IF YOU GO
What: Absolute Bargains
Where: 96 N. Brookwood Ave., Hamilton
Hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; closed Sundays
More info: 513-863-0300 or
The sign only went up three weeks ago at Absolute Bargains, but positive word of mouth is proving to be the biggest draw when it comes to generating revenue for the new business.
“Bargain hunters run in packs,” said Bill Wienhoff, who owns and operates the store along with his brother, Carl. “If you get a bargain, you can’t wait to tell somebody else about it, right?”
Located at 96 N. Brookwood Ave., the store purchases buyout, overstock and open box merchandise by the truckload sight unseen and offers them for sale at anywhere from 30 percent to 90 percent off.
Half of the 15,000-square-foot storefront is dedicated to showing off merchandise, everything from toys, furniture, home decor and electronics to kitchen appliances, tools, exercise equipment and camping supplies.
“We’re able to offer the kind of prices you used to see at retail outlets before they turned into specialty malls,” Bill Wienhoff said.
The other 7,500 square feet is dedicated to perusing, inspecting, assembling and testing various products to ensure the highest degree of quality control, Wienhoff said.
Some customers show up two or three times a week to check the store’s selection of merchandise, which changes daily.
“There’s rarely two of the same item,” Bill Wienhoff said. “What our regular customers learn is (that) if you see something here and you like it, you’d better buy it today, because at these prices it probably won’t be here tomorrow and there’s no guarantee we’ll have another one.”
Absolute Bargains switches off between retailers and each truckload of merchandise contains between 22 and 56 pounds of merchandise at a time, Carl Wienhoff said.
“It’s like a big ‘Storage Wars’ but it’s bigger and better,” he said.
Brian McCarter, of Cincinnati, said he shops at the store regularly because it provides more than so-called discount stores without “blaring music and pushy salespeople.”
“You never know what you’re going to find here,” he said. “You’ve got a combination of quality, variety and price.”
Bill, a former corporate manager for Pier One Imports and Computer City, handles corporate matters for the new business while Carl uses his 30-year retail career with “just about every chain you could imagine” to handle operations.
The brothers said they opted for Hamilton West Shopping Center because it offers a high-traffic location with a large sales floor and complimenting businesses nearby.
Deciding on the type of store was a matter of economics.
“People are looking for a good bargain,” Bill Wienhoff said. “In this current economy, something that gives people an opportunity to buy brand new retail merchandise at 30, 50, 70 percent off, is going to be a hit.”
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