Downtown Dollars scooped up in minutes
Four minutes.
That’s how long it took for Ardmore Initiative to reach the “sold out” point Monday morning in its new Downtown Dollars promotion.
Even bouts of pouring rain couldn’t dampen Ardmore’s version of a gold rush.
Bargain-minded shoppers started lining up as early as 8 a.m. for the announced 10 a.m. start of the business authority’s discount dollars program, aimed at sparking shopping and dining in Ardmore’s Lancaster Avenue business district.
As the rains grew heavier, the office began handing out red tickets to folks already waiting, so that they could come back and claim their dollars when the sale started.
Even so, at precisely 10:04 a.m., AI staff member Jill Rappaport, who was handing out the blue and gold bills, had to announce, “I’m out.”
Meanwhile, activity was so brisk in an online portion of the sale that the organization’s Web site temporarily shut down a little later.
Seeing the disappointment on the faces of the couple dozen people still in line, AI Chairman John Durso made a quick decision to open up sales of some of the dollars the office had planned to hold in reserve. “We’re trying to be fair and keep everybody happy,” he said, adding that, because of the response, he would ask his board to pump in more money, so that the dollars would still be available for other sales dates in the next few weeks.
