Discounted goods

Personal Finances Living Below Your Means
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Time to buy stuff you want! Stores will have to clear this out to make space for the coming holiday season goods.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/glut-of-goods-at-target-walmart……

**Glut of Goods at Target, Walmart Is a Boon for Liquidators**
**Off-price chains are awash in appliances, apparel and outdoor furniture that never made it to stores**

**By Suzanne Kapner, The Wall Street Journal, July 4, 2022**

**The excess inventory piling up at large retailers such as Target Corp. and Walmart Inc. is proving a boon for liquidators and other companies that help dispose of the oversupply.**

**Liquidity Services Inc., Xcess Limited, B-Stock LLC and other companies said they are seeing a glut of kitchen appliances, televisions, outdoor furniture and apparel that major chains are trying to clear out. In many cases, the liquidators are picking up pallets at the ports or from a warehouse without the goods ever hitting store shelves and are selling the items to smaller retailers and individuals who resell them online....**

**Larger discount chains like TJX Cos.’ T.J. Maxx and Ross Stores Inc. also are benefiting from the oversupply. They often buy overruns directly from manufacturers, whereas the liquidators scoop up excess supply from the largest retailers and resell the goods to smaller chains, mom-and-pop shops, online-auction sites and individuals, who resell them at flea markets and websites such as [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com) Inc., eBay Inc. and Craigslist, industry executives said. ...** [end quote]

These are first-quality goods that were never sent to stores.

Out-of-season winter clothing sales are always good, but this year there is a glut of last winter’s clothes that sat in supply chain bottlenecks.

The same is probably true of electronics which have been superseded by this year’s models.

Hmmm…our 2009 Panasonic plasma TV has lost its lowest 3" of pixels, hiding subtitles of foreign movies. This may be a good opportunity to replace it.

I’m not sure whether to replace our 1987 Westinghouse washer, dryer, dishwasher and refrigerator since they are workhorses and still chugging along. I’ve read that the latest versions are inferior in quality.

I don’t know where to find these discounted appliances and TV that the liquidators are supposedly selling. Major retailers such as Amazon.com have markdowns, too. Would it be better to buy from Costco than a discounter? They are reliable and stand behind their products.

Wendy

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Walmart has a few models of appliances and televisions with significant discounts. Most are routine sales.

Amazon or Amazon marketplace? The difference is significant.

We have LG HE washer and LG dryer bought around 5 years ago. No problems so far.

The rebranded Whirlpool refrigerator bought in 2009 needs to be replaced.

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…they are seeing a glut of … outdoor furniture … that major chains are trying to clear out.

I’ve been looking for a couple of chaise lounges for the back deck at (what I regard to be) a reasonable price, but no luck, online or in stores. Neither Lowe’s nor Home Depot had anything I wanted. Amazon has mostly junk. I found elsewhere online the basic powder-coated aluminum frame and poly strap chaise I wanted, the kind you see poolside at your nearby Holiday Inn or Hilton Garden Inn. But at $280 apiece (plus tax and shipping), that seemed high to me.

Am I just living in the past with regard to what these things should cost?

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Went to a larger Walmart in the area yesterday because I had a few coupons for shampoo, toothpaste and such. Was hoping there might be some women’s apparel that hasn’t been available. I guess it hasn’t reached the stores in my area. Tons of empty shelves and clothes racks.

One thing I’ve have been having trouble finding is Claritin D 12 hour. The generic has been available but it doesn’t work for me.

AC still seeing certain items still missing from grocery stores too

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Earlier, late Spring-ish, I saw some patio/poolside chaise stuff at Burkes (the faux discount outlet similar to Ross).
I remember a “stylish” aluminum chair with outdoor mesh seat for $25.

I see that HD has a very similar chair for $20. LOLOLOLOL so much for Burkes being “discount”.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/StyleWell-Mix-and-Match-Stackabl…

You might look at such discount oulet places?
Ross, Marshall’s, TJ Maxx?
Especially as the summer wanes and summer consumables are replaced with Fall goods at the major stores?

:alien:
ralph

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AC still seeing certain items still missing from grocery stores too

What items are you seeing missing from the grocery store?

Sabra has restarted production. Obviously, most JIF products are mostly unavailable. Some sizes of items we buy are in limited supply. Without a need for baby food, I don’t know the status of it. The Abbott plant had to again suspend production because of flooding. I don’t know its current status. Just in case, I bought a large supply of mustard. Overall, I’m not having any significant problems finding items we buy.

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What items are you seeing missing from the grocery store?

Pasta and sauces come and go. Milk is always there but not every “brand” or type. Chips, crackers and cookies cycle through; walking through the aisles there are holes here and there.

AC YMMV

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Since the article was in the WSJ and not in Personal Finance, my thought is that it was more targeted at choices of investments.

Deciding what I need and watching for a price I am willing to pay works better for me than jumping at sales. TVs are often on sale around the Super Bowl and are loss leaders at places like Target and Best Buy. I am also one not to replace things that work. For laundry machines, I will wait until it’s a need - there’s always asking to use my son’s or to hit a laundromat. The one thing where I don’t do this is hot water heater because waiting can be a disaster.

I have bought a couple of bathing suit pieces from Lands End at 50% or more off. My size can be tough to find and I have plans for swimming through the rest of the year. I bought a couple of skorts on sale from Duluth Trading to replace faves that are actually wearing out. Googling helped me salvage a few tops from sunscreen yellowing(hello, oxi !)

Because I have so much travel rolled over from the past couple of years I haven’t jumped but there are some great deals on travel the rest of the year. The flip side to that is early reservations have definitely saved me money on hotels and they had liberal enough cancellation policies that I am not concerned. In one case, there was a sale after I reserved and I was able to make a new reservation at a lower price and to cancel the old.

But channeling old advice from Andrew Tobias, I did buy 10 cans of tuna on sale yesterday :wink:

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Oh, and frozen foods. Potatoes were absent in the frozen section for a while (gots to have tater tots!). I know there were some issues with the potato crops so I thank that’s what was behind it. Frozen vegetables are come and go as well.

AC thinks the regular supply chain in-country is still getting straightened out

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I’ve begun to wonder whether the “holes here and there” are caused by a shortage of people to fill the shelves, rather than stuff to fill the shelves.

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I’ve begun to wonder whether the “holes here and there” are caused by a shortage of people to fill the shelves, rather than stuff to fill the shelves.

I believe it is both.

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I’ve begun to wonder whether the “holes here and there” are caused by a shortage of people to fill the shelves, rather than stuff to fill the shelves.

They may be hiring but I don’t think that’s the issue at my grocery store. I dare say those who are available are getting extra hours.

AC stock clerks are always moving in the aisles as well as the people filling pick-up orders

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