These Firsts and Seconds Can Fill the Easter Basket

You can put a big dent in your Easter shopping this weekend at Mainly Seconds in North Hollywood. For most of its 26 years, the store has carried primarily seconds and irregulars. But with so much liquidated stock available, the ratio has reversed. Now, only about 10% is seconds, most of it pottery. The remainder is first-quality merchandise.

There is a good selection of indoor and outdoor plants, pottery, gift items, artificial flowers, ribbon, gift wrap, baskets and other doodads, most priced way below retail.

Churches get their Easter lilies here every year. A 6-inch potted, florist-quality lily is $4.99. If the lilies don’t do it for you, check out the mums, also $4.99. For gifts, we liked the Limoges-type boxes at $4.99, which would retail for $10 or more.

A bouquet of stunning glass flowers, about 16 inches tall, would brighten a room at $2.99 a stem. I found these at a bargain store on the Westside for $8 each.

Once you have collected your purchases, you can stuff them in colorful, sheer gift bags, ranging from 79 cents to $1.99, or about 50% below retail.

Mainly Seconds, 12144 Magnolia Blvd., North Hollywood. Hours: Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-9 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m.-8 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. (818) 985-4499.

Weekend Supersale: Once a year, a giant tent goes up over the parking lot at Regal Rents to make way for items cleared out of their warehouse. Linens, dishes, serving pieces, chairs, tables--some new but mostly used--are marked down to move fast. The line forms about 6:30 a.m. Best to get there early for table linens that start at 25 cents per napkin. Used Chiavari stackable chairs are $39.95, and new, white wood folding chairs are $18.95.

China dishware in pastel colors is 25 cents to 60 apiece. Lots of cast aluminum serving pieces, as well as silver-plated hollow ware, are drastically reduced. The sale is Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Regal Rents, 2310 E. Imperial Highway, El Segundo. (310) 535-3660.

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For more deals, see https://www.bargainsla.com.