FILE- In this Feb. 23, 2018, file photo, a customer enters a Bon Ton store, which is scheduled to close, in Concord, N.H. Shoppers need to compare prices as they navigate the sales racks, and carefully check the quality of the merchandise since they can’t return items. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)NEW YORK (AP) – The liquidation of Toys R Us is adding to the clutter of “Store Closing” signs as department stores, mall chains and other retailers close poorly performing locations.
But beware! Liquidation sales may sound like a deal-hunter’s dream, but they don’t always offer the best discounts. Shoppers need to compare prices as they navigate the sales racks, and carefully check the quality of the merchandise since they can’t return items.
“Not everything is a great deal,” said Jerry Robertson, a San Antonio, Texas-based store closing consultant who manages the liquidation sales of small retailers. “Just be careful of what you buy. Do your homework.”
Shoppers also need to understand the store’s policy of redeeming gift cards. When stores go into the bankruptcy, they petition the court to decide whether gift cards can be honored – and for how long, says Shelly Hunter, a representative of Giftcards.com, which has tracked gifts cards from stores like Borders to Coldwater Creek in bankruptcy.
Toys R Us honored gift cards while it was trying to reorganize under bankruptcy protection. But after the chain said it would liquidate its remaining 735 U.S. stores last week, it says that the cards will be worthless after 30 days.