Warning about stores Going out of Business sales (Dickson City: lease, buying)

[nepa76]

Don't be pulled in by these Everything Must Go clearences, like the one going on at the K-mart in Dickson City. I bought a few clearence items one week before this Going out of business sale started. One item example were leftover character slipper booties from Christmas. Star Wars, Marvel, Disney. At that time I bought several pairs and they rang up for $1.25 each. I stopped back yesterday to buy more, just to have spares since they were so cheap. Well, this Going out of business sale has been going on for weeks now, guess what the new clearence price is...$5 each. Saw a multi pack of basic Duracel batteries on a flash sale, they ring up at $8, that's the average full price you can get them anywhere else. Other items are now being clearenced out at prices equal to regular prices at other stores. We didn't see Any items for anything below retail at other stores. The K-mart sale is the worst I've ever seen, yet the place was full of people buying these false bargains, so thought I'd share, especially since it's all sales final now. If you overpay on that non-deal you're stuck.

[DavidWebb]

Amazing how some places take 20 years or more to go out of business....

[Gerania]

You either know the best price, or you don't.

[jimazee]

Originally Posted by DavidWebb

Amazing how some places take 20 years or more to go out of business....

All stores are going out of business...it just takes some longer than others.

Kinda like people...

[Bazzwell]

Here's how it works, more or less.....

An outside company comes in and jacks the prices back up to full retail. Hope is to move as much stock as they can at the 10% or 20% off rate which is still beyond what the prices were pre-sale. Pretty much the same thing with 30% and 40% off. Now, when you get down to 50% off, you're back around the regular pre-sale price. Racked merchandise like perishable foods, magazines and so on are never marked down but eventually the store will stop being serviced and this stuff will disappear.

Things start to improve at the 60%+ discount but by then two things have happened. First, those not in the know have already scooped up what they thought were bargains and you're left with windshied de-icer in July or pool chemicals in December. Second, better moving merchandise has already been moved back to the warehouse for redistribution to other stores, if there are any.

That's kind of how it works and it's a game I refuse to play.

[jtab4994]

Caveat emptor.


I remember hearing a story of someone who was trying to move certain merchandise that was priced at $1 each and it wasn't selling. They went on vacation and told whoever took over, to price the items at 50 cents. Through a miscommunication the items were priced at $5 and they started selling like hotcakes.


It's all the customer's perception. If you think you're getting a good deal then you are.

[fisheye]

Originally Posted by jtab4994

Caveat emptor.


I remember hearing a story of someone who was trying to move certain merchandise that was priced at $1 each and it wasn't selling. They went on vacation and told whoever took over, to price the items at 50 cents. Through a miscommunication the items were priced at $5 and they started selling like hotcakes.


It's all the customer's perception. If you think you're getting a good deal then you are.

I think the bottom line is that many stores will be lucky if they can recoup $.10 on the dollar when going out of business.

I went to the Kmart in Mt. Pocono closing; I did not buy anything. Possibly it was because I was not expecting to buy anything? If I saw a 'real' deal on something I wanted; I might have bought. But I have not liked the Kmart stores for years. I think that once the decision was made buy Sears it was all downhill for both stores. Kmart moved away from many garden supplies and embraced a 'partial' food store. The problem is that we could not buy all of our groceries at that store - so why bother buying anything from them! Walmart has the better variety; but we would still go to ShopRite or another chain grocery store before Walmart.

Possibly the bigger question is if there will be a use for these large buildings? There was one company that tried Halloween costumes in the Kmart store; but quickly closed after Halloween. The empty large stores represent a potential for new businesses and jobs - but it is hard to make a living competing with online sales. We need some new ideas and business structures.

[jtab4994]

Originally Posted by fisheye

There was one company that tried Halloween costumes in the Kmart store; but quickly closed after Halloween.

That's called a pop-up store. They rent the space on a short-term lease to sell seasonal items and then they're gone. Christmas trees & wreaths, Mother's Day flowers, fireworks, etc are other examples of pop-up stores that are usually set up in tents or vacant lots.

[fisheye]

Originally Posted by jtab4994

That's called a pop-up store. They rent the space on a short-term lease to sell seasonal items and then they're gone. Christmas trees & wreaths, Mother's Day flowers, fireworks, etc are other examples of pop-up stores that are usually set up in tents or vacant lots.

What surprised me about that Halloween store was that it actually moved into the store. It popped up and popped out!

I would still like to see some business take over the old store for good. It could be a warehouse of distribution center closer to outlets. I think that sometimes it is the mall owners that cannot face reality and still want premium prices for their space. But I presume it is more complicated than that.