Pottery Barn catalogs
It's a Pottery Barn lover's worst nightmare. You see an item in the Pottery Barn catalog or website that you absolutely love--be it a duvet cover, a lamp or a piece of wall art. But the price is a little high, so you decide to wait a little while for it to go on sale. When you check back on the Pottery Barn website a few weeks later, it says the item is no longer available. Well, all might not be lost. Pottery Barn's items are notorious for selling out--sometimes quite quickly and often before they ever have a chance to go on sale. But there are some options if that must-have item disappears from their website. Here's find discontinued Pottery Barn items. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Make sure you know the name of the Pottery Barn item you are looking for. If you just type "Pottery Barn quilt" or "Pottery barn lamp" in a search engine, you will get bombarded with results. PB is known for naming their items distinctive names and smart PB sellers know the names. Instead, try typing "Pottery Barn Brigitte quilt" or "Pottery Barn Gracie table lamp" to narrow down the item you are looking for. If you don't remember the name of the item you are looking for, call Pottery Barn customer service and describe the item.
2. Do a search on eBay. The auction site eBay.com is a great place to look for discontinued PB items. Smart eBay sellers have an eye for what's hot--and they often scoop up Pottery Barn items right before they are discontinued. But because eBay is an auction site you may have to bid against other buyers for the item you want. Don't want to deal with an auction? Do an advanced search on eBay for Buy It Now items only. Buy It Now items are available at a set price for immediate sale. There's also eBay Express, where items are also listed for immediate sale.
3. Do a search on Craigslist. Like eBay, Craigslist.com is a site where people list items for sale, and if you search "Pottery Barn" as a keyword, you will get many results. But Craigslist is very different from eBay. Many Craigslist sellers don't ship the items out--the buyer must come and pick it up (especially furniture items). And because Craiglsit.com is broken down into cities, you will want to do a search within the city closest to you. But some Craigslist sellers will ship the items out- so don't be afraid to check out the Seattle Craigslist even if you live on the East Coast. Keep in mind, however, that Craigslist doesn't offer the same buyer protection as eBay does. Be very careful when you do an exchange on Craigslist. And if you are a seller, be wary of accepting personal checks.
4. Check out a Pottery Barn retail store. If you are relying on just the PB website and catalog, you should take a trip to a Pottery Barn retail store. The retail stores often have items that are not available online or in the catalog. Furthermore, just because an item is no longer available online doesn't mean that the retail store doesn't have it. You can call ahead to the store nearest to you- or just take a ride over and try your luck.
5. Check out a Pottery Barn outlet. Pottery Barn outlets can be a gold mine for finding discontinued items. Most items are in brand new condition. Some of the furniture items may be scratched or slightly dented, but it is often not noticeable. And most Pottery Barn returns go straight to the outlets--so you can find lots of great items, usually at 40 percent off the original price. Discontinued items also get shipped to the outlets, so you can find a plethora of bedding, dishes, glassware and other items.
6. Post a Want it Now. If you have exhausted all other opportunities and still can not find that Pottery Barn item you are looking for, create a Want It Now post on eBay, which lists items that people are looking for. No matter what item you are looking for, someone, somewhere has it. And they just might be willing to sell it to you.
Tags: Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn, item looking, Pottery Barn items, retail store, auction site