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While visiting friends in Waterloo this weekend, I stopped by Bricks and Blocks
in St. Jacob's Mall and was suprised to find Pick A Brick in Canada and at a
store that is not owned by LEGO.
http://www.elecbrick.com/lego/bnb/
For comparison, a large Canadian PAB bag is $9.00 and holds almost as much as a
small $7.60 US PAB cup (this one came from Solomon Pond.)
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In lugnet.market.shopping, Doug Eaton wrote:
> While visiting friends in Waterloo this weekend, I stopped by Bricks and Blocks
> in St. Jacob's Mall and was suprised to find Pick A Brick in Canada and at a
> store that is not owned by LEGO.
>
> http://www.elecbrick.com/lego/bnb/
>
> For comparison, a large Canadian PAB bag is $9.00 and holds almost as much as a
> small $7.60 US PAB cup (this one came from Solomon Pond.)
Hello Doug,
Happy to learn that we have a PAB in the great white north. Do you have the list
of parts at the store? Is the only choice are the picture you took? It look
limited but a start.
thanks,
Martin
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In lugnet.market.shopping, Doug Eaton wrote:
> While visiting friends in Waterloo this weekend, I stopped by Bricks and Blocks
> in St. Jacob's Mall and was suprised to find Pick A Brick in Canada and at a
> store that is not owned by LEGO.
>
> http://www.elecbrick.com/lego/bnb/
>
> For comparison, a large Canadian PAB bag is $9.00 and holds almost as much as a
> small $7.60 US PAB cup (this one came from Solomon Pond.)
Doug,
Thank you very much for posting this. I live only about 35 minutes from Bricks
and Blocks, so this is very good news.
This must be very new for them. I was just there on August 15 and there was no
sign of it then.
I had spoken with the staff a couple of months before that and they talked as
though they might be getting one "some day". But it looks like some day is now.
:)
It's interesting that it's not a wall like the company owned stores, but I guess
it's more of a rack... based on your pictures. I'm guessing that was much
easier to install.
Thanks again for this great news, and the pics as well.
Best regards,
Allan B.
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"Doug Eaton" <doug@ElecBrick.com> wrote in message
news:I3MrH0.1pt4@lugnet.com...
> While visiting friends in Waterloo this weekend, I stopped by Bricks and Blocks
> in St. Jacob's Mall and was suprised to find Pick A Brick in Canada and at a
> store that is not owned by LEGO.
>
> http://www.elecbrick.com/lego/bnb/
>
> For comparison, a large Canadian PAB bag is $9.00 and holds almost as much as a
> small $7.60 US PAB cup (this one came from Solomon Pond.)
This looks just like the system used at the LEGO Outlet in Denver. I had a
chance to stop by the Denver Outlet about three weeks ago and they had about
a dozen different elements which you purchased by the bag. IMHO, the bag
was a better deal than the plastic cups are. The only thing I bought was
2x6 light yellow bricks.
Mike
--
Mike Walsh - mike_walsh at mindspring.com
http://www.ncltc.cc - North Carolina LEGO Train Club
http://www.carolinatrainbuilders.com - Carolina Train Builders
http://www.bricklink.com/store.asp?p=mpw - CTB/Brick Depot
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In lugnet.market.shopping, Martin Legault wrote:
> In lugnet.market.shopping, Doug Eaton wrote:
> > While visiting friends in Waterloo this weekend, I stopped by Bricks and Blocks
> > in St. Jacob's Mall and was suprised to find Pick A Brick in Canada and at a
> > store that is not owned by LEGO.
> >
> > http://www.elecbrick.com/lego/bnb/
> >
> > For comparison, a large Canadian PAB bag is $9.00 and holds almost as much as a
> > small $7.60 US PAB cup (this one came from Solomon Pond.)
>
> Hello Doug,
>
> Happy to learn that we have a PAB in the great white north. Do you have the list
> of parts at the store? Is the only choice are the picture you took? It look
> limited but a start.
Martin,
I'll let doug confirm, but from what I can see in his pictures I think he
captured every one of the buckets on the rack. Keep in mind, in some of the
buckets they mix together 2 or 3 different shapes/sizes of the same colored
element. For example, the 1x4 red plates are mixed together with the 2x8 red
plates. Several of the buckets are like this.
And in case anyone is wondering, yes the light grey is the new grey.
I called the store at 3:45 today and found out they were open until 5:00. So I
drove in to take a look for myself.
Initially I figured I'd fill the larger bags, thinking that would be the best
deal. But when I got there, it appeared (at least to my eyes) that the large
bags aren't really that much larger than the small ones. I would guess no more
than 25% larger. (Maybe someone else has a better take on how much bigger they
really are.) But where the small bags cost $5.99 each (before tax) the large are
$9.99. So I ended up filling two small bags.
Here are the bags packed, sitting next to a 1x8 shown for scale:
http://www.apotome.com/lego/bags.jpg
Here are the bags unpacked and sorted:
http://www.apotome.com/lego/bag1.jpg
http://www.apotome.com/lego/bag2.jpg
Bag #1 ended up with 131 pieces or about 4.6 cents per part.
Bag #2 ended up with 98 pieces or about 6.1 cents per part.
The first bag had a few smaller elements and I managed to cram it with nearly 60
black offset plates. It was getting very near closing time when I was finishing
up the second bag so it wasn't as well packed.
According to the staff, that is the size of the rack for now. They are testing
it to see how it goes. Although in just the 30 minutes I was there I heard at
least 3 other customers say, "wow, look at that" and saw two or three other
people packing bags. I can't imagine this won't do well for them.
Doug, thanks again for the heads-up! What a great way to finish off the holiday
weekend. :)
Best regards,
Allan B.
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Hi Allan,
> Initially I figured I'd fill the larger bags, thinking that would be the best
> deal. But when I got there, it appeared (at least to my eyes) that the large
> bags aren't really that much larger than the small ones. I would guess no more
> than 25% larger. (Maybe someone else has a better take on how much bigger they
> really are.) But where the small bags cost $5.99 each (before tax) the large are
> $9.99. So I ended up filling two small bags.
Too bad I have to spent about 3 minutes finding the way, being my first time in
Waterloo.
Next time I will know to go for the small bags. Thanks.
> least 3 other customers say, "wow, look at that" and saw two or three other
> people packing bags. I can't imagine this won't do well for them.
I was there (in a pig tee :-) too around most of the 4pm filling up one large
bag. Did you see me?
> Doug, thanks again for the heads-up! What a great way to finish off the holiday
> weekend. :)
Next is to check if their Cookstown location have this same thing.
> Best regards,
> Allan B.
Cheers
Keith
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In lugnet.market.shopping, Keith Hui wrote:
> Hi Allan,
>
> > Initially I figured I'd fill the larger bags, thinking that would be the best
> > deal. But when I got there, it appeared (at least to my eyes) that the large
> > bags aren't really that much larger than the small ones. I would guess no more
> > than 25% larger. (Maybe someone else has a better take on how much bigger they
> > really are.) But where the small bags cost $5.99 each (before tax) the large are
> > $9.99. So I ended up filling two small bags.
>
>
> Too bad I have to spent about 3 minutes finding the way, being my first time in
> Waterloo.
>
> Next time I will know to go for the small bags. Thanks.
Well, that's just my feeling, but it was based on a very quick comparison. I'd
be interested to hear from someone who packed one of each, to see whether or not
the large bag can hold $4 worth more than the small.
> > least 3 other customers say, "wow, look at that" and saw two or three other
> > people packing bags. I can't imagine this won't do well for them.
>
>
> I was there (in a pig tee :-) too around most of the 4pm filling up one large
> bag. Did you see me?
I don't think so. :(
I arrived around 4:30 and went immediately into a Pick-a-Brick zone out... my
own mother could have been standing next to me and I probably wouldn't have
noticed. ;)
> Next is to check if their Cookstown location have this same thing.
Yes, it will be interesting to know if it's there and/or at their Windsor
outlet.
Best regards,
Allan B.
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On Mon, Sep 06, 2004 at 10:45:15PM +0000, Allan Bedford wrote:
> In lugnet.market.shopping, Martin Legault wrote:
> > In lugnet.market.shopping, Doug Eaton wrote:
> > > While visiting friends in Waterloo this weekend, I stopped by Bricks and Blocks
> > > in St. Jacob's Mall and was surprised to find Pick A Brick in Canada and at a
> > > store that is not owned by LEGO.
> > >
> > > http://www.elecbrick.com/lego/bnb/
> >
> > Happy to learn that we have a PAB in the great white north. Do you have the list
> > of parts at the store? Is the only choice are the picture you took? It look
> > limited but a start.
>
> I'll let Doug confirm, but from what I can see in his pictures I think he
> captured every one of the buckets on the rack. Keep in mind, in some of the
> buckets they mix together 2 or 3 different shapes/sizes of the same colored
> element. For example, the 1x4 red plates are mixed together with the 2x8 red
> plates. Several of the buckets are like this.
Those are all the buckets. The tree has 32 of them. Unfortunately,
someone walked in front of the one picture I took of it.
I was thinking of getting one of everything for the inventory but
decided to take pictures instead. The red slopes and black greebles may
have a few more pieces than I can identify in the photos. These pieces
are present:
6249 Red Brick 2 x 4 with Pins
6248 Red Wheel Freestyle
3483 Black Tyre Small
30285 White Wheel 30.4 x 14
x436 Black Tyre 24 x 14 with Shallow Staggered Treads
6232 Red Brick 2 x 2 with Pin and Axlehole
6249 MdStone Brick 2 x 4 with Pins
3003 DkPink Brick 2 x 2
3004 Teal Brick 1 x 2
3001 Teal Brick 2 x 4
3003 Purple Brick 2 x 2
33303 White Fence 1 x 4 x 2 Picket
3298 Red Slope Brick 33 3 x 2
3660 Red Slope Brick 45 2 x 2 Inverted
3040 Red Slope Brick 45 2 x 1
3037 Red Slope Brick 45 2 x 4
3004 Red Brick 1 x 2
3001 Red Brick 2 x 4
3710 Red Plate 1 x 4
3034 Red Plate 2 x 8
3003 TrBlue Brick 2 x 2
3010 MdBlue Brick 1 x 4
3001 MdBlue Brick 2 x 4
3001 Blue Brick 2 x 4
3710 SandBlue Plate 1 x 4
3001 Black Brick 2 x 4
3894 Black Technic Brick 1 x 6 with Holes
3794 Black Plate 1 x 2 with 1 Stud
3710 Black Plate 1 x 4
3185 Black Fence 1 x 4 x 2
2429 Black Hinge Plate 1 x 4 Base
2430 Black Hinge Plate 1 x 4 Top
3003 TrRed Brick 2 x 2
3001 LtYellow Brick 2 x 4
600 White Door 1 x 6 x 6 Freestyle
6235 Red Door 2 x 6 x 6 Frame Freestyle
3001 Yellow Brick 2 x 4
3001 White Brick 2 x 4
3001 MdStone Brick 2 x 4
3007 MdStone Brick 2 x 8
3010 MdStone Brick 1 x 4
3035 MdStone Plate 4 x 8
3004 Lime Brick 1 x 2
3001 Lime Brick 2 x 4
3020 Green Plate 2 x 4
3003 TrGreen Brick 2 x 2
3471 Green Plant Tree Pine 4 x 4 x 6 & 2/3
> And in case anyone is wondering, yes the light grey is the new grey.
I did not select any gray myself but some helpers added pieces for me.
> Doug, thanks again for the heads-up! What a great way to finish off the holiday
> weekend. :)
You are welcome. I was not expecting to find PAB while I was out this
weekend. Then again, I live 3 miles from Solomon Pond so I PAB on a
weekly (sometimes daily) basis.
Some hints for those who live near PAB locations:
1) Get to know the manager. The parts I saw are a subset of those
available to the brand retail stores. The managers of these stores will
likely be able to chose the parts they stock in the same way the
managers at the brand retail stores do.
2) The store manager chooses the parts to stock based on how well they
move. My opinion is now solicited when new parts become available as I
do a fair job in assessing and assisting these movements. Buy a lot
(frequently, not just in sporadic bursts although the bursts never hurt
your reputation) so the manager gets to know your face, then your name,
then your family. Then your opinion will be valued.
3) Once you have rapport with the manager, ask what parts are in the back
room. At Solomon Pond, about half the parts in the store are on the
wall. Another 20 unique parts are in the back room as there are not
enough bins on the wall.
4) Watch the brand retail PAB postings since any pieces available there
will likely be available to your store. I offer to buy one quarter of a
case if my store will order one. They try their hardest to find a box
for me. Your requests will likely be honored if they know a good chunk
of the investment will have a guaranteed quick sell-off.
Happy PABing.
PAB Master Doug
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In lugnet.market.shopping, Doug Eaton wrote:
> While visiting friends in Waterloo this weekend, I stopped by Bricks and Blocks
> in St. Jacob's Mall and was suprised to find Pick A Brick in Canada and at a
> store that is not owned by LEGO.
>
> http://www.elecbrick.com/lego/bnb/
>
> For comparison, a large Canadian PAB bag is $9.00 and holds almost as much as a
> small $7.60 US PAB cup (this one came from Solomon Pond.)
This look like the same bucket tree used at Discover Mills. The bags there go
for I think 6.99 USD and seem to hold about the same, or maybe a trifle more,
than a large PAB cup.
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In lugnet.market.shopping, Doug Eaton wrote:
> While visiting friends in Waterloo this weekend, I stopped by Bricks and Blocks
> in St. Jacob's Mall and was suprised to find Pick A Brick in Canada and at a
> store that is not owned by LEGO.
>
> http://www.elecbrick.com/lego/bnb/
>
> For comparison, a large Canadian PAB bag is $9.00 and holds almost as much as a
> small $7.60 US PAB cup (this one came from Solomon Pond.)
This is cool. Finally Pick-A-Brick has come to Canada.
Now I'm kicking myself for not taking my wife up on the offer to swing by
St. Jacob's on the way back from Marineland the previous weekend. D'oh!
How much did you pick up?
Play well.
Tim Strutt
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In lugnet.market.shopping, Doug Eaton wrote:
> While visiting friends in Waterloo this weekend, I stopped by Bricks and Blocks
> in St. Jacob's Mall and was suprised to find Pick A Brick in Canada and at a
> store that is not owned by LEGO.
>
> http://www.elecbrick.com/lego/bnb/
>
> For comparison, a large Canadian PAB bag is $9.00 and holds almost as much as a
> small $7.60 US PAB cup (this one came from Solomon Pond.)
That's neat - glad to hear they pulled off a PAB selection there.
Do they hold you to the policy of not stacking bricks?
http://www.elecbrick.com/lego/bnb/pab_rules.jpg
Otherwise, there's a lot of wasted space in the bag...
Ed
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Replying to several related messages...
On Tue, Sep 07, 2004 at 11:51:44AM +0000, Tim Strutt wrote:
> In lugnet.market.shopping, Doug Eaton wrote:
> > While visiting friends in Waterloo this weekend, I stopped by Bricks and Blocks
> > in St. Jacob's Mall and was surprised to find Pick A Brick in Canada and at a
> > store that is not owned by LEGO.
> >
> > http://www.elecbrick.com/lego/bnb/
> >
> > For comparison, a large Canadian PAB bag is $9.00 and holds almost as much as a
> > small $7.60 US PAB cup (this one came from Solomon Pond.)
Are the Discovery Mills ones really filled with as much as a large PAB
cup for the price of a small? That size seems to be the same as the
grab bags the stores fill with returned pieces. The store policy at
Burlington and Solomon Pond brand retail locations is to fill a small
PAB container with pieces then put those pieces into the grab bag and
seal it. Most bags have about half of what I would stuff into them.
I have no idea if the "do not stack bricks" rule is enforced. I did not
test that point. At the very least, this is a far cry from the
Massachusetts philosophy of "cram as much as you can into the cup and if
the lid kind of touches, its good." If the lid snaps shut, I have heard
the staff tell customers to put more in. My rule of thumb is stacking
bricks allows 40% more material for bricks. Plates do even better.
> This is cool. Finally Pick-A-Brick has come to Canada.
> Now I'm kicking myself for not taking my wife up on the offer to swing by
> St. Jacob's on the way back from Marineland the previous weekend. D'oh!
> How much did you pick up?
I only picked up the single large bag. Most of it was black jumper
plates and hinges. My wife actually filled most of the bag for me. She
rooted around in the buckets looking for those pieces for me. She is
trying to become a LSO.
Doug
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In lugnet.market.shopping, Doug Eaton wrote:
> Are the Discovery Mills ones really filled with as much as a large PAB
> cup for the price of a small?
Scott L. told me they were. I have to check when I get home but the bags are a
lot bigger than the grab bag bags I've seen before.
Volumetrically the bag, which is much longer than it is wide, when stuffed,
resembles a cylinder or lozenge that is about the same diameter as a large PAB
cup and about the same height (from memory) so it seems plausible enough to me.
For reference, (if you've been to Billund or elsewhere in Europe where LEGO is
sold by weight) the bag itself is the "small" whitish with a regular pattern of
clear circles bag rather than the large one, which holds a lot more. That one
(working from memory) is at least a 10" square bag
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In lugnet.market.shopping, Doug Eaton wrote:
> While visiting friends in Waterloo this weekend, I stopped by Bricks and Blocks
> in St. Jacob's Mall and was suprised to find Pick A Brick in Canada and at a
> store that is not owned by LEGO.
>
> http://www.elecbrick.com/lego/bnb/
>
> For comparison, a large Canadian PAB bag is $9.00 and holds almost as much as a
> small $7.60 US PAB cup (this one came from Solomon Pond.)
Heads up on "Pick a Brick".
For those of you that don't know, all three Bricks and Blocks in Ontario (St.
Jacobs, Windsor and Cookstown) are owned by the same owner.
I have been told (by the Cookstown Store) that the Pick a Brick, in St Jacobs is
a test project, and if it goes well, then the other two stores should get it as
well.
So I guess it's really up to us to make it a success, happy buying, and
building!!!
Janey "Red Brick"
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In lugnet.market.shopping, C. L. GunningCook wrote:
> In lugnet.market.shopping, Doug Eaton wrote:
> > While visiting friends in Waterloo this weekend, I stopped by Bricks and Blocks
> > in St. Jacob's Mall and was suprised to find Pick A Brick in Canada and at a
> > store that is not owned by LEGO.
> >
> > http://www.elecbrick.com/lego/bnb/
> >
> > For comparison, a large Canadian PAB bag is $9.00 and holds almost as much as a
> > small $7.60 US PAB cup (this one came from Solomon Pond.)
>
> Heads up on "Pick a Brick".
>
> For those of you that don't know, all three Bricks and Blocks in Ontario (St.
> Jacobs, Windsor and Cookstown) are owned by the same owner.
>
> I have been told (by the Cookstown Store) that the Pick a Brick, in St Jacobs is
> a test project, and if it goes well, then the other two stores should get it as
> well.
>
> So I guess it's really up to us to make it a success, happy buying, and
> building!!!
I agree. I hope those within driving range will at least drop by at some point
to see it and tell the store how interested they are to see the feature added.
For those of you who've never been to St. Jacob's this is a great time to make
the trip. The store is in an outlet mall, so if you're bringing someone who's
not into LEGO rest assured they will have lots of other shopping they can do.
:)
I also emailed the store at:
waterloo@bricksandblocksoutlet.com
To let them know I'd been in and spent some money on the Pick-A-Brick rack. Not
sure it it will help them turn this from test into a standard feature, but I
figured it couldn't hurt.
Best regards,
Allan B.
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In lugnet.market.shopping, Doug Eaton wrote:
> While visiting friends in Waterloo this weekend, I stopped by Bricks and Blocks
> in St. Jacob's Mall and was suprised to find Pick A Brick in Canada and at a
> store that is not owned by LEGO.
>
> http://www.elecbrick.com/lego/bnb/
I dropped by the store today to see if anything had changed with the Pick A
Brick rack. Good news... the rack seemed to be continuing to draw interest from
a number of shoppers. Bad news... there are no new elements from the original
selection. However, more good news... they are actually sold out of a couple of
elements (the 2x4 bricks with wheels attached and the 1x4 white picket fences).
The staff member I spoke to indicated the 'test' seemed to be going well. So
hopefully this is a good sign (strong interest, good sales) that it will at
least continue, if not expand.
For the curious... the small bag I packed this time ended up with 158 elements
in it. Or, about 3.8 cents each (before tax).
Best regards,
Allan B.
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In lugnet.market.shopping, Ed McGlynn wrote:
> In lugnet.market.shopping, Doug Eaton wrote:
> > While visiting friends in Waterloo this weekend, I stopped by Bricks and Blocks
> > in St. Jacob's Mall and was suprised to find Pick A Brick in Canada and at a
> > store that is not owned by LEGO.
> >
> > http://www.elecbrick.com/lego/bnb/
> >
> > For comparison, a large Canadian PAB bag is $9.00 and holds almost as much as a
> > small $7.60 US PAB cup (this one came from Solomon Pond.)
>
> That's neat - glad to hear they pulled off a PAB selection there.
>
> Do they hold you to the policy of not stacking bricks?
> http://www.elecbrick.com/lego/bnb/pab_rules.jpg
> Otherwise, there's a lot of wasted space in the bag...
This seems silly to me. PAB is already a steal for the seller, wonder why
they're being snarky with the rules. Most people fill it in loose, what's wrong
with AFOLs stacking? We're just 5% of the market, remember? ;-)
-Tim
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In lugnet.market.shopping, Allan Bedford wrote:
> In lugnet.market.shopping, Doug Eaton wrote:
> > While visiting friends in Waterloo this weekend, I stopped by Bricks and Blocks
> > in St. Jacob's Mall and was suprised to find Pick A Brick in Canada and at a
> > store that is not owned by LEGO.
> >
> > http://www.elecbrick.com/lego/bnb/
>
> I dropped by the store today to see if anything had changed with the Pick A
> Brick rack. Good news... the rack seemed to be continuing to draw interest from
> a number of shoppers. Bad news... there are no new elements from the original
> selection. However, more good news... they are actually sold out of a couple of
> elements (the 2x4 bricks with wheels attached and the 1x4 white picket fences).
> The staff member I spoke to indicated the 'test' seemed to be going well. So
> hopefully this is a good sign (strong interest, good sales) that it will at
> least continue, if not expand.
>
> For the curious... the small bag I packed this time ended up with 158 elements
> in it. Or, about 3.8 cents each (before tax).
>
> Best regards,
> Allan B.
Hmm -- Allan, I tried responding to the email you sent me and it bounced back.
Both email@ and allanbedford@. Just thought you'd like to know...
-Tim
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In lugnet.market.shopping, Tim Courtney wrote:
> In lugnet.market.shopping, Allan Bedford wrote:
> > In lugnet.market.shopping, Doug Eaton wrote:
> > > While visiting friends in Waterloo this weekend, I stopped by Bricks and Blocks
> > > in St. Jacob's Mall and was suprised to find Pick A Brick in Canada and at a
> > > store that is not owned by LEGO.
> > >
> > > http://www.elecbrick.com/lego/bnb/
> >
> > I dropped by the store today to see if anything had changed with the Pick A
> > Brick rack. Good news... the rack seemed to be continuing to draw interest from
> > a number of shoppers. Bad news... there are no new elements from the original
> > selection. However, more good news... they are actually sold out of a couple of
> > elements (the 2x4 bricks with wheels attached and the 1x4 white picket fences).
> > The staff member I spoke to indicated the 'test' seemed to be going well. So
> > hopefully this is a good sign (strong interest, good sales) that it will at
> > least continue, if not expand.
> >
> > For the curious... the small bag I packed this time ended up with 158 elements
> > in it. Or, about 3.8 cents each (before tax).
> >
> > Best regards,
> > Allan B.
>
> Hmm -- Allan, I tried responding to the email you sent me and it bounced back.
> Both email@ and allanbedford@. Just thought you'd like to know...
Tim,
Thanks for the heads-up. That's pretty strange. Both should work. Plus, I've
gotten other emails, as recently as this morning. Let me try from an alternate
address, we'll see if that works.
Thanks again,
Allan
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In lugnet.market.shopping, Allan Bedford wrote:
> In lugnet.market.shopping, Tim Courtney wrote:
> > Hmm -- Allan, I tried responding to the email you sent me and it bounced back.
> > Both email@ and allanbedford@. Just thought you'd like to know...
>
> Tim,
>
> Thanks for the heads-up. That's pretty strange. Both should work. Plus, I've
> gotten other emails, as recently as this morning. Let me try from an alternate
> address, we'll see if that works.
>
> Thanks again,
> Allan
I got your test message and wrote back. It bounced again.
-Tim
xfut -> lugnet.off-topic.test
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