Score a deal
“The five-year anniversary sale will be a great time to find a deal,” said General Manager Tonya Shirk. “The whole store will be up to 50 percent off.”
61 Surplus’ shelves are constantly stocked with an ever-changing inventory of liquidated name brand merchandise. “We get products from places like Amazon, Kohl’s and Target that want to get rid of overstocks, damaged-box items and returns,” Shirk said.
Four to five times a month, 61 Surplus buys merchandise by the truckload from wholesale distributors to sell at a discount of 40 to 60 percent off the retail price. “Some of the returns are lightly used, but the majority of things that we get are new and come from overstocks,” Shirk said. “We have everything — kitchen appliances, furniture — and a busy baby section, with brands like Graco, Britax and even Pampers.”
At the 61 Surplus anniversary sale there is cause to celebrate. All of the store’s proceeds go to support the works of ministries around the world and here at home.
“We focus primarily on orphaned children in impoverished areas,” Shirk said. “We partner with orphan-care ministries for supplies and building materials.”
Shirk said 61 Surplus partnered with Jericho Road to provide funds for medicine, food and clothing during the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone, and helped build an orphanage in Myanmar after their civil war.
“61 Surplus helped establish a sawmill at Bamba Forge in Uganda through Forest of Hope,” Shirk said. “The mission creates opportunities to plant and sustainably harvest trees as a livelihood to reduce the effects of poverty and deforestation in the region.”
Closer to home, 61 Surplus donated tarps, children’s clothes and dry bins to flood victims last year in West Virginia, and helps out at local school auctions and benefits.
The owners of 61 Surplus are inviting everyone to come celebrate with them as a thank you for the community’s support of their mission over the last five years.
During the 61 Surplus anniversary sale, the store’s staff will be handing out free Better Life Coffee and donuts from Walnut Creek Foods, from 9 to 11 a.m., and free hotdogs and soda, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The two-day event will feature in-store giveaways that include gift cards and a 42-inch television, and everyone who spends $75 during the 61 Surplus anniversary sale will receive a free gift.
61 Surplus first opened its doors seven years ago in Millersburg and made good on its charitable business model. Two years later, 61 Surplus moved to a space five-times larger and reopened in a 4,500-square-foot space on the square in Berlin.
61 Surplus continues to make good on its charitable business model and has recently opened its warehouse doors online, at https://61surplus.org.
“The warehouse inventory is similar, but separate from the store’s inventory,” Shirk said. “Anything bought online can be shipped straight from the warehouse or picked up in the store.”
A Bible verse inspired the store’s four founders to do well by doing good. “The name 61 Surplus comes from Isaiah 61,” Shirk said. “The passage talks about bringing good news to the poor, and spreading love to people who don’t have any other way to find it.”
61 Surplus redefines the term consumer conscience in its promise to deliver high-quality merchandise to high-minded customers. “People know that when they shop here they are helping someone else, even though they’re getting a deal on the things they need,” Shirk said. “That’s the biggest sale of all.”
61 Surplus is located at 4860 E. Main St. in Berlin. The phone number is 330-893-5800. Shop in-store, Monday-Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., or anytime online at https://61surplus.org.