From time to time, the atmosphere at Family Renew Community’s Secret Attic Thrift Store goes from laid-back to a little bit wild. Browsing gives way to bidding wars one Friday afternoon a month at the store’s 99 Cent Auction.
The bidding starts at just 99 cents on everything — and it’s really good stuff. The Feb. 16 auction, for instance, will feature tons NASCAR memorabilia, handbags from Louis Vuitton and Coach, an Instant Pot that somebody got for Christmas, plus about a hundred more things.
Here’s how it works. The store’s staffers and volunteers keep an eye out for especially interesting or valuable items when they’re sorting through the merchandise donated for resale. Instead of putting it on the sales floor, they put it aside for a future auction.
All of the items for each month’s auction are displayed for a few weeks in the front of the store. If something catches your fancy, you can put in a bid in advance by signing the book. But missing the live auction would be a mistake. Not only is it the only way to make sure nobody outdoes your offer, but also it’s a great time, says Assistant Manager Ron Clark, who runs the store with oversight from Family Renew Community Executive Director Tony Deobil.
“A successful auction is one that has a lot of people at it,” says Ron, who role as auctioneer sometimes involves skits in costume, standup comedy or ad-libbing akin to improve. “It’s not about going fast. It’s about having fun.”
Though the atmosphere is light, bidding can get intense. That makes the monthly events are lucrative for Family Renew Community, each generating hundreds, sometimes up to $2,000 to be put toward the mission of helping homeless families with children.
Family Renew Community’s Secret Attic Thrift Store is at 32 N. Ocean Shore Blvd., Ormond Beach, in the Granada Plaza shopping center, behind TGI Friday’s. Regular store hours are Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. On auction days, the store closes for shopping at noon. The doors reopen at 12:30 p.m. and auctions begin at 1 p.m. Donations of saleable merchandise are accepted at the back door until 3 p.m. For information, please call 386-615-3837.
