Household appliance store that closed over 30 years ago has a clearance sale

[Wayler]

This was an interesting story that was widely reported in our national media over the weekend. If you don't read finnish, there are some pretty pictures at least:

A report from 2020 about the store and owner - https://www.is.fi/tampereen-seutu/art-2000007663920.html

A report about the clearance sale - https://www.is.fi/tampereen-seutu/art-2000009615431.html

 

As a reference, we went through an economic depression in the early 90's. A lot of businesses went under, including this privately owned home appliance store in a sleepy small town. The owner was somehow able to get through it though because he owned the building and had his home in the upstairs apartment. The wares were only partly sold off back then but the rest were just put away in storage. The owner's son then later used the premises as an antique store. If I understood correctly, the building is now being refurbished or demolished, so the owner and his son decided the sell everything off. The clearance sale had a huge turnout and people waited for hours to get in.

 

Looks like this one guy made out like a bandit:

However. Don't know the exact prices at what these went but I read somewhere that the owner knew exactly what everything was worth nowadays, so it was not the huge bargain sale as some thought it out to be. There were reports that something like an unused VHS-tape was priced at 30 EUR (roughly the same as in $).

[jhd]

That's just bizarre that all of this inventory just remained in storage for so many years. I guess if the space was "free" then the owner had no incentive to clear it out.

 

I can remember attending a bankruptcy sale at a speciality bookstore where the manager(?) was unwilling to give any discounts; I have no idea what happened to all of the unsold stock.  

 

Personally, I want the advertising signage and stuff like that which was never actually sold at retail.  

[Gamemoose]

There's an independent department store in a small city nearby where the owner has warehouses full of new old stock.  Want classic shampoo or glass cleaner from the 80's or 90's?  They got some.  Old style waffle maker? Yep.  Sonic the Hedgehog Mead folders from 1991? They had them.....

 

Not everything there is old stock.  However if there's something you want that companies don't make that a small department store might carry, they may have it.  My wife calls it a "museum".