Shoppers descend on All-Clad Seconds sale
Karen Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Eddie and Erika Knotek of Moon Township visited the All-Clad Seconds Sale in 2018 at the Washington County Fairgrounds and Expo Center to purchase items for their kitchen.
Karen Mansfield / Observer-Reporter
Roz Rider of Venetia purchased a set of pots and pans at the All-Clad Seconds sale, held at Washington County Fairgrounds. An estimated 7,000 people descended on the fairgrounds in 2018 to buy the high-end cookware at deeply discounted prices.
Roz Rider did not leave the All-Clad Seconds Sale, held at Washington County Fairgrounds, empty-handed Friday.
Rider, of Venetia, happily dropped $600 for a 10-piece set of non-stick pots and pans that she would have paid $1,300 for if she had bought it at full price.
It doesn’t bother Rider – who bought the set for her daughter, Shelley’s, upcoming wedding – that the All-Clad cookware and bakeware sold at the fairgrounds are factory seconds, meaning they have minor imperfections – scratches or dents – that qualify them as irregulars.
“I don’t worry about that at all,” said Rider. “It’s all great stuff.”
Rider, who bought the same set in June for her son Jimmy’s nuptials, was among an estimated 7,000 bargain hunters who visited the sale during the two days it was held.
The Canonsburg company holds the event twice a year, on the first weekends of December and June, and shoppers come from across the country to get their hands on the high end cookware.
“It never stops amazing me what incredible consumer loyalty we have,” said Bill Groll, All-Clad’s vice president of research. “People have come to know and trust the name All-Clad.”
Lynne Daniels and her cousin, Georganne Jone, both of Monongahela, waited about two hours to get inside the building, which contained kitchen-related items ranging from pressure cookers, hand mixers, waffle makers, and pots and pans to measuring cups and dish towels.
It was worth the wait, said Daniels, who hauled in several items, including a 4-quart pot with lid for $24.99 – marked down from $50 – and stocking stuffers.
“I come every six months and I recruit people to come with me. It’s fun, we make a day of it,” said Daniels. “They really are bargains, and excellent quality.”
Elijah Stathers, an All-Clad employee who spent the two days assisting customers loading their purchases into their vehicles, said he met people who flew in from California and drove up from North Carolina to visit the sale.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” said Stathers. “A lot of people in the restaurant industry come here to get things on sale, too.”
To keep the sale running smoothly, shoppers are given a ticket with a group number stamped on it, along with a flyer with the layout of the building where the sale is held. Then, they wait in the waiting area until their group is escorted into the salesroom.
Groll said All-Clad prices are marked down up to 70 percent during the sale, and customers often have lists of cookware items they want to buy.
Said Paulette Sedlak, of Perryopolis, who came with her friend, Gerri Yowonske of Rostraver Township, “We have a plan. If you go in there and you don’t have a game plan, it can be overwhelming.”