Going out of business sales usually make shoppers' ears perk up, yet a recent sort of exposé by Good Morning America suggests that we shouldn't trust that sticker prices are actual discounts from the originals. With camcorder in hand, the show strolled the aisles of a soon-to-be extinct Linens 'n Things and visited a going-out-of business Circuit City store. What they found was nothing to be excited about, at least in terms of dirt-cheap deals.
A liquidator's goal is to make money, and they do so by capitalizing on the excitement surrounding going-out-of business sales. Store clerks admitted that liquidators raise prices and then gradually discount. At a Circuit City store taken over by liquidators, Good Morning America found a Samsung HD TV for $1,799 only available from an opened box, while a still-in-business Circuit City was selling the same brand new TV for $1,599. Protect yourself as a consumer by shopping around and not assuming that a so-called discounted price is the best available. Check out the video below for more insight into tricky liquidation tactics.
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Beach Time
Calvin Klein
Diesel
Bastards. I knew those prices were still not very... liquid.
1haha cokerad
Don't bother with CC if you're looking for great electronics deals,
especially with the after thanksgiving deals coming up. Most of the major retailers (and Kmart, Walmart, and Sears) have deals way cheaper pre-Black Friday than what CC even has in their
"marked down" Black Friday specials.
2That is why I never shopped the "sale" - the prices were too high.
3We went last weekend and we were amazed at how high the prices still were. We baought a turkey platter for $6 so that was a deal but that's about it.
4Reminds me of the movie Don't Mess With the Zohan... and the store that was called "Going Out of Business."
5I never buy liquidation and going out of business sales. I have been to several with other people... everytime I look at the price tag, I think that I can get the same thing cheaper elsewhere. I've always thought they marked up the prices before 'major savings everything must go!'.
6I moved away to college this summer and there was a furniture store advertising that it was having a "huge furniture liquidation sale!"... yeah. Five months later and they are still going strong, I'm beginning to think that that is just their sneaky selling strategy.
7I've looked at a lot of the Black Friday ads for different stores and there are only a few things really discounted and the rest of the stuff in the ad is the regular price! I recently bought a TV hoping that the Target sale price would good enough to skip the Black Friday craze and I was right! The sale price was over $100 cheaper than comparable TV's Black Friday discount. WTF? I know the retailers are hurting, but enough with the tricks.
8it's the same thing at mervyn's.
bastards
although i did drop major [for me] coinage for underwear
9can't resist cute chonies.
that's really shady. i wonder what can be done about that since you know that it's common practice. they make you think that you're getting a GREAT deal when you're just not. i hope that this is something that people are more aware of now, so that the retailers don't 'get one over' on people who are truly trying to find a good deal.
10i completely agree. i went to both linens n things and mervyns to check out the prices. i shop at mervyns constantly. to my surprize the prices were so much higher than they actually were before it was going out of business... needless to say i bought nothing. not worth it.
11I went to Linens and Things to check out some kitchen basics I'm lacking - what a waste of time! I drive ten miles to see prices higher than the still-going-strong Bed Bath and Beyond a mile away from me. I asked someone at my work about this (I bartend, I shoot the sh!t with people most of the time when it's slow) and she agreed that they'd raised their prices. Good to know!
12Also, I'm in the market for a nice toaster oven, so I know how much they run. Kohls and Target both claim to have the one I want on sale - but it's almost the same price it is all the time. So frustrating.
13I looked at CC's TVs for Black Friday [they're ALL going out of business around here], and they really weren't that discounted. Liquidations are kind of a ripoff until the store is ACTUALLY about to CLOSE. As long as people are willing to pay money, they're going to sell stuff for as much as they can! It's just greed.
I'm using the BlackFriday.info site that Geeksugar posted a week ago to see if I can get the jump on the best deals. At least I know where NOT to spend my time.
14margokhal, CC will never be a real bargain this time around - any unsold merch is just going to be sent to the stores that aren't closing!
15I went to Linens N things also. What a scam nothing was a good deal. Maybe i will try again in a couple of weeks when they are desperate to get rid of stuff.
16I went to linens and thing to use up the last of my gift card that I had and everything was 10% off NORMAL price. Needless to say I only bought a ped egg and still had to shell out money from my own pocket.
17hahaha!! wow that's crazy
18babesio3, the Ped Egg is such a disappointment. My results are more like the balloon in the commercial rather than the orange.
Well I hope you bought the special breast cancer one so at least that would be a charitable donation.
19I always suspected that regular prices are jacked up so the 'sale' price seems like a good deal.
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