Expert: Kirk Ryan - 5/29/2009

Question
While shopping for a new sofa recently I was in a discount furniture store in Georgia and noticed that the "do not remove under penalty of law" labels were removed from many items.  The salesman said the products were "rubs" and that's how they sell them cheap.  He said they came in without labels from their distributor.  What is a rub and can this product be sold without that label?

Answer
You know, I noticed that myself recently while I was shopping in small shops in NC and VA. They had couches that I recognized and knew had been discontinued years ago. They were at great prices! However when I looked under the chairs/couches I noticed they had no labels or tags. No way to identify them at all.

I asked around and no one knows what "rubs" means. I'm guessing its a term they use which means they rubbed off the tags or could stand for recently discontinued or something like that.