Bargain Hunting is the Family Business

By Suzanne O'Conner

Love getting a great deal? Then you have something in common with Suzanne O’Connor from BargainsLA.com. She scouts out discount outlets who sell quality products at bargain prices and then shares them with her followers.

Suzanne claims, “It’s a family trait”. Her mom, Geri Cook was L.A.’s original Super Shopper. Geri wrote a bargain shopping column for the L.A. Times, had a radio show on KRLA and was a regular on CBS 2 News during the 1980’s. As a kid, Suzanne often tagged along with her mom when she went into stores, absorbing her expertise and insight.

“Mom taught me that a bargain is something that is worth more than the sale price, has value and is not cheaply made. Because of her, I was able to live better for less.” says Suzanne. “I was hooked! When you can buy at below wholesale, it’s a thrill.” Suzanne eventually teamed up with her mom, researching and joining her on her radio show every Saturday.

Suzanne brought her husband into the fold and they created BargainsLA.com in 1999. In addition to the articles Geri wrote, they added a Hot Sale Events Page for Sample and Warehouse Sales to the hundreds of local outlet stores listed on their bargain shopping guide to Southern California.

After Geri retired, they also started publishing a weekly e-newsletter, sending Bargain Alerts and Text Messaging to their subscribers.

Most of the Sales and Outlets on BargainsLA.com have discounts of 25% to 90% off retail. “Whether you’re looking for large appliances or flooring, designer clothing or furniture, there are lots of discount outlets and sales here in Southern California,” says Suzanne. “With L.A. having an international port, being a distribution hub, and with designers & manufacturers located here, Southern California is a Bargain Shopping Mecca.”

Suzanne continues, “Most manufacturers make too much product. They unload the excess to dealers, indie outlets, liquidators and through their Sample and Warehouse Sales.”

Researching every outlet in person means Suzanne drives all over Southern California. In the last 20 years, she’s reviewed over 1500 outlets and posted tens of thousands of local sales.

“Not every store or outlet we visit gets a review on BargainsLA, says Suzanne. “I have walked out of many stores cause they didn’t fit our criteria of “Quality product at a bargain price”. Of those that do get coverage, she picks the best of the best for her Annual Frugal Bugle Awards.

This last year, with the pandemic, a lot of these indie outlets closed or pivoted to selling online. So Suzanne and Kevin pivoted too, completely rebuilding BargainsLA.com and covering more online Sample Sales and Outlets. “We wanted to make sure that no matter how people choose to shop, we could help them save money with truthful, accurate information on where the best deals were.”

Now that local stores are open again, Suzanne is back at it, hunting for great bargain outlets. Her happy followers know where they can find the goods for less.

As the saying goes, “You never have to pay retail!”