Store Dishes Out Savings in Ware for the Dining Table

When it comes to tabletop deals, Pallets of Plates in South Pasadena is one of the best around, featuring dinnerware found in top stores but at considerably lower prices.

Take the Medici line from Tabletops. You will find it in the catalogs of two major department stores on sale for $40 plus shipping for a four-piece setting. At Pallets of Plates, the everyday price is $33.96.

Serving pieces are $26.99 at Pallets and $50 in the catalog. The dishes are sold in bulk so you can pick an assortment of colors, unlike the catalog where you have to stick with one color.

Several additional serving pieces are offered that are not in the catalogs, such as salt and pepper shakers, teapots and canister sets.

It’s possible to buy individual place settings usually offered only in complete sets. For example, a place setting of Gibson’s fruit pattern is only $5.99. The serving pieces are priced at $3.99 for a bowl and $6.99 for platters, casserole dishes and baking pans.

Those into the bright colors of Gataeno Pottery will find 15% to 20% off items. The store also carries white restaurant dishware sold individually. A giant pasta bowl at $9 gives you an idea of the deals.

Boxed sets of dishes start at $20 for a 20-piece set, and the store is running a special on a 60-piece set of ceramic dishware (eight place settings plus serving pieces) for $89; it retails for $120.

There is a solid inventory of accessory items, such as candles, silk flowers, vases and lamps. We liked the chenille pillows for $13.99 (retail $19.99) and some chair pads for $5.99 (retail $9.99).

Pallets of Plates, 1136 S. Fair Oaks, South Pasadena. (626) 403-2891. Sunday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Friday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m.

Weekend Supersale: At the Cinema Glamour Shop, proceeds from the sale of apparel and furniture donated by people who work in the entertainment industry go to the Motion Picture Fund Hospital. In addition to its regular Monday-through-Friday schedule, it is open the last Saturday of each month for a special sale. On Saturday, there will be a “Half-Off of Half-Off” sale. For example, a man’s sport coat marked at $50 (new, it was probably $400 or more) becomes only $12.50.

Cinema Glamour Shop, 343 N. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles. (323) 933-5289. Monday-Friday and the last Saturday of each month, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.