TheSnackHound

FiestaWare Factory Sale

Did you know you can tour and even purchase directly from the Fiesta Ware factory? The Homer Laughlin Company offers tours of the facility if you make an advanced reservation. They recommend planning at least two weeks in advance, and being understanding of cancellations due to weather. Tours are conducted on Mondays and Fridays, and includes a visit to the Homer Laughlin China museum, where you can view over 130 years of their offerings.

There is a tent sale twice a year. One is typically in October at the factory that people far and wide rush to. There are online rumors that the first one of the year will be in July. I do not know if this is at the outlet store, or at the factory itself. I will return with updates as soon as I find out. There are no rumblings on the Fiesta Event Page.Tips if you go to the sale:

Items are not neatly stacked, so expect to do some sorting and hunting.
Many shoppers recommend bringing thick socks or rags. You can put the socks on your hands to protect them from any chips. Also, they are good for getting rid of dust when you claim your treasure.
Condition of the items are firsts and factory seconds. Many people buy factory seconds because a little bubble in the glaze does not inhibit the use of an item.
If you cannot do any lifting, bring a friend who can. I remember that there is a several case limit per person, and most people are eager to buy their limit. There are no wagons to use, as far as I know, so be prepared!

I don’t know about you, but as I bruise easily, I am taking all the advice to heart!

Have you pushed and shoved your way through the West Virginia Sale before, or are you planning to go? Write me at info (at) thesnackhound.com and tell me your story!

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This entry was posted on Thursday, March 13th, 2008 at 2:25 pm and is filed under Mark Your Calendar: July, Mark Your Calendar: October, fiestaware. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

5 Responses to “FiestaWare Factory Sale”

no image Janet Means (Who am I?) Says:

Check out the spring sale dates at the outlet in Flatwoods, WV. I’ve not been to one of these, but I hear they are crazy. I do know the seconds room at Flatwoods is not huge, and it gets packed on regular weekends, so I can’t imagine what it will be like during a sale.
http://www.everythingfiesta.com/

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March 24th, 2008 at 10:39 pm

no image Elaine E (Who am I?) Says:

I go to both the factory tent sales, and went to the first sale last fall at Everything Fiesta. Keep an eye on the HLC website, I talked to the folks at the outlet yesterday and they say that the date will be announced in May. The last couple of years the summer date has been in June.

HLC is quite organized… they post their rules and are quite strict about sticking to the rules. They don’t allow children under 16 or so inside the tent. The first tickets are given out at 7 am. Then you can leave, as long as you’re back in line (ticket number order) by 9:45. Sale begins at 10, and they begin giving out tickets for the rest of the day at that time. Seems like they only allow about fifty people inside the tent at a time, so as people begin to check out, they allow others to enter. They will give you FOUR milk crates, and that’s your limit for that trip through the tent.( After you check out, you can get a new number and get back in line as many times as you like, though.) If you’re smart, you’ll bring a dolly and bungee cords so that you don’t have to heft and wiggle your wares to the check out line. Prices are good, and generally speaking the people in line are very nice. The check out area is organized, and the workers are fantastic about wrapping and boxing your purchases. Believe it or not, I’ve never arrived home with any broken fiestaware.

HLC runs a shuttle van from the tent area back to the parking area after sale hours begin, which is quite helpful in getting your wares back to your vehicle, or they’ll let you bring your car down just long enough to load. Usually the factory outlet has some specials on first quality items, too.

If you don’t like getting dusty or waiting in line… don’t go. I’ve been when it was really cold, and I’ve been when it was REALLY hot… and had a terrific time regardless.

Oh…and they didn’t do tours during the sale, so you might want to plan an extra day there if you want to do that. Usually the tent sale runs from Thurs- Sat, but I’m sure the HLC folks will get us up to date on that as soon as they can.

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March 26th, 2008 at 3:52 am

no image Keli (Who am I?) Says:

I went to my First tent sale this past June and it was a blast. I am getting ready to go here in october. I can’t wait. make sure you bring a dolly or cart and lots of thick socks or rags becuse it gets very dirty in there. All the staff is great they check you out so fast and wrap and box everything very well. This sale is worth every penny to get there. Make sure you get there early on the first day people start forming a line at 6:00 PM the night before and it gets really long starting at 3AM. Happy Hunting in the piles of Fiesta!!!!!!!!!

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September 24th, 2008 at 3:57 pm

no image TheSnackHound (Who am I?) Says:

Keli -
What on earth do people do between 6 pm and 3 am? Do they have a gentleperson’s agreement to let people go excuse themselves to use the facilities and reclaim their spot in line? Mark their places? Or are they hardcore and bring tents?

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September 24th, 2008 at 5:15 pm

no image 541miller (Who am I?) Says:

I heard Tamarack in Beckley is planning a Nov. FiestaWare sale. 20% off, which means 50% off FW sug. retail. All colors and holiday. They take phone orders, not online orders.

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October 31st, 2008 at 3:20 pm