buy now, or wait?

<p>i am anxiously counting down the weeks until it is finally time to pack up and leave! but i'm not sure if i should get a bunch of my dorm things now and ship them out or wait until i get to NU. i'm in CT, and my dad and i decided to fly since driving will take too long and he has to get back to teach classes. we're leaving the Friday before, but i don't want to have to rush around getting every little thing a couple days before.</p>

<p>so for those of you coming from long distances and are flying, what are you doing? are you buying the smaller things now and shipping them out, or are you waiting altogether? what would those of you who may have already done this previously advise? thanks in advance.</p>

<p>Hey there, </p>

<p>I'm coming from a long distance too, and I'm super-excited like you :) There is a rule that packages cannot be delivered to Northwestern before Thursday, September 8. My biggest concern, and the reason that I'm doing some shopping now, is that some of the stores will probably run out before I leave. It seems like virtually every other school starts earlier than Northwestern, so waiting for the last minute for comforters and twin XL sheets and stuff like that may not be the best idea. </p>

<p>My plan is to ship a couple packages and to try to bring as much as I can on the plane with me. Luckily, it seems like you have a lot of time to spend in Chicago before move-in, so maybe you'll have some time to pick up your last odds and ends when you're in the city.</p>

<p>Look forward to meeting you soon ;)</p>

<p>that was my thinking, too. it makes sense to buy those things now, seeing as all of the sales are now, and probably won't be there that late in september. thanks for the info!</p>

<p>unless you feel like taking everything along, u can easily get everything there.. there's all the big store nearby (linens and things , container store , bed bath and beyond etc..) in skokie and other nearby places...
i wouldnt worry about them running out of items, this isnt the first year they have back to school customers they know how much stuff to have in stock.. plus chicago is a big city : what u dont find in one store ull find in another nearby...</p>

<p>We got everything ordered already at Bed/Bath/Beyond (in California) and we'll pick it up at the BBB store in Chicago (we're renting a car when we get there).</p>

<p>That way it's done-and we can make sure everything's in the order when we pick it up. Hopefully that'll work out.</p>

<p>that sure is convenient .. didnt know u can order online and then pickup at store of ur choice... any other stores besides BBB do this?</p>

<p>We couldn't order it online-or at least when I called they said we had to come into our local store-pick everything out and then order it for pick-up in Chicago.
But still-it was really easy and then I got to see everything firsthand.</p>

<p>Also-you can either pay when you pick the stuff up..or in our case, we bought a gift card in the exact amount and will use it when we pick up in Chicago. For some reason-you can't pre-pay. Don't know why though.</p>

<p>Yeah-it's really convenient to not have to haul it there-or to try and do the shopping in such a short time.</p>

<p>i really wish i had known that before hand...i just bought a bunch of stuff today at BB&B and knew nothing about having them available at the one in Chicago...do you think i could return all the stuff and redo it?</p>

<p>It's a cool feature that BBB has. There are a couple things to consider bringing along with you in any case. Sheets usually should be washed before use, and some things you may want to test out before you're in your dorm room and stuck with 'em.</p>

<p>I would Bed, Bath, & Beyond would be accomodating with accepting your items to be sent to the Chicago store. I don't see any reason why they'd be unwilling, but I could certainly be wrong. One way to find out. </p>

<p>Linens N' Things has the same program, I believe. Good luck.</p>

<p>I can't imagine why you couldn't return the stuff you bought and simply ask for them to be picked up in Chicago. </p>

<p>I didn't get the sheets and towels at BBB (they were a high school graduation gift) so I will wash them first-but I got everything else there.</p>

<p>I'll be in the States for the first time next month, so I'm totally unaware of how much things cost there. How much for everything I need for my bed?</p>

<p>Hi lorddragon-
Cost varies greatly. Look at a site (like bedbathandbeyond.com)-you can see the different prices for comforters, pillows, etc. You can spend $99 on a comforter or $300. Same for everything else.</p>