A label on the box said it contained silicone containers, which made Brenda Monge think they were reusable baggies like she sees at Target. But the truth was, she wasn’t sure exactly what was in the box she’d placed in her shopping cart.
It didn’t matter. Monge was going to buy it for $7, along with a roll of chicken wire her husband picked out for the same price, plus a brand-new, $3 Alfani shirt she’s seen go for $40 or more at Macy’s. Besides, for her it was more about the experience than the tangibles.
“It’s a de-stresser for me,” she said.
A new kind of discount store spreading north from the Los Angeles Basin has arrived in Bakersfield, much to the fascination of local shoppers who almost can’t believe the deals.
The stores — Flaming Deals at 900 Chester Ave. and Mega Dealz at 402 California Ave., among others — buy truckloads of new but returned items from large retailers such as Amazon, Target and Walmart.
Employees set them out on tables and mark down the prices daily until it’s time to restock with all new merchandise on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
The selection is basically random. On Friday afternoon at Flaming Deals, there were party supplies mixed in with toner cartridges, bicycle tires next to charger cables next to anti-fog shower mirrors, a build-it-yourself breadbox, exercise balls, cellphone covers — and piles and piles of clothing.
Everything was new, though the packaging was worn, in some cases, and taped-up in others. Refunds and returns were out of the question. Customers were asked not to open boxes.
The prices seemed too good to be true, until you consider how the products got there: Chain stores that receive products back from dissatisfied customers unload them in bulk for cheap rather than pay to have them shipped back to the manufacturer for repackaging.
“Everything you can imagine,” Assistant Manager Salah Abdelhadi at Flaming Deals said. With about half a dozen employees, the store goes through one or two truckloads per week, he said, and what doesn’t sell by Wednesday night gets tossed out to make room for new products.
Flaming Deals and Mega Dealz close every Thursday for restocking and cleaning up. When they reopen Friday morning, everything in the store is priced at $7 or $8, though clothing may cost less. Prices come down gradually throughout the week as inventory gradually gets picked over.
There was no sign of it Friday afternoon, but managers at both stores said the really good stuff tends to show up on the sales floor Friday morning: refrigerators, freezers, sofas.
“Brand-new for $7, man,” Abdelhadi said. “It’s good for the community.”
Mega Dealz Manager Moe Awad said a bullhorn perched near the cash registers was there for announcing whenever a table full of new products was about to be wheeled out on the sales floor (yes, the store’s tables all have wheels).
When that happens, look out.
“They go crazy,” Awad said of the store’s customers. “They start ripping everything out.”
“You can find merchandise worth $100 for literally $8,” he added.
He noted the store’s owners, like those of Flaming Deals, run similar operations in Southern California and elsewhere. Flaming Deals opened about two years ago; Mega Dealz launched about three weeks ago.
Shopper Sara Walters at Flaming Deals said she loves it. With next year’s bathing suit already in her cart, she was mulling another visit, this time much earlier on a Friday.
“You get the best deals always,” she said. “Just a great store.”
For independent businessman Robert Vasquez, it’s more like a wholesale clearinghouse. He picks out items he thinks he can sell, and ends up turning what he said amounts to a pretty good profit.
“It’s amazing stuff,” he said, noting that one time he saw someone pay $7 for an electric scooter that would sell in other stores for $500.
“You can’t beat it,” Vasquez said, adding that he often goes in thinking maybe he’ll pick up a couple of items. “I end up leaving with a full cart.”
