The average American consumer is pretty used to sales these days. Most recently, both before and after Christmas, consumers were able to go to stores and expect discounts of 40%, 50% and even 60% off. So knowing that this is most consumers' frame of reference, what is it with these liquidation sales? I am very sorry for all the people who work at a company that is going out of business - it is very scary and disruptive all around. However, when retailers go out of business it seems like the next step is to announce a liquidation sale, which most people flock to in the hope of getting a bargain that they couldn't get anywhere else.
However, my experience with liquidation sales is that by the time they offer you a discount worth considering, all that's left to buy is a few store fixtures.
My husband and I foolishly decided to try our luck at the Circuit City liquidation sale on Saturday - us and a few thousand other people who live in the area. As we were pulling into the parking lot, I observed that most people were leaving empty handed - not a good sign. Anyway, we still went in - once a lemming, always a lemming. Not only were they only offering discounts of 10% - hardly worth getting out of bed for - but it seemed like they had put up the prices in order to offer the supposed 10% price break.
The whole thing was so frustrating and such a waste of time that the only rationale that I could come up with was that there is a 'liquidation handbook' out there somewhere that says 'offer your poor, hapless customers 10% for the first couple of weeks, and then when they are on the point of giving up, go to 20%' and so on and so forth.
Having said that I guess that someone out there hits the liquidation sales at just the right moment so that they get the best merchandise for the lowest price, but it is never me.
Could someone explain to me how to get something out of a liquidation sale that is more than a bad headache?
You're Not Too Busy to Read "Too Busy To Shop"
15 years ago
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