2 Sales Due This Weekend Are Not Run-of-the-Mill
When money is tight and people are holding onto their wallets with both hands, retailers have to slash prices to the bone to draw crowds. As a result, most of us are getting a bit jaded. “SALE” in letters five feet high isn’t the turn-on it was.
Midnight Sales, Anniversary Sales, Weekend Sales, Saturday Sales, Sunday Sales, Pre- and Post-Holiday Sales. It seems endless. Picking the best weekend sales can be difficult.
There are two special sales this weekend that are not run-of-the-merchandising-mill--Regal Rents in Culver City and the City of Hope Town Fair Bazaar in Los Angeles.
Under a large tent next to its warehouse, Regal Rents is holding its annual sale, and it is the only time that Regal sells anything. It specializes in party rentals and whatever can be rented for a party can be purchased, new or used, one day of the year. That day is Saturday, starting at 9 a.m.
Those in the know line up early for this one because the good stuff goes fast. The crowd rush is toward the linens, and it’s no wonder with prices like 25 cents and up for napkins. For a 90-inch round tablecloth in a solid color, figure $3.95; prints run $8.95. Banquet-size (6-by-12-foot) cloths--solids only--will be whisked away by eager bargain shoppers for $4.95.
Silver-plated serving pieces--trays in particular--start at $1 and go up, depending on the condition. A few well-placed doilies can make those $1 trays very viewable.
Most of the merchandise at this sale has been used, but some has not. New round folding tables (48 inches) are $69.95 and sell elsewhere for about $100. New white wood folding chairs with vinyl padded seats are $19.95.
Also new is some good-looking and heavy-hammered stainless steel flatware. One dozen salad forks will be $11.64, and 12 teaspoons will go for $10.56. Serving pieces will be sold separately.
The Regal Rents one-day sale is from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at 9925 Jefferson Blvd., Culver City. MasterCard/Visa, American Express. Call (310) 204-3382.
The other hot sale in town is the annual City of Hope Town Fair Bazaar on Saturday and March 21. All merchandise is donated by local merchants and manufacturers, and the proceeds benefit the City of Hope, a hospital and medical research facility in Duarte.
The inventory at this sale is always extensive: food and delicatessen items, lamps, gifts, paints, housewares, tools, health and beauty aids, apparel for men and women. It’s a potpourri of items that are 50% to 80% off the original price.
Men’s designer jeans are $5, baby strollers are $85 (retail $150), electric griddles that sell for $30 will be $10. I like the cookie sheets for $2.50 and auto sunscreens for 50 cents. There’s even a Panasonic computer for $350 and watches that need batteries for 50 cents. Four bowling balls will go for $5 each and a clothes steamer is $1. Paint is selling at $4 a gallon and a triple roll of wallpaper is $1.25.
There is a $1 admission fee, but with deals like this, you shouldn’t mind.
City of Hope Town Fair Bazaar, 317 S. Crocker St., Los Angeles. 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and March 21. Cash and checks only. Call (213) 488-0832.