Mom and pop auction solves problem of too much stuff
Demand continues to grow
By ROWENA PLETT
Staff writer
The term "pack rats" accurately describes Joe and Tish Vinduska of Lincolnville. They have collected garage sale items for years.
In fact, one of Joe's first gifts to Tish, given to her before their marriage 10 years ago, was a set of dishes he purchased at a garage sale.
Joe's father operated Pilsen Automotive Service until his death in 1988. Joe and his mother, Millie, and brother, Bob, continued the business for 10 years before closing in 1988. The shop building was used for storage after that, as more and more items were collected.
About three years ago, Joe and Tish hit upon the idea of buying unclaimed contents of storage bins and selling them on ebay. They bought the items at auction but were not allowed to see what the bins contained until after the contents were purchased.
"We found out the bins contained maybe four or five items suitable for sale on ebay, and the rest were less-valuable items," Joe said. Their collection grew.
That's when the couple decided to start an auction business. They named it Pilsen Packrats Auctions.
The first auctions were held once a month at one end of the shop. They hired Byran Bina, a budding auctioneer from Lincolnville, to conduct the auctions.
Then, Joe decided to do the auctioning himself.
"I always had intentions of doing it myself," he said.
As interest grew, the couple moved the auctions to Pilsen Community Center, where their base remains.
A former school building, the activity center is perfectly suited for auctions because of the large auditorium, a kitchen and lunch room, and restroom facilities. The Vinduskas rent some of the classrooms for storage.
Monthly auctions are conducted on Friday evenings and are a major social event for people in the community and surrounding area. They come to eat, visit, observe the proceedings, and hopefully, purchase a few items.
Concessions are provided by the activity center, and Millie provides baked goods such as pie and kolaches.
In the auditorium, chairs are set up to accommodate customers, and items to be auctioned are displayed around the perimeter of the room.
Joe said a woman from Boston scheduled visits to her mother at Pilsen to coincide with auctions.
The Vinduskas hire six people to assist them at auction time. Tish arranges displays and presents items during the auction. Terri Klenda and Norma Horinek of Pilsen assist in presenting, and deliver items to buyers. Steve Podzus of Lincolnville moves items from display tables to the front. Debbie Steele of Pilsen is clerk. Cashier Jane Pigorsch is assisted by Laura Vinduska, both of Lincolnville.
Before the Lincolnville Community Building was torn down to make way for a new building, Pilsen Packrats held several monthly "short and sweet" sales there, in which boxes of items were sold.
They plan to hold them again when another building becomes available. More than 200 flyers are sent out each month to customers, and the couple advertises sales in area newspapers.
Joe said they didn't plan to take consignments, but because of the demand, are beginning to do so. They also have begun to conduct estate sales. They provide full service.
"We pack it, move it, clean it, and sell it," Joe said.
He said they have enough demand for their services to hold two auctions a month. Their use of the Pilsen site has to be scheduled around other events held there, so a second site is needed.
"We enjoy it," Joe said. "We could do it every week. Our goal is to do it full-time. We have met so many nice people. Our lives have been enriched."
"This business brought Joe and I closer," Tish added.
Joe conceded they work well together and enjoy each other's company.
Tish spends most of her time cleaning and preparing items for sale. She recently established a shop in Lincolnville which features "new and not-so-new" items and damaged freight. It is located on Main Street across from Pilsen State Bank and is open by appointment.
Joe is employed as maintenance man for Lincolnville. The couple have four grown children between them and an eight-year-old. Mark Henry is in the third grade at Centre Elementary School.
