Anything
and Everything
by Neil Zurcher
The Ohio Motorist
It's
a tinkerer's dream. It's an inventor's heaven.
It's
a do-it-yourselfer's paradise. It, is the World's Largest Surplus
Store, otherwise known as Mendelson's Liquidation Center in downtown
Dayton, Ohio.
It's
a mind-boggling one million, two hundred thousand square feet
of every kind of surplus you can think of.
From
an air conditioned trailer that used to house a hospital MRI unit,
to a complete radar site that was once used at Wright Patterson
Air Force Base, to bins of possibly every fastener and screw and
bolt known to humankind. (Mix or match any screws or bolts, they're
$1 a pound.)
Sanford
"Sandy" Mendelson, the president of the store led me at almost
a run as we toured the four-story main facility.
"The
building is on the national register of historic places, because
it was originally built at the turn of the century by "Boss" Kettering
as one of his first General Motors parts plants," Sandy says,
as we jump on an elevator to ride up to the top floor.
"I've
probably got more different kinds of wire am anyplace in America:,
he tells me as we walk through a rainbow of different colored
cables and wires on drums and spools of every description (prices
start at I cent per foot).
Before
I can digest this fact, we're off to another wing of the old factory
where everything from huge pizza ovens ($650), to classic popcorn
machines are lined up with stainless steel refrigerators ($750),
soft drink dispensers ($50) and just about anything that a restaurant
would need.
"When
a restaurant closes up," Sandy says, "I just go in and buy everything,
including the menus and signs."
Turn
a comer and there on rack after rack are a million Time-Life books
that he recently purchased from a large book distributor (prices
start at $4.99 each).
Over
in another aisle are safes, not little closet types, but big,
industrial sized safes once used by national companies to keep
payrolls and other funds safe. He has over a dozen on display
($300 and up.)
On
another aisle are cases of shampoo and bath oils across from row
after row of computer desks ($50).
Stacks
of laser tag games fill the center of aisles ($12.95).
There
are radios, battery chargers, department store mannequins ($15
and up), tables, chairs, lamps. On the upper floor is the computer
and electronic department with cables, switches, bulbs (starting
at 25 cents.), radar detectors ($14.95) and computers.
There
are real bargains to be had here for more than just the handy
person. On the day of my visit he was featuring new 14 inch color
computer monitors for just $79, and offering a guarantee with
them.
But
what you see here today will not necessarily be here tomorrow.
Besides
operating the store, Sandy and his staff of 120 employees also
do a monster mail order business and are daily shipping parts
and "things" all over the world. They also receive and fill orders
over their Internet site.
At
the same time that Sandy and I were taking our tour, he was also
constantly interrupted by the telephone as people from across
the country called offering to sell him new surplus items.
"I
never know from one day to the next what will be in here." he
said.
I asked
if there was anything that he would not buy.
"No",
he replied, "I'll buy just about anything, as long as I think
I can re-sell it and make a profit."
If
you love flea markets, or surplus stores, you must see this place.
Mendelson's is open to the public Monday through Saturday from
8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m.
Midwest
PC Review Cover Story
April
1999
by William G. Schmidt
I can't
help but think, as Terry Pinsky takes me on a tour of Mendelson's
downtown Dayton liquidation center, that there isn't a category
of goods that can't be found in some nook and cranny, and there
are as many nooks and crannies as an English muffin. We walk by
industrial ovens, fans, motors of every size and shape, store
display fixtures, a few behemoths that I can't begin to identify
- but Terry can. He not only knows what's here, he knows exactly
where it is as well. The inventory is in a computer, of course,
but it's also in Terry's head. I'll ask him about something and
he'll point - right over there.
Mendelson's
is a garage sale gone wild. When I suggest this idea to Terry,
he smiles, "An organized garage sale, maybe." he tells me. The
organization is not immediately apparent so Terry points out regularly
spaced placards that are a rough map to the place. "See how we've
got this categorized?" he asks. I shake my head. It's is all just
too much to take in.
A
Million Square Feet
If this is a garage sale of epic proportion, it is also one where
only the tip of the iceberg shows. Let it be said again; it's
all here. One million square feet in downtown Dayton is under
roof with the Mendelson name on top. The building at 340 E. First
Street, the one most of us think of when we think Mendelson's,
is 517,000 square feet of shopping space. Across the street is
another 275,000 square feet. There are two more buildings, space
elsewhere that Mendelson rents for storage, and plenty of floors
in this building that are not open to the public.
Started
in 1960 by Harry Mendelson out of a garage, the company now finds
itself under the command of Harry's son Sandy, with Terry Pinsky
as Vice President. What began as government surplus electronics
has expanded exponentially. A large chunk of the business is now
commercial, store fixtures, drill presses and "machine stuff,"
as Pinsky puts it, - you name it, it's there. "We've bought anything
we thought we could sell," explains Pinsky. A big name in liquidators,
Pinsky says that manufacturers call them daily A large selection
of books, something that might seem a bit out of place, is evidence
that they're called and they'll buy. Just recently Sandy closed
a deal on 700,000 pounds of wire. "We go with what the flow is,"
he explains. The flow will bring 33 semi truckloads filled with
wire to his loading docks.
Why
Mendelson Thrives
Why is Mendelson thriving? Sandy explains it in simple terms,
"Our reputation." He says hiscompany is quick to pay, easy to
deal with andtheir word is good. It's something that he says is
admittedly rare in the liquidation business.
Now
a $5 million dollar company with 65 employees, the company, in
1963, was $10,000 in debt with $68 in the bank. "We didn't have
enough money to go bankrupt," Sandy laughs. "It's been nothing
easy," he adds. A family business, Mendelson is now employing
the third generation. Speaking of Terry and himself he says, "We
both have two kids working here. We're going to prove that the
third generation being the kiss of death is wrong."
Geek
Heaven
Now with a 132-page catalog, Mendelson's stocks just about everything
surplus, and in depth. What's surprising is that you can also
find new computer equipment here, too. Every electronic component
known to man is somewhere under this roof; You'll even find an
entire room stuffed to the gills with old vacuum tubes for antique
radios and TVs. Most importantly, you'll be able to find help,
someone who knows a great deal about what you're looking for.
The
computer hobbyist has plenty to be enthused about; cables, connectors
of every sort, old and new computers, monitors, UPS's, and keyboards.
A glass case is devoted to new components.
"You
ought to be able to save over 50% on anything you buy here," Pinsky
explains. "There's no high pressure, either." He says that once
a customer comes into the store, they keep coming back. After
all, great deals are what Mendelson's is all about.
Mendelsons
Really Does Have It All
"In all of our years here, I don't think we've ever had one Better
Business Bureau complaint," he says. Even so, Pinsky says they
are forever trying to make the business more customer-friendly
With a complete overhaul, the store is moving departments to new
locations, organizing stock, building a new parking lot, installing
handicapped ramps, remodeling from the ground up. They're planning
on an May "Grand Re-Opening".
When
Mendelson says, "We have it all!" they're not kidding. Whether
you order toll free, via the Internet (www.meci.com) or fax at
(800) 344-3624, you owe it to yourself to take a d y to just browse
the place in person. Parking is on-site and the location, since
located on the east side of downtown, is easy to get into and
back out of.
There
are maps to find your way around but don't use them. Get lost.
You just might have a better time and find something you didn't
know you needed. No matter what, if you want it or not, it's in
there.
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