Photo credit: Facebook Surplus
Surplus is a shop exclusively franchised and owned by the SM Holdings Inc., and they are usually located in SM Malls nationwide. Surplus is considered a high end store which sells second-hand items considering that they are housed in an airconditioned mall, they display their stocks accordingly, and they have a nationwide franchise. Surplus is best when it comes to finding authentic branded clothes which are sold at a very low price. Apart from that, the items found in Surplus are made out of high quality and imported materials which make them last a long time.
The main advantage of Surplus store over all other ordinary stores that sell second-hand items is that their items have not been used yet. They get their stocks from export garment manufacturers who produce high-end US brands for their customer in the USA. They usually produce excessively than what is required to give room for damaged products and samples; if the said garments are not sold to the original customer, then they are sold in bulk, usually in SM Surplus.
Photo credit: www.raindeocampo.com
Why then are they sold at a very low price? Since the products are superfluous, therefore they are not bought by the original customer because of the quota; this means that the excess garments are under the jurisdiction of the manufacturers. But because these export garment manufacturers do not have the authority or license to sell the branded garments, they are in no postition to sell the item at the original price. So, they are being sold to big surplus chains such as the SM Surplus where they are sold at almost half their original prices.
One of the drawbacks of SM Surplus store is that they sell the items in cut labels because they might be sued for selling the item at a cheaper price; therefore, you might think that these items are fake and/or imitations. Another drawback is that some items may not have the same quality as the others because they might be rejects or a product of manufacturing error. Another is that this item might exist in the other SM Surplus branch but they might not exist on other branches because there is no central distributor of the items, the stocks depend on which manufacturer has contact to this branch. And the final disadvantage is that they are way expensive compared to second hand stores found on the street.
If you do not have the guts to surf the busy street to find a store that sells cheaper second-hand items, then Surplus might be the right place for you to practice your bargaining skills. As soon as you realize that you do not have enough money anymore, then you are ready to go to the streets and find as store that sells cheaper second-hand items. Be a wise consumer and fight for your consumer rights. Do not settle for less than you deserve, so find the right thing that suits your taste and you budget as well.
Source: "Aicy" @yahooanswers
