I had to travel down to Portland Or today for work - for those of us who live in the great state of Washington, Portland is the mecca of tax free shopping.

Natch, I thought - let's go to the Apple store and check out the new iPhone 12s and bring one home. In the past this wouldn't have caused a problem - today - no one allowed in without a reservation, and all reservations booked for today -

So I've saved a lot of $$ - that were burning a hole in my pocket

Send those $$$ my way and I won't charge you tax on them, either.

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It is what it is.

Same in NC, by reservation only.

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Grateful11

If there was a Microcenter in Portland, I might have asked you to drop off a MBP on the way home.

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In tha 360. MRF User Map

No Micro Center in Oregon, but there is a Fry's.

Earliest appointment I could get for an in store pickup at any of the PDX-area stores was Sunday. That’s just for pickup post-purchase, not even for browse and buy. South Sound stores, in contrast, still had appointments for Saturday when I looked Friday afternoon.

Tax free is the draw - I have no NEED of a new phone, and will get one eventually, but the opportunity seemed perfectly timed!

[www.startribune.com]

Uptown Apple store in Minneapolis closes permanently
October 23

The Apple store in Uptown will close permanently, the latest in a growing list of shops and restaurants that have recently abandoned the beleaguered south Minneapolis retail center.

Apple has had a presence near the bustling corner of Hennepin Avenue and Lake Street for the past decade. It informed its approximately 60 employees Wednesday that the store would close.

The store had yet to reopen since March when the state’s stay-at-home orders to stem the spread of the coronavirus pandemic forced many retail establishments to temporarily shutter. Following the killing of George Floyd in May, the Apple store was one of nearly 40 businesses near the corner that was damaged by rioters.

While the damage did accelerate the timing of the closure, Apple was already in discussions to close the store before the pandemic and the riots, the company said.

“Our stores in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area have served customers for 19 years, and our nearly 500 team members look forward to helping our customers for a long, long time,” Apple said Thursday in a statement. “Though we’ve made the difficult decision to permanently close Apple Uptown, all of our valued team members will be offered other positions within Apple and we look forward to continuing to serve our customers at our four nearby stores.”

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Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.