Going out of Business Sales
If you want to know the dirty little secret of the furniture world, its the Going Out of Business sales when a store closes. So many consumers get caught up in the thrill of getting a hot price on something that they fail to do diligent price shopping.
Here's what happens when a store fails:
The store owner sells his business to a liquidator who pays him pennies on the dollar for his remaining inventory. The liquidator is going to continue to trade under the store name, though he is using his own credit and accounts to deal with suppliers and media for advertising.
Usually there is very little remaining inventory in a failing store, as most as been sold off over the past few months. What the liquidator does is bring in truckloads and truckloads of new inventory (which he can now buy as his credit is good, whereas the store's was probably bad) and sell it off as 'leftover inventory'. Its no such thing.
The Liquidator will cut deals wherever they can, often buying Market Showrooms, or purchasing 'dead' stock a supplier may have. In some cases, they will bring in much inferior product that the consumers assume was high quality.
Case in point, a large local store that was the Stickley dealer went under a few years ago, the liquidators did not bring in Stickley, but instead a clone made in China. People assumed it was Stickley because the store had always carried that brand but in fact it was unmarked and unbranded.
For the most part, there are not true deals at these events. Prices are grossly inflated to reflect a huge markdown, but its all smoke and mirrors.
The liquidator milks the Going out of Business sale for as long as he can, until sales drop off or the landlord of the building wants them out. Thats why you see certain store going out of business for up to a year! Ever wonder about that? ;)
So be smart about it, and don't get taken in by the advertising when shopping the Going Out of Business sales.
