Staff writer
Trucks and trailers with tags from as far away as Colorado filled the former Seacat Hardware parking lot Friday night and then late into Saturday afternoon as assets from the store were auctioned off to the highest bidder.
The items included store vehicles and forklift, power tools, a hydraulic post hole digger and trailer, pipe cutter, and hand held power tools, as well as leftover store inventory ranging from plumbing pipe to paint were all sold to empty the building before being sold to new owners by Cottonwood Valley Bank.
Leppke Realty and Auction of Hillsboro spent all Friday setting up for the auction. Many items still hung on their shelves like the store never closed.
Broker Lyle Leppke said they handed out 200 numbers both days of the auction.
“People share numbers so I expect we had around 250 people there each day,” Leppke said.
Every item and lot was sold, the highest amount, $9,500, paid for a forklift.
The potential for severe weather on Friday did not hamper anyone’s buying spirit. By late afternoon Friday, the parking lot was packed and buyers were filling over along the access road.
Several buyers were taking a mini vacation to attend the auction. Fence builder Darryl Brewer of Marion said he had some welding to do, but was unable to because of the wind.
“I thought I’d come up here and see what was going on and maybe stock up on supplies,” he said. “We have no hardware store here so supplies can be hard to come by if you need them fast.”
He said he did a lot of business with the previous owners, and it was different to see the building so empty.
“A lot of stuff is gone, but there’s still a lot to sell. I figure if I can buy local, then maybe some of the money will stay local,” he said.
Richard Soyez of Marion said he attended the auction looking for a new rototiller.
“I live on a farm, so I thought I’d come up here and see what there was and if I needed anything,” he said.
One couple who attended from Colorado was buying for their daughter, who was remodeling a house but currently on vacation.