We went to a box sale today, at the commissary. Or rather, in the commissary parking lot, under a huge white tent. It took two hours. Pretty much we simply stood still, in one massive line, surrounded by cardboard box towers and other, mutely suffering customers.
Every once in a while we would take a step or two forward. Every ten minutes or so, we could reach a new display and possibly toss something into the cart. Every half hour, we reached the end of one isle and began to turn the corner. Ten minutes later, we cleared the corner and were lined for the next isle.
By the time we reached the last isle, workers started coming down the line occasionally handing out stuff and intoning "Thank you for waiting." In this way, we collected a thin, nylon tote bag with the face of Shrek emblazoned on it and a small bottle of water.
The savings were mixed. We ended up buying massive quantities of snack foods, which is definitely a mixed blessing, as they are now available to eat in massive quantities. Other people were collecting food in such quantities that I simply don't know how they were pushing their overloaded carts, or how boxes did not start to slide right off and onto other people's heads.
I don't think we'll go again; I'm not sure it was worth it.
