For the most part, all of the buildings look the same.

Equally beige and nondescript, the warehouses sit just outside of bustling cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles, patiently waiting for shoppers to wander through their cluttered aisles stuffed with anything from vacuum cleaners to the occasional wayward jukebox. For the uninitiated, sifting through this maelstrom of American consumer goods can feel overwhelming — but if you’re operating on a tight budget and looking for name brand clothing and appliances for less than their retail value, it’s well worth the hunt.

All over the state, there are a number of these warehouses, or salvage stores, that resell overstock, discontinued and returned items from major retailers like Target and Costco at a discount. A few are in the Bay Area, but many of them seem to be concentrated in the fringes of Southern California, where they offer a unique, revolving door of inventory.

Twice as Nice, a local chain with locations in Half Moon Bay and San Bruno, is no exception. Selling anything from home appliances to back-to-school supplies, it frequently offers name brand products at a 50% discount, Sadana Traxler, Twice as Nice owner and operator, told SFGATE.

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Traxler’s 83-year-old father-in-law opened the first location in Half Moon Bay, and she and her husband, Josh Traxler, currently helm the one in downtown San Bruno. They’ll usually bid on Costco surplus online, sometimes buying as many as five or six pallets of goods.........

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