Home improvement store "garage sales".

[Mars2012]

Has anyone ever gotten a really good deal at Rona or HD during their summer clear outs? I was at Rona on the weekend and couldn't believe the crap they had to sell in their clearance areas (they had it where the garden plants were earlier)).

Parts were missing from one of the light fixtures (which looked like it had been installed once), yet the price didn't reflect that. It reminded me of when I went to garage sales years ago and I'd hit the home of some old guy that wanted top dollar for all the rusted trinkets he's collected over 60 years.

[mslolo]

Yup, I was at Rona last week as they were advertising their big clear out sale. What a joke, maybe two tables with a few dusty, previously opened electrical outlets scattered on them. Looked like the stuff that hadn't sold at the flea market.
I find HD usually has better quality items in their clear outs - more selection and multiples of an item. Still, I don't think they have ever had anything I needed though there were good deals on light fixtures.

[sherman51]

Once in a while there are open boxes for faucets that are a good deal but generally, unless someone has picked stuff up before i got there, I've never seen anything great.

[spensar]

There can be some good deals, but it's buyer beware and make sure all the parts are there. I did really well at HD on a set of kitchen taps that were more than 50% off the regular selling price.

[stardustcross]

I haven't been to those but I did get some decent camping pots at a Canadian tire. It was missing 1 out of the 3 pans, 1 out of 2 cups, and a small drawstring bag... but it was half price and I didn't need so many pots. I guess with these things, you just gotta get lucky and be there first lol.

[Wingding]

Fortunately for the retailers, there is no shortage of really stupid people who will happily overpay for incomplete or defective crap. All you have to do is stick up a "Clearance" sign, and they'll come running.

If you want proof of that, just go to a Sears Outlet Store some day and look around. You will be utterly amazed that people will actually pay so close to full retail for shopworn, broken, and/or just-plain-ugly merchandise -- especially in the furniture and hardware sections (often more than the stuff would have been priced at during a decent sale when it was regular stock in one of their full-line stores.) Yet, they sell enough of it to actually make those stores feasible.

[Mars2012]

Fortunately for the retailers, there is no shortage of really stupid people who will happily overpay for incomplete or defective crap. All you have to do is stick up a "Clearance" sign, and they'll come running.

If you want proof of that, just go to a Sears Outlet Store some day and look around. You will be utterly amazed that people will actually pay so close to full retail for shopworn, broken, and/or just-plain-ugly merchandise -- especially in the furniture and hardware sections (often more than the stuff would have been priced at during a decent sale when it was regular stock in one of their full-line stores.) Yet, they sell enough of it to actually make those stores feasible.
Ain't that the truth.

That reminds me of going to Winners...I don't know who their target shoppers are, but in the women's section, they have an awful lot of garments for the wannebe hootchie-mamas. A normal person wouldn't be caught dead in most of their clearance junk.

[98vtec]

I was lucky a few years ago and picked up a Rona brand corded hammer drill for $20.. Still have it to this day and works great!

[da335]

I found some of their clearance sale prices are different from location to location. Once I was able to buy a garden fountain at 75% discount price. I always talk to the manager for further discount and most of time they offer an additional 10-15% off.