Buyer's remorse?

[SiouzQ.]

I needed to replace the curtain (well, really, an old indian-type bedspread) in my bedroom due to it ripping into pieces from 15 years of the sun blasting on it (I wonder sometimes about the night time show may neighbor may have been getting as I got ready for bed :).

Anyway, I have been pretty committed to buying the rare items I need for the house only at thrift stores and such, but could not find any curtains that would fit that window AND look good. I am not about to sew them myself either.

So today I went to Cost Plus and didn't really see anything I liked and none were on sale anyway, then I got the bright idea to drive 25 miles all the way over to IKea. I checked what they had on the website and saw some panels that looked like they might work, so off I went.

To make a long story short, I got them home ($39.99) and they don't go as well with the existing duvet cover and other window curtain as I would have liked and now I sort of regret buying them. To take them back will be a big PITA in time, gas, and and tear on the car...this is why I don't like shopping all that much; I tend to doubt the decisions I make in the store. I guess I'll see if I can live with them for the next few days before I drive all that way to take them back. In the meantime there is one more store I can check out that might have the indian-type bedspreads - I need it in teal, lime, navy and aqua to make it match the rest of the bedroom stuff. Then I wonder, why do I even care that much about it? I was never one for too much matchy-matchey stuff!

[CathyA]

Is the Ikea store near other stores, where you could run several errands there, the day you return the drapes? I say take them back 'cause you're probably never going to like them. Just try to do some other shopping for necessities, and maybe buy some groceries in that same area, so you don't feel like you wasted the trip just on returning them.

[fidgiegirl]

Craigslist 'em to someone nearer to you? Even if you have to mark them down, you'll save the gas and time going out to Ikea, because the buyers will come to you.

Bummer, SQ. :(

[ApatheticNoMore]

Yea you will never like the curtains. Take them back. Or give them away if you don't mind taking the loss.

Your complaint is pretty much the whole Ikea model, stores out in the middle of nowhere. Sure maybe the land is cheaper, but it's not convenient, and in my case the furniture came without the necessary parts, so I had to make the same commute back for parts. I understand the niche if fills, but I'm done with Ikea. It's not a very green model (the long drives often several times - plus too much furniture made with virgin forrests), it's a hassle, and above all I have enough furniture now! (yea some of it Ikea :laff:)

[heydude]

it matters if you have so few things that the things you do have you should like. take them back. it is not worth the stress of thinking about it. if you don't do it now, you will do it next week cause it will EAT at you, hehe

[Mcrockett]

I'm new to the life style and learning every day... I had "buyers remorse" 2 years ago for the first time in many years but it was over an $80,000 boat..
im working towards simplicity in my life(please don't hate) but never worried about a $4,000 dollar loss in my "past life"..
that said, I cooked speghatti sauce from scratch-ish tonight..

[ctg492]

Buyers Remorse, seems like the things I think the longest on purchasing are the items I have the remorse on. This week I bought a Rototiller,I have wanted one for 20 years. I could never justify the cost. I would say How much in the end would those tomatoes I grow at home cost if I put in the cost of the tiller? This week I took the leap and bought one. The remorse hit hard within hours of having the tiller home :(

[cjones]

Story of my life in clothes shopping. Remember it is very very hard to pick out window "treatments" -- you sound like an overall very frugal type, so you are probably wasting a LOT less of your life energy on returning items than many people (like me) do. Go ahead and return the item. Try to take your bedspread with you when you shop, that might make a difference. Know that these home decoration issues are really tough, and windows especially so. I spent gazillions of dollars before realizing that plain blinds or plain semi-sheers seem to work best in my home and keep their "good lookingness" for the longest. Just a thought--it's all so personal! But if you buy blinds you may have to hire a professional measurer--WORTH IT in my experience, but you may be more skilled in this type of thing than I am.

[Float On]

I'm new to the life style and learning every day... I had "buyers remorse" 2 years ago for the first time in many years but it was over an $80,000 boat..
im working towards simplicity in my life(please don't hate) but never worried about a $4,000 dollar loss in my "past life"..
that said, I cooked speghatti sauce from scratch-ish tonight..

:laff: Made me laugh. $80,000 boat to sauce.... Hope your spaghetti sauce was good.

[bunnys]

Buyers Remorse, seems like the things I think the longest on purchasing are the items I have the remorse on. This week I bought a Rototiller,I have wanted one for 20 years. I could never justify the cost. I would say How much in the end would those tomatoes I grow at home cost if I put in the cost of the tiller? This week I took the leap and bought one. The remorse hit hard within hours of having the tiller home :(

Why don't you return it? If you've used it, clean it up really well and take it back? You're going to have that rototiller for many years and feel obligated to use it and appreciate it. That sounds like something that would ruin gardening for me at the beginning of each gardening season. If you take it back and are turning over the garden old school style in the future you can think "this is hard but at least I know the rototiller wasn't for me and I don't have an expensive purchase I regret?"

I have the opposite problem. I have something I regret having to take back. This has happened several times this season.

Last year, my central AC went out. I thought I'd go all cheap on it (bc I rarely use it anyway) and went to Lowes and bought the mother of all window units. After opening the box, the guy that was going to install it for me looked at it and was "this is not going to work. Let's get two smaller ones and put one in bedroom and one in living." So back it went. Then we got the smaller ones and he looked and tried to make it work with my windows. Finally he's like "I can't make this happen for you." So back those two went to Lowes. So I bought a portable AC unit from Lowes and used it for about a month but it ended up frying my electricity so I took that back. (I did buy a generator from them the morning after the derecho so I don't feel too bad.)

Also, bought a pair of shoes I really love from Zappos.com. I have bought similar styles for this brand several times but last year I bought two of the same shoe in different sizes and I had to send them both back. This summer I saw the shoe in wide (which was what I really needed) so I bought it in a 7 and a 7.5 wide knowing I'd send one back. After I got the shoes I was looking at shoes.com and they have a similar policy (free shipping coming and going) but on their website they're like "if you abuse this policy we won't ship to you anymore.) So now I'm regretting having to send this 2nd pair back to zappos.com bc I don't want to be cut off.

So I'm feeling a little like a consumer who's working the system even though that hasn't been my intent.

[JaneV2.0]

Can they be dyed?

[SiouzQ.]

Well, gas just went up to $4.00/gallon around here and the curtains are growing on me little by little, or maybe it has just receded in importance and I'm getting on with my life!:~)

[CathyA]

I bought a big comfy chair to go with my couch. When it arrived, it wasn't an exact match to the blue of the couch like I thought it would be. I was bummed. But I decided to try to overlook it. I did. That's been about 14 years ago and I don't even notice it now!