I’ll be passing for a while. Though there may be good deals with assumed back inventory, I just don’t want to wait in them lines…

Shopping for deals or for exclusives still takes time, either in-store or online. There’s just no way around it. However purchasing time online is measured in seconds (or even faster). A few seconds late and the exclusives are gone. Sold out – bought by bots or those with faster fingers (or better luck).

There’s also prepping for online launches. Creating accounts on various shopping sites and ensuring autofill is ready to go for each browser user all rob you of time. And if you want, you need to spend time reading up and learning about releases. Of course, none of this preparation guarantees success when buying exclusives, but without this preparation, you essentially have no chance.

Time for #rossfinds is in the realm of hours, days, and perhaps even months. Sourcing is primarily done in-person, going through the racks of Ross and other discount stores. Then listing and eventually selling an item can go for days to months.

So the obvious takeaway is that reselling takes time (and commitment). If you’re not willing to invest the time, then you need to look elsewhere.

Luckily Ross shares your love, and you might be lucky enough to find a HOPA shirt on their racks. Now the shirt may not have a security tag nor a price tag… hey wait a minute, Santa sees you HOPA fan who likely “traded” shirts. Talk about dressing for less…

Update: Recently read about recent thefts from HOPA.

Are you ready? Hawaii’s latest Ross location in Hawaii opens in Windward Mall on Friday, October 12, 2018 according to the Ross store locator.

Now I don’t know what time the store actually opens since I doubt the grand opening would actually occur at 7:30am. I mean the Ala Moana grand opening didn’t occur at 7:30am.

Anyways, the Windward Mall location is shaping up, but there’s still work to be done, mainly with inventory. The exterior entry way was full of Matson containers unloading the goods and dumpsters full of now-empty boxes. Sorry no pictures of this.

On the interior of the mall, you can get a glimpse of the familiar Ross design.

The racks are filling up, but the men’s shoe section looks woefully empty for now. But as evident by all these emptied boxes, there’s more stocking to be done.

Are you going to check out Ross Windward Mall on opening day?

Once open, this location will complete the Thanos-like collection of Infinity Gems aka Ross Stores in the major Oahu shopping venues of:

1. Pearlridge
2. Waikiki
3. Ward
4. Kahala
5. Ala Moana
6. Windward Mall

Not sure why these just don’t sell when the going cost is $150 (or $127 on sale). I don’t see them out and about either. Maybe they don’t fit well? I do know that the weave of the Flyknit is very porous. You can definitely see your sock color coming through since the spacing in the knit is very giving.

So if you ever find a cool pair of Theas at Ross, just know that you may have a challenge moving them.

These socks are from the NikeLab, and the style code of SX7234-524 say these are Nike Gyakusou NikeGrip Unisex Quarter Socks. Originally priced at $28, these socks were $6 from Ross. Personally, I wouldn’t pay $28 for a pair of quarter socks, but I’d do $6 even in a Purple Dynasty/Olive Khaki colorway. They do look cool…

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My shopping flow has been thrown off by all the movement, especially in the shoe section that’s gotten very tall and narrow. It’s super difficult to scan the shoe racks at close range. Hoping the layout gets spaced out as the remodeling proceeds.

In general, the store layout now feels like the Ala Moana location, and rumor is this Kaneohe location had to refresh since the new Ross location is opening down the street in Windward Mall.

The greeter pointed out the no food or beverage sign on the door.

I asked if there was a holding area for drinks, and she said the trash. Of course, I wasn’t about to trash a $7 drink full of body-infusing caffeine. I faux-ly and incredulously asked if she was serious about no drinks since pretty much every store has that no food or beverage sign but does not enforce it. She replied no drinks… for safety.

Now mind you we’re in the front of the store next to the cash registers which are next to all food and drink items at Ross. But I knew it was a losing battle, so I did leave. But I took a pic of my drink in the store.

Downstairs by Old Navy, I got to the store at 7:30 hoping it would be open according to the posted store hours. But grand openings being grand openings, this event’s timeline superceded regular store hours. So although patrons were waiting for the store to open at 7:30, the Ross management informed us that the store would open around 9am after the opening celebration.

Not wanting to wait 90 minutes to return items, I left the now-open-but-not-yet-opened Ross.

Yup, North Face is yet another popular brand you can find discounted at Ross. While I’ve see some North Face shoes and shirts at Ross, I had never paid attention to the jackets. But one fateful day at the Hawaii Kai Ross, one shopper had pulled out a few North Face jackets, and that’s when I saw the Millerton jacket in Laurel Wreath Green Depth Camo. Not the classic or digital camo pattern but interesting nonetheless, I found my size and bought it.

That same day, I was at Ala Moana and stopped in the North Face retail store to see more of the Millertons. Displayed at the store entrance was this Millerton in “tigrid” camo.

Also eye catching, but that price tag was a full price $110 unlike the $60 cost at Ross. $60 is still steep for a jacket but compared to the quality and design of other jackets on the rack, I can’t be bummed with this latest Ross find.

North Face Millerton on Amazon

[amazon_link asins=’B01HQR1VAC’ template=’ProductAd’ store=’pulpwp-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’167a8c6b-05e1-11e7-9554-b7d9813fd558′]

LeBron 11 Low

I’ve been looking for shoes featuring the full length Air Max 360 for a long time. Finally, I came across these LeBron 11 Lows in the lava colorway in my size. While I could have definitely rocked the lava colors, King James and me don’t share the same foot shape. Even with the solid Air Max foundation underfoot, the arch support wasn’t enough. I could feel the inner, medial sides of the shoe flexing with the smallest of steps. I was targeting the 11 Lows as a lifestyle shoe, but if they can’t provide the support while walking around, what’s the point? Sadly, I put these and their paint-speckled Air Max bubble back on the shelf.

Jordan Flight Time 14.5

For the longest time, I never knew what these Jordan-branded kicks were. For the record, they are the Jordan Flight Time 14.5.  I always thought the 14.5 looked distinctive for a Team Jordan shoe. Each colorway works, especially these Chicago Bulls-inspired red, black, and white version.

The look is clean. The padded collar is a nice touch, and the fit was great for my feet. Although narrow mid-foot, these provided better arch support than the LeBron 11 Low. There’s decent tech in the shoe and best of all, they’re only $40. But look at them. They’re made to see court action, and that’s no longer me. I held on to these for some time before also putting them back on the shelf.

Instead, I’m actually looking forward to the upcoming Adidas Crazylight Boost 2016. Even at full price, this shoe looks uniquely different from other shoes on the market and features full length Boost. But I won’t find these at Ross for some time if ever.

It’s kinda interesting to see the variety of shoes or really, the similarity of shoe offerings at different locations. There are more similarities than I would have thought. The best, of course, are those special gems that you come across by pure happenstance. Now I think some of the #rossfinds images are fake, but you can never tell. I’m not sure how you’ll find recently released Air Jordan 11, 72-10, at Ross. But then again, I did find the Air Jordan 4 Legend Blue one morning (true story).

Anyways, I’m making sure my kicks pics are tagged #rossfinds to contribute to this community.

Bo Jax #kicks #rossfinds

A photo posted by @geewhy on Jan 27, 2016 at 1:48pm PST

The Response Boost Techfit features Boost in the forefoot and heel area.

I love that olive green sole with the splash of red for accent.

That core heather reminds me of Nike’s latest tech fleece collection.

Them olive soles!!!!

There’s too much one-ness to be coincidental right? No matter. Although I had heard of Hokas, I wasn’t about to spend the big bucks on those platform-looking but highly regarded shoes. I easily spied the Hokas towering over the other shoes on the Ross shoe rack, and at fifty bucks (not fifty one) I had to get the size one zero aka 10. The Mafate Speed is an outdoor, trail runner that debuted in 2014…at $170. Even though, I’m not going to run on rough terrain, I figure this price point is one good introduction to the Hoka lineup.

Over my visits to various Rosses, I’ve seen all kinds of Nike Air Trainer SC II colorways. But these black/grey-volt ones are simply dope.

I didn’t end up keeping my Megatron versions (and I can’t believe I didn’t post pics), but at $50, these are keepers.