Liquidation sales are not supposed to save you money.
Their sole purpose is to squeeze every possible penny of profit from the inventory of a dying retailer.
And that's something you ought to know, with an ever-growing list of bankrupt retailers plastering going-out-of business banners on shopping centers.
"It may say 'Everything must go,' but that doesn't mean you have to go," said Anthony Giorgianni, associate finance editor for Consumer Reports.
Deals at liquidation sales, especially at the start of the sale, are typically not very good.
At the Circuit City liquidation, which started last weekend, discounts range from 10 percent to 30 percent -- about typical for the beginning stages of a liquidation.
"People see 'going out of business,' and they just think that it automatically means great deals," Giorgianni said. "Generally the deals aren't great, and by the time they're good, a lot of the stuff is gone."
At the Circuit City on Creedmoor Road in Raleigh, many shoppers were leaving empty-handed Thursday.Erick Brinkley was looking for a laptop but said he was not impressed by the 10 percent discount he found on most models.
Read the complete story at newsobserver.com