BY MELANIE ALNWICK | FOX 5
ELKRIDGE, MARYLAND – It costs hundreds of dollars to stay just one night in a hotel room in the DC area. But you can bring home designer hotel furnishings at bargain prices, if you know where to shop.
Upholstered sofas, executive desks, big gilded mirrors and fancy light fixtures, even office chairs as low as five dollars.
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“With the economy the way it is, a lot of people are cutting down on their expenses,” says Medie Ephrem of Solo Furniture Liquidators in Elkridge, Maryland. “People are discovering this place… they’re looking for a bargain.”
Solo Furniture is owned by Solomon Ephrem, a native of Ethiopia.
When hotels redecorate, liquidators like Solo buy the old furnishings and sell them to the public.
Ephrem says a lot of their pieces come from four and five star properties.
“Our inventory changes sometimes every week, sometimes every month… You just never know what we’re going to have.”
TV’s ($25) and armoires (up to $250) are plentiful as big chains change over to plasma screens.
Jean Hassan of Overstock Outlet in Suitland, Maryland says her regular customers are usually seniors on fixed incomes. That’s changed lately.
“We have college kids, they’re students. Young people just starting out and trying to budget a bit.”
Hassan says she tries to pull room sets together to make customers’ dollars stretch. She also has a soft spot for families just trying to get by.
“You have a family of say, eight, and they’re coming in and saying ‘well, we’re on a stiff budget plan and we’re working with just a little bit of money’ and I say ‘well, let’s walk through and see what we can do for what you do have’.”
Sean Hill walked in the store to browse — and walked out with a dresser.
“We actually just moved in and we were looking for furniture, it caught my eye, just checked it out and liked what I see.” said Hill as he worked to fit the dresser into the trunk of his car.
Shoppers need to know there are no refunds, and no returns. You should also think about how you’re going to transport your treasures. The stores can deliver, but it will cost you extra.
With prices like these, chances are you’re not going to walk out empty handed.
LINKS:
Solo Furniture Liquidators
www.solofurnitureliquidators.com