At our estate sale last weekend, we tagged (and sold) a gun cabinet, gun holders and various 1970's gun-inspired bar accessories. While there wasn't a stampede, more and more people (men) asked about the owner's gun collection. Who had any idea guns and hunting were so hot in Los Angeles? Where do you hunt in a city 40-miles wide from the mountains to the sea and over 20,000,000 geographical residents? And where do you park your Ford F-150?
We guess we missed the Metro Bus-- because surfacing today was Dick Cheney's new "Population Control Strategy" and his accidental "pelleting" of Harry Whittington, a millionaire attorney from Austin. So in the spirit of organization, we thought it was time for a Top 10 List, big-city, Los Angeles-style.
The OrganizingLA Blog Top 10 Hip Tips for Organized (Bargain) Hunting:
Whenever an item is for sale to the public for 40% to 80% below retail, common sense tells us there's a reason. Usually it will fall into one of several categories. All these categories are valid reasons to mark down an item, although they are not always presented to the consumer in a forthright manner. If the seller doesn't (or won't) reveal why he's selling it so cheap, chances are it falls into one of the following categories:
- Loss Leader: This is an item deliberately priced very low just to get you into the store. The terminology is not always accurate since the seller does not always take a loss. More than likely it's a break-even situation.
- Special Purchase or Purchase Product: These terms should push a "tilt" button in any sharp shopper. Often it indicates a situation when the merchandise is below the usual quality of the manufacturer. This is often a deliberate deception that, unfortunately, we see a lot in the major sales and at the factory outlet malls where there is an implication that whatever is in a certain maker's store is made by them. If it is, chances are it is of inferior quality and/or materials.
- Closeouts: Generally pertains to discontinued products that are no longer manufactured. In most cases this does not affect the merchandise, but if and when there are parts that must be replaced it could present a problem. The term can also mean that the retailer simply needs to make room for more merchandise. It's also important to ask "Who is doing the closing out?" If it's the factory, the price should be excellent and BELOW wholesale.
- Irregulars: Merchandise with minor imperfections, often not discernible. Perhaps a piece of lint got caught in the fabric and there's a "flub" in the material. No big deal.
- Seconds: Merchandise with more of an imperfection, usually visible. In apparel, this should be indicated in some manner, but sometimes it isn't, so look items over carefully. In clothing, a seam might have come undone ... easy to fix or perhaps a variance in dye lots which could be a problem. In china or crystal it's usually very minor, such as a blurred imprint on the bottom...or maybe none at all.
- Overruns: Manufacturers usually make more than they need to handle reorders, so often there is a certain percentage left.
- Overstocks: A different story here indicates that the retailer ordered more than he could sell. Sale prices should be only slightly over wholesale.
- Liquidated Stock: When a manufacturer or retailer is going out of business, rather than sell of the merchandise piecemeal, they will call in a liquidator who bids for the lot and may sell it to the public. Some of the very best deals are at liquidation sales.
- Distressed Merchandise: If one or two items in a freight derailment, for example, are damaged, the insurance coverage deems the entire lot as "damaged." Sometimes you will find items that are perfectly OK in a damaged lot ... they are just in bad company.
- Samples: Floor sample sales in furniture showrooms often are good deals. The wear on the item is minimal. In apparel, the drawback may be the small sizes.
Now once you have determined the reason a price is so low, the next question should be "Is there anything wrong with this that will affect its performance or use to me?" If your answer is an honest "No," then go for it ... you've probably bagged a bargain.
Happy Bargain Hunting!
Bargain "Hunting" Tips courtesy of Suzanne O'Connor and BargainsLA.
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