http://tinypic.com/fullsize.php?pic=71pk4nt&s=1&capwidth=true

The rectangle is 16×40, each of the figures in the image are approx. 5′7″ tall. Seems like close quarters to me for a winter… particularly without running water.

Like Roger said, if you pull this kind of stunt, it really eats into the retailer’s bottom line. I don’t really care of Megacorp’s stock flounders, but I do when it’s a small business.

I realize that some store owners try to take you for everything you’ve got, are generally nasty people, etc. But many more are not, they’re just folks trying to make a living. And getting rid of a pair of special order boots which are otherwise never going to go away might be worth just getting $10, especially if the special-ordering customer put some money down and forfeited it. And yes, a store owner should check his or her inventory to be sure there isn’t an already marked down item in the stash of stuff they’re putting on special. To be clear, there is no shame in simply making an offer on an item, the store owner can always say no (that said, you should take a “no” with good grace).

Still, some folks seem to take a certain glee in finding the mistakes of retailers and taking advantage of them. Big stores can absorb these, but do that often enough to a small store, and the store is going to go away.

Retail stores often have a 50% margin, that is, the wholesale cost is doubled when the item is retailed. Sounds outrageous, but when you look at all the costs that have to come out of that extra 50%, there isn’t a huge amount of actual profit built in there. Especially on something as volatile as clothing or footwear, you have to account for theft and the fact that a certain percentage of merchandise is going to have to be sold for cost at the end of the season. Add in “clothing rental” (that is, stuff people buy, wear once or twice, and then bring back claiming they never wore it) and that manufacturers and wholesalers generally don’t take back merchandise which isn’t defective, meaning if you give a refund you’ve essentially not only lost a sale but had the merchandise removed from your stock as well…it’s a tough game. And that’s not even considering paying the clerks, store rent, taxes or electricity.

To me trying to get something on a “technicality” is not much different than keeping an extra $10 a cashier accidentally hands you while making change. Lots of people do, but I think it’s at best ethically questionable. At best.

So by all means be frugal and even cheap, just don’t go too far.

Assuming it is safe, I see no reason why they shouldn’t have as many children as they want and are able to feed.

Moving to the open land sound like an adventure, when you know you can leave in two weeks and go back to your warm bed!

As a desendant of Sod-house Dakotans, I say they were built of sturdier stock! Sounds like they are doing what the want though so good for them!

And I understand the appeal of adventure, but I think I’ve been exposed to a few too many large families whose parents do crazy things which negatively impact their children. (Not saying that it is case with your relatives, just that I’d be highly skeptical.)

Hahaha! I think it’s adventurous as well. It’ll be a lifetime memory to build a house there and have that sense of accomplishment.