Table Sales Offer Great Deals at Boardwalk and Downtown Shops This Weekend

On Saturday and Sunday, Ocean City is hosting the Boardwalk & Downtown Merchant Table Sales, permitting shops on the Boardwalk and Asbury Avenue to sell products from tables in front of their stores.

Sale tables will be set up outside of storefronts from 6th through 10th streets on Asbury Avenue and 5th Street through 14th Street on the Boardwalk.

The weekend sale is an opportunity for merchants to get rid of their summer stock and sale items, but also a time for shoppers to find great deals before the Fall Block Party and Black Friday weekends.

“I came down because of the outside table sale deals, and it's a beautiful day,” said Lori Neef, who decided to check out the table sales on Asbury Avenue for her Christmas shopping, in an effort to get ahead of the hectic scene that surrounds Black Friday.

“I’m having fun. I think I may go up to the Boardwalk tomorrow,” Neef added.

Wendy Cicero, owner of SunSmiles Sandals and Beachwear, had bathing suits, sandals, flip-flops and other clothing items marked down to under $20 outside of her store at 815 Asbury Ave.

She said in addition to the outdoor table sale increasing her business for the day, the sunny and clear weather also helped boost sales.

“People have definitely been taking advantage of our sales, and it's a gorgeous day outside as well, which helps tremendously,” Cicero said.

    Nancy Artese and her daughter, Ashley, check out the table sales downtown.
  

Nancy Artese, who was looking through SunSmile’s sidewalk table sale clearance items with her daughter, Ashley, said that she found some really good deals downtown.

“We're just taking the weekend here to spend some time enjoying the nice weather and shopping,” Artese said. “It’s a beautiful weekend, so we thought we'd take a stroll and browse Asbury Avenue.”

Shirt Shack, located at 808 Boardwalk, had T-shirts, pants, sweatshirts, hats and other apparel items outside of their store, all for 50 percent off.

Debbie Landi, Shirt Shack’s manager, said most of their sales for the day were clearance items from outside, but the sales outside also bring people in to look at the other merchandise inside.

“We can put things out on the Boardwalk to entice people to shop here, and we've got some great sales,” Landi said. “We have things that we're not necessarily carrying next year, some current things, a little bit of a mix of everything.”

Landi said she thinks the Boardwalk & Downtown Merchant Table Sales drew tourists into Ocean City, which is good for business.

“Ocean City is really good about having events on the weekends in the off-season, which is great. It helps us keep up our business going for the rest of the fall,” Landi said.

    Crowds gather around the sales tables at Air Circus on the Boardwalk.
  

Doug Jewell, owner of Air Circus at 1114 Boardwalk, said this weekend is a great opportunity to try and sell the rest of their stock on summer items, overstocked merchandise, and things they don’t plan on reordering.

“This is a great opportunity at the end of the season. You can look and do it and organize all of your inventory,” Jewell said. “You can go back, see what you have too much stock of, and see if there's anything you want to get rid of.”

Many shoppers took advantage of these deals. Skimboards, boogie boards and shovels have been Air Circus’ top-selling items outside, Jewell said.

“We’ve found some really good deals on clothes today, like sweatshirts, but also other things, like toys,” Edward Digeronimo said while shopping on the Boardwalk with his family.

The Boardwalk & Downtown Merchant Table Sales seemed to be a net positive for both businesses and shoppers.

“I think any time that you can have a collaborative effort of everybody doing sales at their stores, it's going to draw more people in and help Asbury, especially coming into the off season,” Cicero said.

    Shopper Lori Neef searches for bargains downtown in a clothes rack.