation (and make a mental note to never handle anything through Paypal again)? Or should I make a more strenuous effort to recover the cash (how)?

Again, if this were a big box retailer, I would be making a fuss, but since this was an effort to support a favorite artist, I'm just not sure what the protocol should be.

Where to buy electronic components near Philly?

potch — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 16:20:36 -0800

Anyone know of any non-Radio-Shack retail outlets for electronic components near Philadelphia? I know there are tons of online outlets, but I'm looking for a brick and mortar supplier, and I need more variety than Radio Shack can offer.

Wanted: Companion Point and Shoot

warble — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 09:39:33 -0800

I'm looking for a companion point and shoot camera to my much-loved SLR. I'm looking for a camera with a super simple (even dumbed down) interface, a small size so I can keep it in my purse at all times, the ability to easily shoot short movies (very important!), and as cheap as possible. What I don't care about: photo quality. Any suggestions?

Boston area laptop bag store?

genefinder — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 07:24:24 -0800

I need a durable waterproof laptop bag for under $100, and I need to buy it in the Boston area today. My son is off to college, and for some reason we haven't had the chance to go laptop bag shopping yet. No time to order online plus he would rather see it before we buy one. I would like to go with him today and buy one in the Boston area (preferably north of Boston rather than the city if that is possible).

He wants a messenger style, and it will need to be durable as he is a well known destroyer of bags. It needs to hold a Dell Latitude D630 and a selection of textbooks (one or two at a time I guess). It would be great if it was waterproof to withstand the New England weather. And hopefully around $100, but i would be willing to invest more for one that will last.

So does anyone know of a good brick and mortar we should go check out later? I'll check back if anyone needs more information to help out.

Engraved gift for 11-year-old girl?

i_am_a_fiesta — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 09:52:47 -0800

I am looking for a small I'm-going-away/she's-starting-middle-school gift for my 11-year-old sister. I'm hoping to spend <$30, and I prefer something that can be engraved, but preferably not jewelry. Anything that means "I'll miss you" or "congratulations on starting to grow up"? Any keepsake you would have loved at 11?

Zafu shopping in Toronto

mendel — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 20:56:47 -0800

I'd like to get a zafu and zabuton^[?] for meditation, but I'd like to actually sit on a couple to find out what I find comfortable. Where can I try out and buy a zafu and zabuton, in person, in or near Toronto?

My Google-fu only works in English.

pluckemin — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 09:02:00 -0800

Where can I get a poster of Moritz von Schwind's Katzensymphonie? I really want to get my mom a poster/print of this for her birthday. I know it must exist somewhere because my boyfriend's family has a copy hanging in their house, but all of my Internet searching has proved fruitless. When I search for "Katzensymphonie," a vast majority of the results are in German, and they don't seem to be selling anything (I don't speak German, so I could be wrong). Am I missing something? Is there an alternative title for the work? Someone I can contact at some Austrian museum? I'll happily order from overseas if that's the only way to get the print.

Looking for a wallet card - if it exists, help me find it.

rmm — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 08:48:09 -0800

Medical wallet card summary thing - is there one? Hi folks,

Looking for a handy medical wallet card summary thingy for a family member with a lot of medications - something small enough to fit into a purse (doesn't have to be wallet sized). I'm aware of the Pocket Doc , which is great but doesn't have much space to write lots of medications down, and I want to put a list of her doctors as well.

Anyone aware of a product I can buy, or a template online that I can fill out I can whip one up in Illustrator?

Thanks! My Googlefu failed me and needs some coffee apparently.

Where Are the Roses in the Rose City?

slowfasthazel — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 22:28:45 -0800

Where can I buy a whole lot of roses in Portland, OR? Or online? I am going to need a lot of roses soon, like 300 stems. I would love to be able to buy them in bulk locally. The wholesalers I've found so far only sell to licensed florists and florists seem pretty interested in selling arranged flowers. Any recommendations for places that would like to sell me a whole lot of roses at a good price? Are there secret u-cut rose farms? Farmer's markets? Wholesalers that sell to the public? Right now I am thinking of just ordering them through a local grocery store.

And, since I may not find what I want locally, I'm also interested in recommendations for places to buy bulk roses online (and finding out how that experience went for you).

Thanks!

Why the hard sell on REI memberships?

grouse — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 19:54:33 -0800

Why do REI employees always push membership so hard? I feel like I get the hard sell for membership from multiple employees every time I walk into REI, which is strange, because they never seem to give me the hard-sell for anything else. Is there a quota or reward for getting people to sign up as new members? Is it just something they're directed to do by management?

Please do not speculate. Someone here has to either have worked for REI or know someone who has that they can ask.

Where in the tubes can I find a quality pinata, fast?

willie11 — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 19:39:36 -0800

I need a pinata before Saturday, where in the tubes does one order such a thing and how do I tell a good pinata from a bad one? Any fun ideas for fillings? Additional creative queries inside. This will be for a big kids party.

A pre-democratic convention party to be specific. I was thinking a classic donkey pinata would be appropriate. But any fun ideas relating to democratic politics would be welcome as well.

Should I worry about drunken campaign staff wolloping my pinata at first bat (should I be worrying more about them wolloping me inadvertently)? I want this puppy to withstand a few swings in an ideal circumstance.

Thanks hive mind. I'll send pictures once it's over.

Audiobook rentals

schoenbc — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 13:01:06 -0800

What Netflix-like service do you use to rent audiobooks on CD? I've decided that, although I am (of course) interested in our electoral process, I am already tired of hearing about it during my hour long commute to and from work. So, I've decided to start listening to books on CD, but would like to rent, as opposed to own. (My local public library does not have a very inspiring collection of books on CD).

What Netflix-like service have you/do you use and/or recommend?

How to pass the time during hysterectomy recovery?

Mael Oui — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 21:03:18 -0800

I just discovered that a family member has cancer. She'll be having a hysterectomy within the next month. She was wondering how she would pass the time during post-operation recovery. I wanted to send her a package filled with stuff she could work on during that time, but I'm not sure what would be appropriate for her recovery (how she'll be feeling). So far, we've thought of sudokus. She likes crafts, but I don't think she knits or does any other sort of needlecraft. Can you help me think of something? Would an Amazon giftcard be better? Is there anything that would be especially helpful in a care package for this situation? Or, would it be better to just send flowers? I want to send something, but I just can't think.. Sorry that this is badly written, but I just can't pose the question any better right now. Thank you very very much for any ideas.

i got $10 burnin a hole...

mistsandrain — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 10:38:39 -0800

Where are the best dollar stores (widest selection/ best housewares/ best toys-that-don't-fall-apart-when-touched/ weirdest other stuff) either in the Washington metro area or on-line?

Where to buy a roadtrip bag in L.A.?

drjimmy11 — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 21:26:14 -0800

Where can I buy a cool piece of luggage in Los Angeles tomorrow (Sunday)? Looking for more of a bag than a solid suitcase. Big enough to throw a few days clothes and other junk in for the roadtrip I'm leaving on Monday morning.

Lame terms though they may be, "indie" and "hipster" kind of sum up my style. I'd prefer something more vintage/cool and less corporate/plain black or brown looking.

Would be nice if it would last a while. Eastside is better than westside, but I'm willing to drive. Price is not an object, within reason. Prompt responses are appreciated. Thanks!