Leeds City Centre - Bargain Bazaar

anewman

This post is about the shop in Leeds which has the banner Bargain Bazaar. They leaflet around Leeds City Centre. It is currently based just across from Wilkinsons, near Next Clearance and BHS, and has been there about a week.

I have not been in myself or accepted a leaflet off of any of the leafleters in town. However, from what I can gather they seem to let a number of customers in at a pre-specified time and from what I can tell having walked past it's some sort of mock auction.

The goods they claim to be selling are things like the following (cannot remember precise details so this is an approximation) - PS2's £20, Branded 15" LCD TV's £20. You get the picture, loads of unbelievable prices. You'll know what I mean if you walked past there. They only accept cash payment or something.

Well I have seen the same people and same shop in various unused shops in the city centre at various times in Leeds City Centre. Once in the building that used to be a Halifax branch (across the road from Waterstones) but is now a yorkshire bank. I walked past as a Leeds City Council worker was saying on his radio that some illegal traders had broken in.

As I understand it mock auctions like this are illegal. If mock auctions are illegal how can they get away with conducting them? If they are repeatedly breaking into shops and illegally trading from them, perhaps even selling stolen goods, how can they get away with this for days on end - again and again? (I know it is the same people because the posters are the same and I recognise the guy stood outside).

And in general, it seems to good to be true so I'm sure it is. Something's wrong somewhere - so obviously I would *NOT* recommend purchasing any goods from there.

Has anyone actually been in and bought anything, or any more knowledge about the whole thing than I do?

anewman

I think this thread answered all my questions

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=256412

Chumsky

Yeah, me and my friend got sucked into this quite badly.

I made a blog about the whole experience.

Here

Cheers.

Roland

I work in Leeds City Centre and that shop was still open for business yesterday. I would have thought that they would have disappeared by now.

Earlier in the week, I saw a guy run out of the shop. A few seconds later I saw him in a queue for a cash machine in Albion Street.