Sellers Auction moved to the Belknap Plaza last month, hosting its first on-site auction on Sept. 22. The new location at 102 Belknap St., next to Family Dollar, has kicked business visibility up a few notches, the owners said.
“This place is so much better already,” said Christina Greene, who owns Sellers Auction with her husband, Mickey. “We have so much more foot traffic, and it’s so funny, because we were in Superior for almost four years and we’re getting people in there daily saying ‘Oh, I never knew you were there.’”
Greene said they decided to move the business when the owner of their previous location, 902 Ogden Ave., started looking at selling the building. They’ve gotten positive feedback from visitors.
“And everybody is so happy. They’re like ‘Oh my gosh, it’s been such a long time since all the businesses were filled at the Belknap Plaza,’” Greene said.
With no stairs, the new site is handicap accessible and shares a large parking lot with the other businesses in the shopping center. It’s about the same size as their previous space, Greene said.
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“It’s business as usual right now,” Greene said, but they plan to turn the front section of the building into a storefront in the future. The Superior business, which employs six, is swinging into high gear with 13 auctions in October alone.
On Tuesday, Oct. 5, tables were arranged with antiques, collectibles and household goods in preparation for an auction Wednesday, Oct. 6. There were teacups, tools, a turntable, more than a dozen boxed Furby toys, puffy stickers still in the sleeves and a table piled with model airplane kits. Painted on the wall in the front room was a karate logo, an echo of the building’s former tenant, a martial arts dojo.
In addition to in-store auctions every Wednesday night, the business handles on-site estate sales in both Minnesota and Wisconsin and accepts consignments, which are sold at general auctions.
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“We can buy one item or the entire estate, so quantity doesn’t matter,” Greene said.
They also clean out houses or run estate sales for family members who have passed away.
“It’s really a nice service we provide because at some point, it’s inevitable that somebody needs to empty a house or deal with belongings,” Greene said. “We meet a lot of really nice people that way.’
A number of specialty auctions are planned before the end of the year, including one devoted to Breweriana (beer-related items like lighted signs and steins) and another to McDonald’s themed items.
Visit the Sellers Auction Facebook page or website, https://www.sellersauction.com/ , or stop by the new location from 9 a.m. to noon weekdays to browse upcoming sales. Wednesdays, the business is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. with dog-friendly auctions kicking off at 5 p.m.
Sellers Auction has a dedicated group of regulars, and newcomers are welcome.
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“It’s a friendly environment,” Greene said. “You don’t have to know what you’re doing.”
She said her husband, who has 39 years of experience in the business, is very entertaining and keeps the sales moving. People who want to bid on an item but don’t want to wait can also make what is called a “left bid,” in which auction staff will bid in their place until they win or hit their cap.
The former Super One Foods site in the Belknap Plaza sat vacant from April 2014 until July 12, when Essentia Health opened a pharmacy in the building.
The shopping center is convenient, spacious and in an area of town without other pharmacies, said Kenzie Hohman, ambulatory pharmacy senior director for Essentia Health.
“This particular building also afforded the space needed for our mail-order, call center and specialty pharmacy,” Hohman said. “Prior to this, we were operating out of a cramped space in the Essentia Superior Hospital. “
Essentia Health is currently using about 80% of the building, with the remaining space reserved for future growth or expansion of services. People do not have to be Essentia Health patients to utilize the pharmacy.
1/2:People walk through the tables of things to be auctioned off at Sellers Auction in the Belknap Plaza in Superior on Tuesday morning, Oct. 5, 2021. Jed Carlson / Superior Telegram
2/2:Sellers Auction co-owner Mickey Greene poses by a picture of his cousin, the late Brent Loberg, at the business' new storefront in the Belknap Plaza. Greene and Loberg started Sellers Auction in Duluth in 1982. Greene and his new partner brought the business to Superior in 2017 after a five-year hiatus following Loberg's death. (Courtesy / Sellers Auction)
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1/2:People walk through the tables of things to be auctioned off at Sellers Auction in the Belknap Plaza in Superior on Tuesday morning, Oct. 5, 2021. Jed Carlson / Superior Telegram
2/2:Sellers Auction co-owner Mickey Greene poses by a picture of his cousin, the late Brent Loberg, at the business' new storefront in the Belknap Plaza. Greene and Loberg started Sellers Auction in Duluth in 1982. Greene and his new partner brought the business to Superior in 2017 after a five-year hiatus following Loberg's death. (Courtesy / Sellers Auction)
