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First Thought: No one is going to buy this crap.
Second Thought: Hm, they’re selling the crap I have at home
Third Thought: I will buy this crap, here’s my $12.81, thank you, you have a nice day too.
Has anyone been here yet? I have. And let me tell you, it’s odd, fascinating, confusing and dirty and I will go back. You will think it smells like a wrench, you will think it’s a bunch of junk, you will see something that you have at home, you will have flashbacks to junior high school that you cannot control or see coming, and *you will buy something.
*Maybe not on your first visit, but it’s gonna happen.
reTAGit is on Goodale in Grandview a couple of blocks west of Northwest Blvd. It’s the indigo cinder block building with blue and pink lights on the trees in front, you can’t miss it.
I live in Grandview so I walked or drove by it a dozen times wondering what was behind the purple walls. I had been trolling craigslist for a DVD recorder to transfer beloved VHS tapes to DVD before they turn to dust and came across a reTAGit posting. They’d just received a massive shipment of VCR, DVD players and the like. So that gave me the added boost I needed to actually stop and go inside.
My first visit was a mix of emotions. While they did have a plethora of VCRs, a couple of DVD players and even a combination DVD/VCR player ($50, still there as of 2/5 if you’re interested) they didn’t have what I was looking for exactly. They did have a lot of things I will never be looking for as well as a lot of things that will make me come back when I’m looking for something completely random.
It’s a little drab inside. It smells like an old toolbox. Everything seems haphazardly stacked all around. A tower of rainbow colored beanie babies inexplicably shoots up from the middle of the store. It’s all very confusing for the first few seconds, then things start to make sense. Categories like Computers, Electronics, Appliances, hang overhead. Items are actually neatly stacked and prices obvious. On my first visit I noted: the big handheld (or more accurately shoulder held) VHS video recorder that your mom used to videotape your piano recital in 5th grade, a box full of shiny black Five-O hand gun holsters, bin of laptop cases, framed prints from the 80s, dry erase boards, a washer and dryer and a stainless steel side by side refrigerator.
I asked the sales girl about where everything comes from. They receive things on a daily basis. Some are bulk receivables from corporations or universities like a few dozen laptops or a bin of alarm clocks. Some are random items that people bring in. For items you bring in they’ll give you a store credit immediately. And Tuesdays are a two-for with the second item you purchase of equal or lesser value being half of.
When I got into my car I immediately called my boyfriend to tell him what I’d seen and instantly forgot everything I’d seen. It all swam in my head and I excitedly rambled on in stupid fragments. A bin of alarm clocks! Beanie babies! A washer and dryer! I'm sure he thought I was a lunatic.
My next visit to reTAGit came on Monday. I had an inkjet printer taking up valuable real estate in my basement. I took it in with the intention of just dropping and running (what would I possibly want with a credit here?!). Paul behind the counter told me that they’d typically sell something like my printer for $10 and he’d give me a $5 credit. Well…OK, I’ll take your $5 credit. But I’ll probably never use it. He mentioned that they’re working on “credit†cards that you’ll just swipe in the future, very cool.
While waiting I thought I’d spin through the store again for old time’s sake. On my pass through the Household area an air purifier caught my eye. My boyfriend is evidently allergic to my cat so investing in an air purifier has been on my to do list. (Yes, I see your eyes are red again, yes I know it’s because of my cat, I promise I’m working on it.) And here was a purifier in front of me…for $17. I made a mental note of the model number, retrieved my $5 credit written on a business card and walked out. With a rating of 4.8 stars on Amazon and a used selling average of $90 online I walked back into the store on Super Tuesday, handed over my $5 credit and walked out with an air purifier for $12 + tax.
One thing to note. As my receipt noted everything they sell is AS IS. It’s a good faith kind of operation for the most part. They do, however, test out the computers at least and have them up and running so you can test them out there too. They don’t test most items and it seems that they hardly even touch most items. It goes right from the customer’s hands to the shelf. My air purifier was a bit of a mess, very dusty on the outside, a bit beat up from use. It took a good half hour of cleaning to dedust all of the nooks and crannies on the outside. I saved opening it up to deal with the filter until very last because I was certain it would be a dust bunny massacre inside. I was wrong. Brand. New. Filters. And replacement filters! Pleasantly surprised to say the least. It’s been running non stop and I’m looking forward to seeing happy baby blues as opposed to pouty itchy reds.
Personally, they’re helping me achieve a minimalist existence by providing a place for me to take my random junk, while at the same time satisfying my quest to recycle as opposed to buy new. So I will be back to hopefully drop off more stuff than I pick up but we’ll see. And they must be doing something right. I just noticed a job posting on craigslist. They’re hiring a store manager and they expect to open 2-3 more locations this year.
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Launched in August 2010, TheMetropreneur.com is a local online resource devoted to small business development and entrepreneurship. Its aim is to tell the stories of Central Ohio's business community, foster regional economic development and assist entrepreneurs with its resource-heavy focus.