Beware of "signs"

In California it is illegal for a store to post a "going out of business" sign unless they are really going out of business. So often you will see "going out FOR business" signs hoping that consumers will misread the sign and think that everything in the store is deeply discounted as part of a liquidation.

Well, the other day I passed by a furniture store that had a "store closing sale" sign and then in small print on the sign it said "for remodeling." This is another attempt to trick shoppers into thinking that there are extremely low prices inside the store because the store is going out of business.

I tend to mistrust businesses that do not tell the truth when they advertise. If they can't tell the truth when they advertise, how likely is it they are going to tell the truth when they give you a sales pitch about a product or service?

If a store has to sell out its merchandise because they are about to do a remodel tell me that. Yes, stores that are about to remodel and need to clear out their sales floor can indeed have very good prices.

Besides, knowing that the store is staying in business would give me some confidence about getting service from this business in the future. For example, if buying an appliance or furniture, I am hesitant to buy from a company that is going out of business in case I needed some service a month or two later.