Late Update (2009-11-28 12:27):  Here’s a picture of the items I ended up picking up:

Gear from REI Garage Sale (October 2009)

I was hoping for some clothes and found some, but not exactly what I was looking for.  I picked up a new pair of Keen’s as my previous pair was falling apart.  I also found a great pair of waterproof boots that were marked down quite a bit.  Finally, there’s a pair of pants that were really cheap.

Kate and I arrived at REI around 7:30am, an hour and a half before the sale started at 9am. I believe this was the optimal time to get there. We were very near the front of the line and didn’t need to get up too early. There was a group of people who had apparently camped the night there, not something I was willing to do.

Just before they let us in I snapped a picture on my phone of the line.  This was just the start, it continued far to the left around the building:

Line at REI Garage Sale

Once the doors opened, we headed in and the madness started.  The sale items were located behind the store, in the unloading truck bay areas.  There were multiple racks of clothing and tables and tables of bins full of cheap gear.  Packs and shoes lined the sides of the truck bay.  My main reason for going was a pack, so that’s what I hit first.  I found a nice one pretty quickly.  After that I browsed the bins and then hit clothes.

I ended up with more than I expected, but the table below shows that I really did save a ridiculous amount of money, so it will probably be worth it in the long run.  All of my new gear:

My new gear

Table of the gear I bought, along with full price, sale price, savings totals and maximum sale percentage:

Item	Original Cost	Sale Cost	Savings	Percent Off
Therma Rest	74.95	37.83	37.12	0.5
Osprey Pack	149	84.83	64.17	0.43
REI Jacket	199	42.83	156.17	0.78
North Face Pants	65	27.83	37.17	0.57
Kuhl Pants	58	29.83	28.17	0.49
Silva Ranger Compass	55	24.83	30.17	0.55
REI Shirt	10.83	4.83	6	0.55
Under Armor Shirt	50	27.83	22.17	0.44
REI Fleece Hoodie	45	24.83	20.17	0.45
Mountain Hard Wear Shirt	38	17.83	20.17	0.53
REI Shirt	24	7.83	16.17	0.67
Petzl Head Lamp	64.95	24.83	40.12	0.62
180s Ear Warmers	30	11.83	18.17	0.61
Perl Izumi Cycling Shorts	100	22.83	77.17	0.77
Patagonia Long Sleeve Shirt	29.99	17.83	12.16	0.41
Water Filter Kit	79.95	24.83	55.12	0.69
Sigma Cycling Computer	56	29.83	26.17	0.47
Totals	1129.67	463.11	666.56	0.78