Bests and Busts at Cabazon Mall
A recent shopping trip to the Desert Hills Factory Stores outlet mall in Cabazon turned up clear-cut deals on items ranging from pantyhose to fanny packs. But some merchandise didn’t live up to its billing. A sampling:
Bests
* Hanes: Bags of irregular L’Eggs panty hose--$6.43 for three pairs of Sheer Energy Control Top selling for $4.60 each in supermarkets. “I’ve bought them for years and only once found what was an irregular,” one shopper said. “One toe was reinforced, one was sheer, and who cares?”
* Harry and David: Baked goods with undiscernible cosmetic flaws or without fancy packages--$9.95 for pumpkin cheesecakes regularly $24.95.
* Esprit: Wide selection of clothing selling for the promised 30% to 70% off--jeans shirts marked down from $42 to $28, sweaters from $68 to $45, cotton parkas from $128 to $77 to $59. Plus bins of $15-or-less items.
* Donna Karan: Good cuts on a high-priced spread--fanny pack with leather panel slashed from $205 to $100 to $49.95. White wool blazer from $415 to $250. Jeans jacket from $135 to $80.
Busts
* Coach: Advertises 20% to 50% savings on “quality irregulars and discontinued items.” A sampling of 13 bags, briefcases and accessories revealed that 12 were cut exactly 25%, the 13th 29%. Some had noticeable scratches and ink stains.
* Oshkosh B’Gosh: No comparative prices given; outlet prices very close to those in department stores--preschool denim jeans, $16; turtlenecks, $9.25; toddler socks, $3.60.
* Eddie Bauer: Again, no comparative prices on many things. How much was the $69.99 parka at regular retail? And why does that $29.99 Cordura DayPack bear its original retail tag, with no markdown? “Sometimes they just have a lot of them and send them here and we put them out,” the clerk said. “Sometimes they sell better at the outlet.”
