I thought NCF meant that they no longer will sell the item, and it's supposed to be put in salvage. I have a neighbor who works there, and she says sometimes things will be 30% off and instead of going 50%, and 75%, the next thing she knows....it goes to salvage, and sold to Salvation Army or Goodwill.
A funny thing...a month ago, I returned a new train set I got on clearance, and then I went to Goodwill after hearing that people find Legos there. It was like 2 weeks later when I went in, and they had the same exact one I returned sitting on the shelves. LOl! Probably selling it for more than the clearance price too.