YAKIMA--If that chair, couch or table you wanted was just too much, an auction might be the place to go. You'll find more than good deals; it's also a more exciting way to shop.
Cramer's Home Furnishing closed its Yakima store two weeks ago, but for the first two days of 2010, it's been the place to be.
"If you wheel and deal you can get some good prices," Sally Lopez said.
"[There are] definitely lower prices," Laura Ritchie said. "[They're asking for] a very small fraction of what [items are] selling at other stores."
Ritchie has a whole room to furnish, but the prices she's found at retail stores are more than she can afford.
Lopez was here on New Year's Day for the auction's opening. She came back for more Saturday and plans to shop this way from now on.
"Financing is so high," she said. "Here, you can just get it for less."
She's not alone.
"Our customers keep coming back; it's amazing," BCS Auction President Scott Sandstedt, who doubles as the auctioneer, said. "[Customers get hooked on it because it's almost like gambling or going to Vegas. You never know what you're going to get."
With no minimum bids, listed price tags go right out the window.
"Sometimes you can buy a leather couch that sells for $1700, $2500 for three, four hundred dollars," Sandstedt said.
Sandstedt's auctioneer-speak may sound like gibberish to some, but everyone can understand a good deal.
"I haven't found anything specifically that I want to bid on," Ritchie said. "I just want to come and watch and see how the prices go."
BCS Auctions hoped to sell off all of Cramer's remaining inventory at Saturday's auction, but they get merchandise regularly. Most times, like Saturday, the furniture comes from failing businesses.
BCS Auction holds auctions in Zillah nearly every Saturday evening.
If you're interested, check out www.bcsauction.com, or go to their warehouse at 705 Railroad Avenue in Zillah.
