smh@rduxb.UUCP (henning) (10/27/85)
> I am interested in finding out locations of various outlet stores ...
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From the keys of Steve Henning, AT&T Bell Labs, Reading, PA rduxb!smh
Reading, Pennsylvania is blessed with many factory outlets. The best
outlets sell items regularly at half-price or less. The Lee outlet
and Vanity Fair outlet always sell at half-price or less. The Black
& Decker outlet is no big bargain but it has the most complete collection
of tools and accessories you can imagine. Many of the B&D tools are
warranty returns that have been reconditioned and have a new warranty
and a used price. The L.L. Bean outlet has mail order returns, over
runs, and discontinued items. The shoe outlets have shoes in most any
size you can imagine. I have a narrow foot and just about have to
go to the outlets to get my shoes. The problem with the outlets is
that they attract about 500 bus loads of people and thousands of cars
on weekends. January and February are not too bad, and us locals
go on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings to avoid the crowds.
The following is a summary of the major outlet groups in and near
Reading and the brands or types of merchandise they sell.
Vanity Fair outlet complex, Wyomissing, west of Reading:
Act Three, Adidas, Alice Stuart, Amy Adams,
Anchor Hocking, Bill Blass, Black & Decker, Bollman Hats,
Bucks County Vineyards, Calphalon, Clothes Hound, Doe Spun,
Dolfin, Doulton, Durand, Eagles Eye,
Etienne Aigner, Evan Picone, Faberware, Franciscan,
Freeman, Fritz & Floyd, J. H. Collectibles, Johnson Brothers,
Jonathan Logan, Kuppenheimer, L.E. Smith, L.L. Bean, Lee, Lenox,
Leyse, Libbey, Lodge, Marsland Carpets, Merona Sport, Mirro,
Misty Harbor, Noritake, North Face, Pa. Silversmiths,
Pennn Leather, Prestige Fragrance, R&K Originals, Ralph Lauren,
Revere, Riedel, Rose Marie Reid, Rosenthal,
Royal Worcester, Sweet Stret, T.C. Sports, Totes,
Vanity Fair, Villager, Wedgwood, Wheaton, Windsor Shirt
Hiester's Lane Outlets, north Reading:
Bag 'N Bootery, Burlington, David Crystal, Elco the Dress Maker,
Flemmington Fashion, Izod, Mikasa, Sweater Mill,
Sweet Street, Talbot
Moss Street area outlet complex, north central Reading:
Big Mill Outlets:
9 West, Airsteps, Alpha Factor,
B. Young, B.V.D., Bandalinos, Bass Shoe,
Betty G. Fryers, Bontany 500, Burlington, Buster Brown,
Buxton, Camp Hose, Candies, Cherokees,
Child Life, Christian Dior, Coleco, Colonial Candles,
Converse, Copco, Cradle Togs, Curtain Call,
Dr. Scholl, Eugene Fashion, Exquisite Form, Fisher Price,
Fruit Of The Loom, Gailstyn, Gantner, Hanes, Hasbro, Himark,
Hoan, Hoffritz, Ideal, John Weitz, Jordache, Kenner,
Kleinerts', Le Jewlery, Life Stride, Matchbox,
Mattel, Miller, Milton Bradley, Mr. Henne,
Naturalizers, Nike, No-Nonsense, Nordic,
Penna. Dutch Country, Petals, Playskool, Playtex,
Pointer Hill Pet Supply, Prince Gardner, Proctor Silex, Reed & Barton,
Revere, Rolf, Shirt Tales, Skyr Sportswear,
Stone Mountain, Toastmaster, Tomy, Tonka, Tyco, Wearever
Reading Outlet Center:
Act III, Addidas, Aigner, Aileen, Allen Edmonds, Arrow,
Bag & Baggage, Bali, Bally, Bostonian, Botany, Bucks County Vineyard,
Burlington, Calvin Klein, Cannon, Carry-Alls,
Carters Childrens, Christian Dior, Clarks of England, College Town,
Converse, Country Suburban, Coyote, Dexter,
Eagles Eye, Etonic, Excello, Fenn Wright & Manson,
Fieldcrest, Fifth Avenue, Fisher Price, Flemmington,
Fred Perry, Gloria Vanderbilt, Hamilton Beack, Hanes,
Head, J. Christopher, J.G. Hook, J.H. Quality,
John Meyer, Jonathan Logan, Jones New York, Jumping Jacks,
Kid's Creations, Kids Port USA, Kollections, L'Eggs,
Lancaster Lingerie, Leslie Fay, Life Stride, Little Capezio,
London Fog, Mainwoods, Manhattan, Martex, McGregor, Mia,
Microwave, Misty Harbor, Moxees, Munsingwear, Naturalizer,
New Balance, Newport, Nickles, Nike, Norma Kamali,
Nunn Bush, Okosh B'Gosh, Pant-Her, Puma, Queen Casuals,
R&K, Rawlings, Reebok, Rejoice, Rubbermaid, Runner Up,
Santa Cruz, Saucony, Saville Suits, Ship'N Shore, Spalding,
Springmaid, Tempos, Timberlands, Totes, Tulip-Top,
Van Husen, Villager, Wamsutta, Washington Forge, Wear-ever,
Weatherman, White Stag, Windsor Shirt, Winona Knittting Mills, Zodiac
Manufacturer Outlet Mall (MOM), Morgantown, 10 miles south of Reading:
Arrow, Dobie Originals, Donmoor, Duofold,
Gold Toe, Lady Arrow, Saturdays, & many more including:
Art, Boots, Childresnwear, Chocolates, Cosmetics, Hosiery,
Housewares, Infantswear, Jewelry, Leather, Lingerie,
Luggage, Menswear, Outerwear, Paper Supplies, Pet Supplies,
Plants, Shoes, Sleepwear, Small Appliances, Sneakers,
Toys, Womenswear, Yarn & Craftsttp@kestrel.ARPA (10/28/85)
I'll submit herein my experience with answering machines. RECORD-A-CALL 675 ($130 from Gemco): The one I had had a beeper for remote use. The features on this were nice--you could hear your messages remotely, and it had the "toll-save" feature: if it hadn't yet recorded any calls, it would wait 4 rings before answering, otherwise 1 ring, so if you call your phone from somewhere else you can tell if it has any messages. Sound quality was good. It didn't use endless tapes, so you never had to wait for the silver part of an endless cassette to come around again. IT FRATZED OUT IN ABOUT 1 YEAR (just long enough for the warranty to expire). You can get it repaired for about $30 (and wait 3 weeks) or exchange it for a refurbished one (about $40 federal express, i.e. 2days). I did the latter. THE NEW ONE LASTED ABOUT 5 MONTHS. PANASONIC 1425 ($95 from E. 33rd St. in NYC, list $170, $200 from Macy's): I heard that Panasonics were ultra-reliable from a friend who had some model or other for years with no problem and listened to my sad story with the Record-A-Call. So I ordered a Panasonic from E. 33rd. IT WAS SOMEWHAT RELIABLE FOR 3 DAYS. THEN IT BROKE--perhaps correlated with me answering the phone when it was too, and maybe turning the machine off at the same time. The local service place will take 3 weeks to fix it. It has a 1 year warranty. It has toll saver (called auto), two digit code remote access code, although I can't say any of the above works. PHONEMATE IQ2845: I need an answering machine while the other is being fixed, so I got this one ($75 from Price Club, list around $130?). It doesn't have the toll saver, has one digit remote access code. IT STILL WORKS AFTER 5 HOURS. Has 1 year warranty. RUMOUR: 3 years ago a friend got a rather simplistic AT&T answering machine, no remote. It is still working... I'd like to hear other people's experiences, too. In general, does anyone have a source of reliability information for consumer products? Even Consumer's Reports doesn't give much information on reliability, except for cars. -tom