| Dollars+Sense: Deal or no deal? The year's champs, chumps (StarTribune) |
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Who impressed and distressed our consumer columnist in 2007? Consumers nationwide had their fill of contaminated food and tainted toys last year, but Twin Cities shoppers experienced some highs and lows of their own. Here are the champs and chumps of 2007. Let me know if I forgot your favorite hit or miss. WORST NEW "OUTLET" Like sheep being herded over a cliff, many shoppers see the word "outlet" and assume great savings. Many stores in outlet malls today aren't even true outlets anymore. As the concept has aged and shoppers discovered the deals weren't worth the drive, many factory stores closed, leaving malls to rent to any retailer, whether it sells closeouts and overstocks or not. In Albertville, Aeropostale, Bath & Body Works, Icing by Claire's, Totes Sunglass World, Trade Secret and Zumienz are not outlets. In 2007, the Old Navy outlet closed and reopened as a full-priced store. BEST NEW OUTLETS The one new store keeping the concept alive opened in Medford's outlet mall (www.preferredoutlets.com). The Bath & Body Works Clearance store (1-507-455-4058), unlike the full-price store in Albertville, is a true outlet with savings of 50 to 70 percent on candles, lotions, fragrance sprays, aromatherapy and gift sets. It's one of only 20 nationwide. Free-standing outlets that opened in 2007 include Restore by Habitat for Humanity (501 W. Broadway, Minneapolis, 612-588-3820), a building materials outlet. The deals are excellent on cabinets, carpet, tile, wood trim, doors, windows, siding and used appliances. Eversharp (344 NE. Taft St., Minneapolis, 612-379-1300), the Wüsthof factory authorized service center, reopened in May. The store now looks as sharp as Culinar carbon steel, but it still sells new and reconditioned Wüsthof knives at 40 percent off or more. Current specials through Jan. 19 include a $1 per knife sharpening special (any brand while you wait, 10 max). BEST NEW CONCEPT It's about time someone finally upset the shopping network cart. Watching perfectly tanned, coiffed and manicured robots talk endlessly about mostly second-rate merchandise makes me want to pull the plug on the plasma. Plymouth-based Atomic Deals (www.atomicdeals.com/) revamped the format. The merchandise is all from liquidations and overstocks, except for occasional steals on iPods, Xboxes and Roombas, and the banter from the irreverent hosts often veers offline. Best of all, the price of each item featured online or on TV decreases as the auction continues. Check it out online, on Comcast channels 13 and 23 at 9 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays and 10 a.m. Saturdays, and on DirecTV channel 319 at the same times starting Feb. 1. BEST INTERNET SITE FOR SORE EYES Ira Mitchell of Eagan dared to go where few myops had gone before -- the Internet instead of a local frame shop -- for a new pair of glasses. Mitchell discovered that shopping for a new pair of glasses at so-called budget options such as Lenscrafters can set a person back $400, so Mitchell started his blog, Glassyeyes.com. He's never paid more than $89 for a complete pair (moderate nearsightedness, no bifocal correction) at sites such as www.39dollarglasses.com, www.optical4less.com and goggles4u.com. Mitchell's site shows people how to choose the appropriate size frame, although it might be easier for consumers to get the information from their eye doctor. My advice is to buy frames online and go to Costco for lenses. The wholesale club offers excellent quality at low prices. BEST SALE When is an Oriental rug sale really a sale? Not very often and certainly not at Wickes' going-out-of-business sale. That's why the first-ever rug sale at Odegard Inc. (210 N. 2nd St., Minneapolis, 612-455-6100, www.odegardinc.com) was such a find. Not only are Minnesota native Stephanie Odegard's rug designs contemporary and well-made, the prices during the September sale were amazing ($800 to $2,800 for 8- by 10-foot rugs, regularly $4,000 to $10,000). Her rugs are hand-knotted without child labor in Nepal, Tibet and India. The sale was a bigger success than the ones held in the Hamptons and Miami. Store reps expect to have another one in the fall. WORST SALE The other kind of sale that was like sheep to the slaughter? A furniture store going out of business. Wickes started its sale mid-May but kept its operation going until Sept. 25 with a public liquidation sale at the Edina and Maple Grove locations. What should make consumers suspicious that the sale may not be as great as it's advertised? Merchandise that doesn't look familiar. Wickes brought in tons of Oriental rugs that were never carried at the chain before the sale. Artwork is another item that is brought in because few buyers can judge a fair price. Also, new salespeople. Typically, staff is let go after a liquidator brings in its own sales team. My advice for any GOB sale, especially on furniture, is to write down the price, manufacturer and stock number and then call around to other stores to check prices. Some furniture liquidations jack the price up and then cross out several higher prices on the tag to make it appear that the item is a great deal. Get used to these GOB sales that take four months. The attorney general isn't going after them yet. WORST UBIQUITOUS FIGURE WHO ISN'T BRITNEY SPEARS The grandfatherly avatar from Empire Today. If you need carpet tomorrow and you don't care what it costs, then Empire Today is for you. But you'll pay dearly for the convenience. In a price comparison in 2007, I found that Empire's carpet prices were 30 to 50 percent higher than Jack Rubenstein wholesalers (952-922-4781), which sends customers to several local showrooms. Making matters worse, Empire's salesmen, which several readers told me were high pressure, only bring a few colors and styles to choose from and they won't leave samples. If you're in a hurry, shop Rubenstein first to get ballpark prices, borrow samples and then call Empire. If you can wait, skip Empire even if you can't get that cursed jingle out of your head. WORST GAS PLAN Only after pressure from the Public Utilities Commission did Xcel and CenterPoint dump their fixed-rate natural gas plans. CenterPoint's "No Surprise Bill," which about 42,000 customers signed up for, turned out to be a rude surprise when many of those customers found themselves paying more than if they were on the budget plan.
Star Tribune |
