Posted: 2/6/07
A man needs a store of his own
By Tom van der Linden
Special to The Argus
Oh honey, we donít have time to "Shop the Surplus Store!"
The old adage that "one manís junk is another manís treasure" doesnít quite describe Hokahís newest business, but it certainly hints at the treasures to be found here.
If you find it difficult to drive by a Menardís or Home Depot without being drawn in, youíll understand the appeal of Seven Rivers Surplus, housed in a big white barn of a building on Highway 16, just west of Kwik Trip.
Permit me, this once, to be sexist. Men... most wives or girlfriends will be happier at home.
Owners Don Bissen and Pat Fisher buy surplus and used tools and equipment, clean them up, and resell them to anyone with a workshop, or a hankering for one.
"Thatís a good deal," said Bissen, pointing to a new drill bit set priced at less than half retail. "Weíve got thousands of drill bits."
That they do, ranging from Ziploc bags filled with nearly new bits perfect for drilling a small pilot hole, to individual monsters thicker than a welderís thumb and as long as his torch.
You might not know what to do with a drill bit that big, but any tool fan should have one.
Bissen, in charge of acquiring enough goodies to actually fill this barn, admits he "shops E bay almost every day," looking for bargains. More often, he finds good deals at auctions, particularly in the post-industrial labyrinth called Chicago. Itís a risk to buy used stuff, and sometimes Bissen goofs, buying something that canít be repaired. But, after having operated Hokah Hardware for years, he has developed a merchantís keen eye. The biggest challenge is to buy popular items at the right price, not cheap stuff nobody wants.
Whatís a popular item?
Well, there are items you might expect: lawn tractor seats, hammers, screws, bolts, trailer parts and gloves, and items that will leave you scratching your head. One such find was a dishwasher-sized crate full of vinyl-coated metal rods shaped in the form of a "Y."
"Gun mounts," said Bissen. There were enough of them to make every member of the Gopher State Sportsmanís Club blissful.
What potential did Bissen see in those? Who knows, but maybe heíll make some money on this buy. Maybe youíll have a brainstorm and need two dozen yourself.
Many men would salivate at the older, industrial-style "made in America" band saw, and that $250 grinder would file the temper out of any similar tool available new.
If you own a horse, weld, work with wood, climb on your roof or simply want to dump a macho-looking length of chain in the back of the old F150, youíll find a deal at 7 Rivers.
Pat Fisher maintains the companyís web site: 7riverssurplus.com. His product photography is just blurry enough to spur your curiosity, so youíll have to visit in person.
A featured item last week was: New! close couple bronze turbine pump w 1/3 HP motor. $190.00. $165.00 On Sale!
I donít know what Iíd do with that, but I know I need it, especially as this one comes with "auto thermal overload."
Apparently, others gravitate to this stuff too, as customers are already coming from a hundred-mile radius.
Because these are surplus items, youíll never know if 7 Rivers will have just what youíll need, and the business targets the hard-core workshop owner, logger or farmer, more than the casual handyman.
For example, concrete anchors were available, but only big ones. So, be prepared to improvise.
The items will change and for now, at least, the stuff is pretty well organized.
Fisher and Bissen are rightly worried about that. The potential to overcome the shelving system falls somewhere between high risk and a certainty.
"I never pass up a good deal. You might as well buy it all," said Bissen, a bit sheepishly.
Bissen and Fisher are either fools or geniuses, or possibly foolish geniuses. Some customers wonít want to leave the place.
Because both men have other jobs, store hours are limited, Wednesday through Saturday, 9 am to 4 pm.
You wonít need good directions, itís one of those rare places a man can just find on his own.
Maybe itís the surplus magnets....
Caledonia Argus
314 West Lincoln St.
P.O. Box 227
Caledonia, MN 55921-0227
507/724-3475
E-Mail: editor.argus@ecm-inc.com