Some items going fast at former Crowne Plaza liquidation sale

CEDAR RAPIDS -  Going, going, gone.

That was what it looked like Thursday at the former Crowne Plaza Hotel in Cedar Rapids as hundreds of bargain buyers swooped in for the first day of a more than month-long liquidation sale.

In fact, several hundred probably lined up during the first couple of hours at the old downtown hotel just to get the opportunity to step inside and begin shopping for used TV's, desks, beds, furniture and everything it took to keep one of the city's largest hotels functioning.

The city of Cedar Rapids purchased the hotel and contents earlier this year and hired the Springboro, Ohio-based National Content Liquidators to run a tag sale to dispose of nearly all the furnishings.  Thursday was the first day of the sale now set to run for 35 days.

While the sale is set to go on constantly for weeks, many first-day buyers thought coming earlier was better. Kelli Haught, a business owner from Iowa City, was the first in line arriving at 8:00 a.m. When asked if there was something she absolutely, positively had to have, Haught turned a bit secretive saying, “Yeah, but then I can't tell you or they'll all know.”

Sale operators said while there were a few one-of-a-kind items, there were also hundreds of towel and linen sets exactly the same and literally thousands of pieces of matched silverware. Those who stood in line were escorted in 50 at a time and given instructions on how a tagged liquidation sale would operate. Then they got a chance to wander many floors picking out items to buy with pre-set prices.

Some of the earlier buyers were small business owners looking for a bargain to use in their own business. But Don Hayes, president of National Content Liquidators, said more furnishings will go out the door one or two at a time than will go with commercial buyers in bulk.

“Seventy percent of this hotel will be sold to the ‘mom & pops' coming in to buy one or two pieces and about 30 percent will be commercial buyers,” Hayes said adding “I know there's one guy buying all the stacked chairs, buying a thousand stacked chairs, so obviously he's a commercial buyer.”

As for prices, because the sale isn't an auction there was no haggling.  Some potential buyers said they thought they could get a better deal on used items elsewhere. Hayes said workers will eventually drop prices on items that don't sell early. But those who wait for a better deal run the risk of not getting what they want.

Others, though, taking home their treasurers figured they came out okay. Holly Wirtjes spent an hour at the sale and said “my desk was $35-that's a nice desk.”

Operators said the sale is set to run 35 straight days from 10:00 in the morning until 7:00 at night both weekdays and Saturdays.  Sunday hours are 12:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m.

The owner of the liquidation company expects to have merchandise left till the very end.

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