Of Macy and LCD TVs

LG Model No. 32LH25R

Photo credit from Macy's official website.

OMG, I soooo love Macy. You can see my apparent love for Macy from my dedicated post in my blog about my haul in their latest warehouse clearance sale.

Well now I love them even more. After enjoying the great bargains and free delivery, they just called me to tell me that I am the Grand Prize winner for their "Write A Review to win an LG 32" LCD TV" contest.

Now, how grand is that????

Absolutely worth it, spend a few hours writing about something I like most - Shopping! And in return I get a TV? Now, even the saman I received from going through a no entry sign driving home from the Macy's Warehouse Sale feels like peanuts compared to this. The telephone conversation between me and the Macy's guy who broke the news to me sounded something like this:

Me: Yes?

Macy: Is this Liz?

Me: Yup.

Macy: My name is (something inaudible).

Me: And you are calling from?? (dgn suara pissed off because I absolutely detest telemarketers)

Macy: Macy

Me: What?

Macy: Macy!

Me: Oookkaayyy...???

Macy: Do you know why I am calling you?

Me: I hope I know why you are calling me!

Macy: Why do you think I am calling you?

Me: Because I won a prize?

Macy: Yup, you won a prize. But do you know what prize?

Me: I hope its the LCD TV!

Macy: Yup, you are our grand prize winner for the LCD TV. Our boss loved your writing.

Me: You're not kidding?

Macy: Nope! We had about 50 entries, shortlisted it to 20 and you won.

Me: OMG you just made my day, man!!! (and more words with a lot of exclamation marks behind it)

So there you have it. I won. My unlucky streak has ended. Gone are the days where I am unable to win even the simplest contests and lucky draws. *very happy*

Anyway, they're posting the winning entries on Facebook by this afternoon, but enjoy reading my review here, while I twiddle my thumbs patiently for Tuesday to come so I can pick up my brand new LCD TV!

Updated: Check out the list of winners (and their winning entries) at http://www.macyhomefurnishings.com/clearance/contest.html

P.S: Noris, apologies for using your picture as part of my entry, without giving you a head's up first. Jom, lunch on me tomorrow! *grin*

I was hoping for a pleasant day for the start of the Macy’s warehouse sale, and God answered my prayers in abundance. It started off bright and sunny. As I walked from my car to the block of lots Macy’s had converted into their sales area, I was greeted by the security guard trafficking cars into the nearly congested Minlon Industrial Park. Judging from his mood, I could gauge that he was in high spirits, meaning that he isn’t yet stressed out by the number of cars inching bumper to bumper, hoping to get a parking spot close to the sale galore. After wishing him well, I could hear the deejay cheering the energetic bargain hunters, so I walked quickly towards the sale. After all, a few seconds could make a lot of difference between getting that great bargain or letting someone else haul the loot!

Stepping foot at the sale, I stood mesmerized at the scene and took it all in. I felt like a kid in a candy store! Colorful banners with the words “SALE” and “DISCOUNT” practically shouted at me, and a bevy of Macy’s salespeople clad in red were busy processing sales from the lucky few who had arrived earlier than me.

And the sale stood true to its claim, as being a sale not to be missed. Everything was going at unbelievable prices. I passed the first few halls and went straight to the Furniture hall. It was the fastest transaction I had ever made in my whole life. I purchased a sofa bed for RM399, mattress for RM570, throw pillows for RM20 each, bar stools for RM175 each and a variety of table lamps and stand lamps, each within RM50 – RM110 each! In any other sale, it would have been ten times more expensive than this! I even saved on delivery costs, as I was one of the first 50 who RSVPed for the event through Facebook, qualifying me for a free delivery!

Unfortunately, I missed out on a pair of fine-looking solid wood bookcases, which were snapped up by a lucky patron for only RM145 each. I looked wistfully, as the Macy packers started wrapping up the beauties – thinking that I should arrive earlier for next year’s sale!

Out of all the halls, the Home Accessories hall was the most jam-packed. At lunch, they even had to cordon off the area to reduce the number of people scrambling to get those oh-so-cheap curtains, vases and adorable trinkets for the house. I didn’t want to miss out, so I dived in, and managed to grab a few beautiful odd sized curtains. Even though they were odd sized – the fabric and the stitching quality made it all worth it. And they were going for only RM45 a pair! At the far end of the hall, they were selling glass vases at 70% off, so I purchased a modern looking slanted vase for only RM27. Funny that the artificial orchids were actually more expensive than the vase – three stalks for RM50!

In the afternoon, at the Sofa hall, the sofa auction kicked off. I had earlier purchased a sofa bed, and wasn’t planning on purchasing any more. Like any other avid shoppers, I wanted to witness the event. However, when they introduced a stunning deep red maroon 2-seater sofa, auctioned off from its original price of RM2300 to RM500, my sudden reflex at the shock of the sale, made my hand shoot up! After a bit of a bid war with some of the other sporting patrons, the sofa was finally made mine. I ran my hand over the velvet structure of the sofa, admiring my purchase. Suddenly, I realized in a start, that unconsciously I was grinning from ear to ear!

2 hours shy from the closing time it started raining cats and dogs. God must have concluded that enough was enough - all of us have single-handedly revived the Malaysian economy! But rain did not deter the ardent shoppers (including myself) from buying. Thankfully, I had just made my third trip to the car to transfer my loot. This fourth round, I was targeting for some bed sheets and pillows, to go with my new mattress. Who would even expect that those comfy bed pillows would be sold at as low as RM23 a piece? I paid for my purchase and lugged 8 pieces of those pillows back to the car. My gym trainer would be so proud of me. I am weight training without even being told to do so!

I even started shopping for my son’s first birthday (though he only turned 7 months the day before). I grabbed more than 10 packs of colourful Happy Birthday printed paper plates, going for a ridiculous price of RM3 each. And lots of Happy Birthday balloons. Macy’s just made my baby’s day!

Half an hour before the close of the great Macy’s sale, the last of the shoppers gradually started to head for home. Despite their light wallets, most of them had a car-full of purchases to show for. I walked towards my car, satisfied with my bargains. By then, nearly half of the Macy’s staff knew me by name and bade me goodbye.

I am now hooked. I am forever a Macy’s fan.