Just hearing the words "used office furniture" evokes an image of file drawers that won't close completely or slide smoothly, office chairs missing a canister wheel, and desks with "T.L. loves F.E." scratched on the surface.

Not at PPL. The surplus shop in Minneapolis gets castoffs from Fortune 500 companies such as Honeywell or Medtronic. And they're high-quality. For example, the BMW of the steel file cabinets is Meridian. During the sale going on now at PPL, all Meridian files are discounted an additional 30 percent. A 2-drawer lateral is now about $70 and a 4-drawer is about $200. If you bought one new, it would easily be $500 to $1,000.

Another top-of-the-line brand, Kimball, is sold at at PPL. A fluted Chippendale chair (high or low back) is $128-$199 on sale now, about $600-$800 when new.

And here's an oddball thrown in. There are 4 fake fireplaces left at $65, regularly $160. No they're not even electric. They're only built for tealights.

The sale lasts through Saturday. Call 612-789-3322 w/ questions. If you know of a place that sells quality office furniture at lower prices in the Twin Cities area, let me know and I'll print it after I verify it.