Think of It as High-Quality Rummage

Ferragamo pumps worth $250 go for $3. Aprica strollers worth $300 go for $25. St. Johns knits worth “$800 a pop go for $25 an outfit,” said Linda Moak, co-chair of the Junior League of Long Beach’s 40th annual rummage sale, coming Saturday to the Long Beach Arena.

“It’s a shop-till-you-drop kind of day,” Moak said. Nearly $200,000 of new and used merchandise will be on sale at bargain basement prices. Everything--from encyclopedias to computers, designer clothes, antiques, jewelry and even a motorized surfboard--goes on the market at 8:30 a.m.

“This is Beverly Hills-quality rummage,” Moak said. Each of the league’s 750 members must donate at least $250 worth of merchandise to sustain membership in the organization. The “Beverly Hills South” department features an array of designer clothes for men and women. The children’s department includes such names as Baby Guess, Esprit, Guitano and Calvin Klein.

“We don’t take anything stained or torn,” Moak said. Much of the merchandise looks new, and some of it is. Area merchants donate everything from wallpaper to photo albums.

Last year, Moak bought some Ferragamo pumps. “The little white tag with the price was still on the soles,” she said. “The toes weren’t even scuffed!”

For those who feel squeamish about walking in someone else’s shoes, Moak has this answer: “Wouldn’t you buy something somebody wore once at a wedding?

“If you want somebody to wait on you while you drink a glass of wine and try on clothes, then this is probably not where you want to be,” she said. But “if you’re the type of person who goes to swap meets, then this is the place for you.”

Moak anticipates a large turnout this year. Several thousand people are expected to wander the arena’s aisles. Organizers hope to raise $100,000 for the league’s charities, including social service programs that provide services to an array of needy people, from abused children to homeless people and alcoholic women.

Various departments at the sale include antiques, books, handmade crafts, boys and girls clothes, crystal and china, furniture, housewares, electrical appliances, infant, toddlers, baby furniture, jewelry, linens, party and holiday ware, patio furniture and accessories, rugs, drapes, shoes, and sporting goods.

“When the kids grow out of the skis, the old ones go to the rummage sale,” Moak said. “They’re as good as you rent, that’s for sure.” The league even sells unmentionables. “Yep, even lingerie,” she said. “Robes, bras, teddies. We get it all.”

Doors open at 8:30 a.m. at the Long Beach Arena, 300 E. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach. Admission is free; parking costs $5. At 1:30 p.m., doors close briefly to mark down all remaining merchandise to half price. The sale begins again at 2 p.m. and continues until 3 p.m.

For more information, call the Junior League of Long Beach at (310) 494-4389.