Liquidation Sale at the University Convention Center in Springfield, Missouri

Every couple of months I notice a commercial that usually runs all week. It advertises a huge "liquidation sale." They boost of things like $99.00 laptops, $79.00 computers, Mp3 Players, clothes and Jewlery. I have noticed that they aren't exclusive to my area. You might have seen one advertised in your city.

The last time I saw this commercial, I told my husband that we had to go finally see what this was all about. He wanted to purchase a laptop and at those prices how could we go wrong?. The sale was held at the University Convention Center, located in Springfield Missouri. So off we went to check things out.

The first surprise came when we entered the building. We were charged $7.00 a piece just to enter the sale. At first we were hesitant to even enter, but we had driven 40 miles to get there. So we figured we might as well go in. I did comment to the woman taking my money, that they really should advertise that there is an admittance fee. She agreed with me.

I was interested in purchasing a Mp3 player. They advertised those at $9.99. I did not see any around and when I finally found them they were no longer $9.99. They were now $15.00 and looked terrible. They were cheap and little. The boxes that they came in were battered and worn. I decided against the purchase. If something was wrong with the product, where would I get a refund?. By the looks of the product, something was wrong.

We walked over to a vender that was selling DVD's. I saw two that I liked and asked him how much was he charging for them. He said 3 DVD's for $25.00, but I bargained him down to two for $10.00. I felt alright about the purchase and we moved on.

When we got to the computers and Laptops, I noticed none of the advertised prices we heard about in the ads were there. Everything was at least $100.00 more than they claimed. The cheapest laptop was $229.00. It was so small I could not imagine an adult using it. I know that I could not have typed on it, or even viewed the tiny font. We did not even discuss buying one.

I am a huge fan of handbags. So we went there next. There were some nice looking ones. However they were not leather. But were priced as if they were. I liked one purse and my husband wanted a wallet. We went to the vender to find out how much he would charge. Of course I tried to bargain with him. He got very angry and told us to leave. He was extremely rude. So we decided to call it a night and leave.

We had to do some grocery shopping. So we stopped at a local store on the way home. I stood there in horror when I was in their DVD room. Both of the movies I had bought at the sale were listed there for $5.00 a piece. Furthermore, I now knew that I had paid $14.00 to buy the two movies for $10.00. The total being $24.00. When I could have just spent $10.00 to buy them there.

The only redeeming thing that I saw, was the kids clothing. They had all the "fad" styles, and they were inexpensive. Probably good for people with big families trying to save money on clothes.

Other than that, I think this sale was an absolute rip off. Most of the things there could have been purchased at the dollar store for half the price. As for the inexpensive electronics, I would never want to buy anything that is not under warranty. I am glad I did finally go see what the sale was about. Although I was taken, I did learn my lesson. As always, If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.