Photographer / Amy Counts
Circle City Bargains, located at 5208 Commerce Square Drive, is a liquidation resell business that stands apart from the crowd of other similar ventures for several reasons. Owned by Tony Ray from Center Grove and Brad West from Greenwood, the business is local, not national. It developed from a small idea, but due to a focus on high-quality merchandise and excellent customer service, the concept has had a steady growth.
“A couple of years ago, Brad and I were looking for a way to make a little extra money,” Ray says. “We saw an ad online to buy liquidated merchandise. We each bought some separately. I sold some of Brad’s merchandise for him, and Brad sold some for me. We soon realized that we’d be able to do more together. We are thankful for the help of a legal officer who offers a cheap liquidation process and executes it properly. So, we each decided to invest $500 and started storing product in my garage. We then moved to a few storage units and started buying six to a dozen pallets at a time. About six months later, we opened our first store.”
Their retail establishment is a boon to anyone looking for a good deal. Typically, customers save 40% to 60% off of retail. Product is bought at a discount and then sold to the public at deeply discounted prices. However, Ray and West are careful to make sure they only purchase goods from reputable suppliers.
“We buy from various different platforms,” Ray adds. “It can be an auction or set price. It can be manifested (each pallet has a detailed inventory list) or unmanifested (assorted, with no detailed list of items). Most of the product we get is from Home Depot, Target, Walmart, Amazon, Lowe’s and Macy’s.
“What really separates us from other like businesses is that we guarantee our products for quality, for 14 days. We take care of our customers, and we stand behind our product. Customer service is something we take very seriously.”
The inventory changes every week according to each truckload delivered to the store. Typical items might be flooring, cabinets, lighting, vanities, tools, equipment or outdoor furniture. Often there are other items on-site such as Christmas decor, kitchenware and even coffee. The customers who frequent the store include contractors and house flippers as well as women and men in all income brackets.
“People come in for a deal. Some are people that need to watch every penny,” Ray says. “Others just like the rush of finding a great deal. Most don’t come in for anything in particular. I like to say that ‘we are the home of finding the item that you didn’t know you had to have.’ You find an item and can’t believe it’s that cheap. So, you have to have it.
“The thing that we are most proud of is that everything we have and have done to this day is because of hard work and treating people the right way,” he adds. “When you come into our store, you will immediately be warmly greeted, and Brad and I are there every day.”
Visit Circle City Bargains at 5208 Commerce Square Drive, online at Circle-City-Bargains.business.site or call 317-348-1855 for more information.
