Note: We were not compensated for this post. I heard about their free masks and it sounded like a good idea. I paid for shipping, like anybody else. They didn’t know I was going to write this post.
Whether we like it or not, masks are most likely going to be around for a good, long while. As of this writing, they’re mandatory in 33 34 states (even Mississippi, now! Because the governor wants to watch college football. Hey, if means people from Mississippi are gonna wear a mask, I’ll take it!). Within the states where they’re not mandatory, there are still multiple counties that require them. You also need to wear a mask if you’re flying, or risk going on an airline’s “Do Not Fly” list. So until we eradicate the 2019 Novel Coronavirus, masks are here to stay.
Fortunately, we’re way beyond the point of the early days of the pandemic, when masks were difficult to come by and even if you could find bona fide surgical or N95 masks, you were asked to save those for healthcare workers.
Since then, disposable surgical masks are easy to find on Amazon, mask stores have popped up all over Etsy, and most large stores that sell general supplies, and especially clothes, also sell masks.
Regardless of where you buy them, most masks run about $10 to $15 each, with some $7 and $25 on the fringe. You can even find “all blinged out” masks for close to $50.
Recently, I found some masks that were advertised as being free. Free? They said the magic word!
Simply Seattle is a store that typically sells shirts, gifts and souvenirs with Seattle-based decorations. Sports team logos. Washington and Pacific northwest references. Popular attractions in the Seattle area. Stuff like that.
Like many places, they’ve also gotten into the business of face masks. Except they don’t sell face masks – they only give them away. Well, they all have an original $9.99 price on their website, but that’s crossed out and each mask is listed as $0.00. From their website:
Staying safe shouldn’t be expensive.
Masks are our new reality for the time being as we continue to work together to slow the spread of Coronavirus. We want to do our part to help keep our community safe by providing masks as inexpensively as possible. We’ve always believed in giving back and being generous as a business. This is part of how we’re helping.
The masks are FREE, your only cost is $4.99/mask to cover shipping and handling. Our staff will safely pack them up and get them out to you as soon as they are available.
They say the $4.99 shipping and handling per mask covers their bottom line and helps their staff employed. To date, they’ve given away over 26,000 masks.
Simply Seattle has 3 sizes of masks to choose from:
- Adult standard (4.7″H x 6.7″W)
- Youth (4.3″H x 6.3″W)
- Adult adjustable (and larger: 5.3″H x 7.8″W)
You can’t get any mask in any of the sizes…as of this writing, they have 34 different designs of “adult standard” masks, 9 “youth” sized masks and 10 “adult large” masks and only 1 or 2 of the designs seem to overlap from one size to another.
Specs include:
- 2 Layer Non-Medical Mask
- 100% Cotton Inner Layer
- 100% Polyester Outer Layer
- Sublimated design on Outer Layer
- Soft & comfortable for extended use
- Elastic ear loop
- Washable and reusable
Besides being free, they had a few designs that I liked, so I order 2 masks.
I ordered the masks on July 7th and they were shipped on July 22nd. When I ordered, their website said to allow up to 30 days to ship them out, so I was prepared for that initial wait (they now ship much faster). They didn’t arrive until August 4th. That was just shy 2 weeks, but Seattle to Orlando was about as far as something could be shipped in the continental U.S. Add a slowdown at the U.S. Post Office because of reasons and, OK, so it took almost a month for them to get here, all told. Since then, a friend ordered masks from them and their shipping speed has increase considerably!
Although I paid $4.99 per mask for shipping and handling, the 2 items came in a single polyethylene envelope with $1.20 postage on it.
Each mask was in its own sealed plastic bag. The designs were clear and looked like the pictures on the website.
The masks themselves were made well – solid stitching, with soft elastic on the ears. The cloth is a bit on the “flimsier” side, but they’re made of relatively thin polyester and cotton layers.
The masks don’t fit me well “as is” but I’m used to that – I’m a very short person and have a relatively small head. So the elastic is really too big to be snug behind my ears. I have some adapters so I can still wear them (they probably would have fit better if I had gotten a Youth sized mask but I liked the designs on the Adult sized ones). With the adapters, I wore one of the masks for a few hours with no problems or discomfort.
The mask didn’t fit Joe either – he has a big ol’ head and it was way too small for him. Again, this was expected. The regular adult-sized mask should fit fine for someone with a normal adult-sized head.
Some masks move around when you talk – these do a little bit, but not much.
Overall, I’m happy with the product.
PROS
- The mask itself is free
- Nice variety of designs
- Comfortable
CONS
- Nearly a month between ordering and arrival time (but is less now – a friend ordered masks from them after I did and got them in about a week)
- Paid $4.99 shipping/handling per mask and getting 1 package with $1.20 postage was unexpected (but hey, the masks themselves were free)
OUR RECOMMENDATION: It’s essentially $5 per mask, which is a decent price for a comfortable mask. I’d recommend them. By the way, if you’d like to get $10 off your firder from Simple Seattle, go to this page. If you do, and buy something, I’ll get a couple too! 🙂
Check out Simply Seattle’s website for more info.
#stayhealthy #staysafe #washyourhands #wearamask
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
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