I've gone 2 or 3 times and I'm trying to get more regular at it.

I've been to two different stores. One set it up in the warehouse/loading dock and the other set it up in the community room (where they normally have classes and videos). Neither limited the # of people shopping (though I did here rumors that sometimes the one that does it in the community room does have to stop people from going in due to fire code occasionally). Neither limited the amount of time you spent either; I think that's ridiculous...if I'm going to get up at 6am and stand in line til 9 I darn well better get to shop for as long as I want!! Anyway, you do want to get there early, and expect there to be a line.

Pickings vary greatly depending on what's been returned in the last month or so to that store. (It's worth going to a high volume store and getting there early). The good stuff that doesn't actually have problems will go FAST; know what you want and make a B-line to it. Last month (ours are always the first weekend of the month) I got a $300 never used tent for $150 and a pair of Chacos for $24. Expect good/undamaged items to be roughly 50% off; it's not a huge 80% discount or even cost, but you still get good deals.

Check your items throughly. The tags give you some description of why it was returned most of the time, but that's just the cashier jotting down what the customer said. REI does not inspect the items. You can't return them, so make sure you know what you are getting before you walk out. Everything will be lumped together from brand new with tags to "I wore them in the high Andes for 3 years and destroyed them".

Remember to bring your member card (or know what phone number you used to sign up), they won't let you buy stuff without it and some stores won't even let you into the sale area (if you plan on signing up do so before the sale).

Have fun! It's like an after Christmas sale on steroids typically.