When William Davies announced he was opening a liquidation store 12 years ago, his family took the news quite well.
By that time, the entrepreneurial father of nine had tried his hand at a laundry list of businesses, and he had a pretty good track record.
“He’s had an irrigation company, a leather goods store, a snow removal and salting company, a sporting goods store, a pet store – he’s had dozens and dozens of businesses,” said Austin Davies, the third eldest child in the family.
Austin, perhaps more than any of his siblings, took the news with excitement as his dad bought a warehouse and packed it to the rafters with furniture, toys, clothing, electronics and knick-knacks at discount prices. That warehouse, a staple of South Burnaby, is better known as Surplus Sam’s.
“I have a brother named Sam – it was just a catchy name, really, but he ended up not wanting to be part of the business,” said Austin with a chuckle. “But the name stuck.”
Nearly every member of the Davies family has worked at the store, selling used and almost new products acquired from wholesalers, insurance deals, bankruptcies and closeouts. But Austin is the only constant family member, with eight years and counting under his belt at the store.
“I was the only one who actually had any interest in sticking with the company,” he said. “I started working here, and shortly after got married. Then it was like, ‘I’ve got to provide for my wife,’ and we already had a kid. Then we had our second kid and I was like, ‘I need something to sink my teeth into and this is here.’
“I guess it was just, ‘I need something to provide for my family now and I like this business.’ And pretty much right away, my dad and I started talking about me taking over in some capacity.”
Austin ran a secondary surplus store on Victoria Drive in Vancouver for a while, but the condition of the building paired with the downturn of the economy prompted them to close operations there.
But that only made their flagship location stronger.
“All the customers we had met over there kind of merged into one store and made this store much more profitable all of a sudden,” said Austin.
Austin now carries on the family business, having purchased Surplus Sam’s about a year ago from his dad, who is retiring. It may not have been the right business for Austin’s siblings, but he loves working in liquidation.
“This is probably the funnest business – it’s like Christmas every day,” he said. “It’s just totally a fun store.”
“One of our major suppliers just sends us pallets full of stuff and we don’t even know what’s in there until we open it up.”
Granted, Austin admits they sometimes received broken items or products with missing parts, but the staff do their best to either refurbish the items or mark them down tremendously. He said most of the items are in fairly new condition, as though someone opened the box, changed their mind and made a return.
Over his eight years at Surplus Sam’s, Austin has seen all kinds of items come through the doors, from designer clothes to expensive watches to a Swarovski crystal iceberg “that probably weighed about 20 pounds.”
But what was the worst item?
“Someone had bought a computer at a retailer and stripped all the great parts out of it and put all their old parts in from their old computer and returned it,” he said. “We were stuck with it.”
While there are many liquidators throughout the Lower Mainland, Austin said their biggest competition is stores that can offer warranties. But he noted that his customers – who come from cities all around – are always looking for a good deal, and they end up back at his store.
“We have a real loyal following – we have people who have shopped here for years and spent tens of thousands of dollars,” he said. “I know easily over 100 customers by name, and some of them have become good friends.
“Some of my staff have developed these deep relationships with people, even connecting outside of the store. I’ve never been to another store where I’ve seen that.”
It’s those strong relationships with customers that set Austin’s store apart from other liquidators, and that – more than the low prices – is what keeps them coming back, he says.
“Some customers bring us baked goods – it’s crazy,” he said. “There’s a much more community feel than any other store.”
Surplus Sam’s is located in South Burnaby at 7435 Lowland Dr.
