New store at Upper Valley Mall to offer shoppers steep discounts

A new store that recently opened at the Upper Valley Mall plans to attract customers both through its storefront at the mall and through daily online auctions.

Upper Valley Values opened late this summer in a space formerly occupied by Rue 21, said Kevin Back, who co-owns the business with Matt Koronich, his brother-in-law. The business focuses on buying a variety of products at liquidation sales and online, then offering them to buyers in Clark County at steep discounts, Back said.

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This month the store also began offering online auctions at www.UpperValleyAuctions.com, allowing winning bidders to pick up their products at the store. Items available both online and inside the store will regularly vary, and the items online start at a penny apiece.

“Right now it’s mostly housewares, toys and camping things,” Back said, although they expect to sell larger items as the business becomes more steady.

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Back said his brother-in-law had been finding unusual items at liquidation sales from retailers for years and they decided to turn it into their own business. They chose the mall in part because of the inexpensive rent and because of the amount of space available.

He also liked that several other small businesses have moved into the property as national retailers have left.

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“Just because it doesn’t have the huge national retailers doesn’t mean that building should go to waste,” Back said. “There’s an opportunity for us to make money there.”

Several retailers have struggled in recent years, Back said, so their business tries to track down heavily discounted merchandise, which it can then offer at steep discounts to customers in Springfield.

“It seems like it might work for the area,” Back said of his business.

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