HOUSTON – Ever wonder what happens to all of the clothes and products that department stores don't sell? They have to clear them out at some point to make room for fresh merchandise. Consumer expert Amy Davis found the answer, and at the same time, stumbled across some great bargains.
It's like Black Friday every morning at Caffey Enterprises at 1001 Dumont in South Houston. On the outside of the nondescript warehouse, the only indication of the bargains inside are two signs that read "Clothes $5."
I've seen people with baskets and they buy for the whole family.
Inside, shoppers sort fast, plucking finds from the piles of clothing and accessories heaped on table tops.
"We get trucks about 2 and 3 times a week," Mark Caffey told Davis.
Caffey never knows exactly what's inside. He just gets a description: men's, women's or children's clothing. It's all new.
"It could be a display model or it could be merchandise that just didn't sell or it could be they bought too much of it when they bought their inventory, so they need to move it because they have new inventory coming in," he explained.
Caffey is not supposed to share the names of the stores, but Davis recognized tags from Macy's, Target, Sears, Kohls and Costco.
In last week's shipment, she found a 3-pack of men's Structure brand boxers regularly $24, a 7-pack of Hanes men's socks that were regularly $18 and Calvin Klein skinny jeans. All of them were just $5 on Monday.
Everything that is left on Tuesday is $3. Wednesday, all items are marked down to $1.50. And Thursday, everything is $1.
Caffey used to only sell goods by the pallet charging one price for the whole thing. They are usually shipped to South American or African countries for resale. Last year, Caffey Enterprises changed things up.
"We decided, well, 'Why don't we sell clothes by the piece?'" Caffey said. "And it's worked out really well."
"It's all good condition," said customer Liz Guzman. "I mean you can't beat that for the price. It's better than Walmart!"
It can also be random. In addition to clothes, there is make-up, kitchen tools, and on the day we dropped in, there was an entire box of cellphone Otter Boxes. They retail for $15 to $20 on Amazon.
Caffey Enterprises also sells furniture and appliances and all sorts of random items returned to stores like Walmart and Costco.
They are open Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. and Fridays from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m.. No clothing is sold on Fridays.
Here are some the items that were for sale last week.
LOOK! Department store goods at garage sale prices