Is it worth shopping the hh gregg going out of business sale? Or will it be a big waste of your time and hard earned money?
To find out, we visited the liquidation sale at one of the 200 stores that will be closing in the next few weeks.
Along the way, some customers we ran into were not very impressed with the 10% and 20% markdowns they found in the store.
"I think if you're patient you'll find better deals in the next week or so," one shopper said, frustrated with the small 10% discounts.
What we found inside
Inside, we found most appliances at just 10% off the original price. And at that discount, you're not saving much on expensive items like Dyson vacuums or Kitchen Aid mixers.
But in the appliance department, we started finding bigger 20% markdowns. Among the deals we found
- An LG front loading washer was marked down to $809. We found the same washer priced higher at $899 at Best Buy. So you would save $90 buying it at hh gregg.
- A 25 cubic foot French door Samsung fridge was marked down to $2,294. It was almost $300 higher at Home Depot, at $2,636. So again, the liquidation price was a good one.
Liquidation sales often start slowly
In fairness to hh gregg, this is how almost all liquidation sales work.
Merchandise is put up at full list price, then marked down 10% the first week, then 20%, then 50% etc, until it is all gone. But remember that the discounts are off full list price, not necessarily the price they were at last month.
"I think hh gregg and their liquidators are going to get as much as they can for this stuff, and it's typical the real deals wont happen till they are down 2 or 3 weeks," another shopper agreed.
Unfortunately, there may not be be much left in two weeks. Our visit found big screen TV's almost all gone, snapped up by shoppers even with 10% and 20% off list price.
Three cautions before you shop
But before you race to the store, some cautions:
- Be skeptical of the original list price, as we found the same items for much less than the "list" price elsewhere. So while you may think you are saving $200, it may be just a savings of $50 over what you can buy it for at Sears, Home Depot, or Lowe's.
- Remember that you can't return it if it breaks in a couple of weeks. You will have to deal with the manufacturer.
- If it is a large appliance, you will have to pay to have it hauled home, or find a friend with strong arms and a pickup truck. Gregg is no longer offering in-house home delivery.
For more information on what your rights are, and how to protect yourself at any going out of business sale, CLICK HERE.
If you are fine with all that, you may find some good deals. And that way you don't waste your money.
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