REI Dividend

[drm]

My dividend is listed online as of tonight (no email yet). Thanks to getting an REI visa credit card and using it for my groceries and whatnot, my dividend is $125. I plan to visit the Portland store this coming week to prepare for the upcoming backpacking season, which I hope to start at the end of the week with that big warmup they are now predicting.

[pdxflowergirl]

Okay...this is slightly embarrassing...but I have never checked this information on REI's website before you posted that it's available. Did your account info have the same note about 2009 dividends not yet being calculated? From the amount of my balance (thank you REI Visa), it seems as though they have been factored in already? I'm definitely buying new boots as soon as the 20% off coupon arrives!

# Your dividend balance: $404.03
# Please Note: Dividends for 2009 have not yet been calculated.
# Look for your 2009 balance after March 14, 2010.

[VanMarmot]

REI used to make the dividend available in mid February but (some say it's because on the economy) has moved availability to March. They've sweetened the delay by linking the dividend with a 20% discount event starting on 3/22. I think they just give you the 20% at the register without a coupon. So it might be worth waiting until next Monday to cash in.

[Grannyhiker]

They've always had the 20% discount coupon at dividend time, for as long as I can remember.

[drm]

Okay...this is slightly embarrassing...but I have never checked this information on REI's website before you posted that it's available. Did your account info have the same note about 2009 dividends not yet being calculated? From the amount of my balance (thank you REI Visa), it seems as though they have been factored in already? I'm definitely buying new boots as soon as the 20% off coupon arrives!

# Your dividend balance: $404.03
# Please Note: Dividends for 2009 have not yet been calculated.
# Look for your 2009 balance after March 14, 2010.

Yes, mine had both messages. The latter part has been there and I was assuming that they just hadn't gotten rid of it yet, since the balance value didn't get posted till during the day of the 14th. In fact, the latter part is gone today.

I don't think that you have to wait for the 20% coupon to actually arrive by mail do you? I think it's available same as the dividend.

[VanMarmot]

I don't think that you have to wait for the 20% coupon to actually arrive by mail do you? I think it's available same as the dividend.

No waiting for the coupon anymore, now that everything is online.

[VanMarmot]

They've always had the 20% discount coupon at dividend time, for as long as I can remember.

Guess it depends on how far back you want to go. When I became an REI member in 1972 there were no coupons (and the dividend still arrived by mail). I would guess the coupon idea appeared in the last 10-15 years or so, along with an increasing number of sales. Back in the day there was one big sale a year (in Seattle) which inspired camping on the sidewalk to keep your place in line. This year, the REI store in the Pearl will have 4 clearance sales, 7 used gear sales, 1 dividend event, and 4 seasonal sales. Ah, progress...

[drm]

Well, there is plenty of waiting. Since I am planning to go into Portland this Thursday, I called the store to find out if the 20% coupon is usable whether I've received it or not. They told me that the dividend is not usable until the 22nd of March. They meant in the store and I'm not sure if this applies to online as well. But I'm not going to drive into Portland just for this, and probably won't be in again until some time in April, so I was a bit miffed at this additional delay.

[VanMarmot]

I went to the REI store in the Pearl this morning to buy a new pair of boots. I was planning to wait until next week (for the dividend & coupon) until I found out I'll be traveling next week - so my purchasing plans had to be moved up. I was also interested in avoiding the sale crowds.

Once I was in the store, the folks in the boot department told me that the "official" word was that the coupon/20% discount couldn't be used until Monday 3/22 BUT if I asked for it at the register, I'd get it. And so it was. I used the dividend & got the discount at the register - all electronic, no paperwork. Good timing too, since they only had one pair of the style and size of boot I wanted in stock.

[Excursionista]

I called REI this morning and they held a tent for me, and applied my dividend and the 20% coupon to the purchase. The guy at customer service said a lot of people had been calling and that it was no problem to use the dividend/coupon, although snail-mail coupons/dividends were expected to arrive early this week (3/22).

So with a gift card and the goods, I walked away with a Big Agnes Fly Creek UL1 without paying a cent out of pocket. Sweet!