Pro tip: the REI garage sale in Denver taught me to bring my own tape measure
Drove down to the flagship store in Denver last Saturday for their used gear sale and half the tents were marked "returned, pole issue." I brought a 25 foot tape and found two of the three had the same bent pole section right at the hub. Turned out to be a common packing mistake, not a bad tent. Has anyone else noticed a pattern in what gets returned at these sales?