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Some of them came to meet NBA Hall of Famer David Thompson, who signed autographs and took pictures with 250 lucky fans, while others combed the nearly 30,000-square-foot store for discounts on thousands of items.
The Spartanburg location is the Harrisburg, Pa.-based retailer’s first store in South Carolina and the 107th addition to operating network in 11 Eastern states. the company has hired more than 50 people to work at the store.
“This feels great,” said Ollie’s Bargain Outlet President and CEO mark Butler. “Obviously, Spartanburg loves a bargain. the sense of excitement is pretty cool. during the current economic times we are in, people need a bargain.”
Butler, a sports nut who is co-owner of the minor league baseball team the Harrisburg Senators, enlisted Thompson to help promote the new store. Butler said he met the former Denver Nuggets and Seattle SuperSonics star in Los Angeles.
“He knows what this means,” Butler said, “and he was excited to be here. Every opening is special, and we typically do something like this to celebrate.”
Thompson, 57, of Shelby, N.C., said his wife shops at the Ollie’s in Matthews, N.C.
“This feels great,” said the former collegiate basketball standout at North Carolina State University, where he led the team to a national championship title in 1974. “A lot of people from Shelby come to Spartanburg to shop so I’m happy for them. I think it will do really well here.”
Thompson said he knows that unemployment rates remain high in the region and was happy to see a company seeking to help residents meet tight budget demands.
“during this day and time, people need a break. … they need a bargain,” he said.
Butler said the company chose Spartanburg and South Carolina because they were the next logical step in its plan for contiguous growth. He hopes to open up to seven more stores in the state’s major cities by the end of 2012.
Although the store didn’t open until 10 a.m., shoppers began lining up out front at about 7:30 a.m. the first 250 people received a free ticket to meet Thompson, who was inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame in 1996.
A jazz band crooned Dixieland tunes to shoppers as they stood by the front entrance.
Inside the store, shoppers found savings of 30 percent to 70 percent off the regular price on a variety of brand name merchandise.
“Finally, I won’t have to go to Costco for everything,” a woman in the crowd shouted.
City Councilman Joe Spigner and David Cordeau, president and CEO of the Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce, attended the store’s opening.
Spigner, who lives near the store, said he was pleased with the turnout and plans to return as a customer.
Ollie’s gets most of its merchandise directly from the manufacturer via closeouts, surplus and salvaged items.
In addition to its low prices, the company is known for its customer loyalty program, “Ollie’s Army,” which Butler said has more than 3 million members.
Under the program, customers earn points when they shop at Ollie’s stores. When they accrue 250 points, the company sends them a discount certificate in the mail.
Ollie’s has a “no hard time” guarantee that allows customers to return purchases for any reason within 30 days for a full refund as long as they have a sales receipt.
“we have a saying here: We’re the few, the cheap and the proud,” Butler said. “We’re happy to be here in Spartanburg.”
The Spartanburg store will be open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday.
For more information, visit olliesbargainoutlet.com.
i bought a used game from gamestop 3 weeks ago. i want to return it to them, but i read the return policy and it said: used merchandise may be returned for a refund within 7 days or exchanged for the IDENTICAL ITEM within 30 days. does that mean i can only get back the exact same game or a different game for the same price? thnks!
It is only 7 days refund (no questions asked).
For the 30 days, it is only if the game is defective (You can always say it freezes up when you get to a certain point). If the store does not have a replacement, then you get your money back.
Unfortunately, you can only get the same game. I like gamestop, but their return policy blows.
sorry dude u can only get the same game! 
game stop sucks!!!
buy your games online using paypal
I have been searching everywhere for a poster of FMW wrestler Hayabusa without luck. Does anyone know of a site that still sells FMW merchandise?
Google a picture of the guy.. open photoshop or use paint.net like me…alter the picture how you want it..find a local shop which will blow up the picture..woo-lah.
Popular African American Shopping Portal Adds Additional Merchants Selling Black Hair Styles and Black Hair Care Products
Augusta, GA (PRWEB) November 2, 2005
Eric Brown the founder of the “African American Shopping Today” website located at, brownhorizonsshopping.com , which is widely considered one of the most popular African American shopping websites on the internet today, recently announced the addition of several new Black hair styles and Black hair care merchants to the website’s “Online Shopping Directory.”
Mr. Brown provided these comments recently concerning his African American Shopping Portal — “African American Shopping Today.”
“I initially created the “African American Shopping Today” website in February 2005 because I did not see another shopping website for African Americans on the internet that was receiving national exposure, where African Americans could go to shop and find access to a variety of merchants located on one website, that sold African American related merchandise and/or items of interest to African Americans.
I am excited to see the growing popularity of the “African American Shopping Today” website because that means that people are finding the website on the Internet and consider it a good source for African American shopping.
Also, I am pleased to see that African American merchants are advertising on the website because the website was designed to bring African American consumers and merchants selling African American related merchandise together on the Internet. Without merchants advertising on the website, meeting this goal would not be possible.
The increasing popularity of the “African American Shopping Today” website demonstrates that the African American shopping niche market on the Internet is very strong.
I am happy to be able to provide a website for consumers interested in African American shopping.
Moreover, I am happy to have the opportunity to provide an advertising medium for merchants large and small who sell African American related products and/or items of interest to African Americans.
A shopping website where merchants can showcase their products to thousands of African American shoppers on a daily bases.”
Individuals and/or businesses interested in purchasing or selling African American related merchandise can visit the “African American Shopping Today” website at brownhorizonsshopping.com .
, Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC. Vocus, PRWeb, and Publicity Wire are trademarks or registered trademarks of Vocus, Inc. or Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.
This is the original version of the hilarious comedy about work, plants, and relationships…a clumsy young man nurtures a plant and discovers that it’s a bloodthirsty plant, forcing him to kill to feed it.