BUSINESS PROFILE: T&T Buy and Sell
By Shara JJ Cooper
The T&T Buy and Sell relocated from 2nd Street to 3rd Street in July. Locals will know the new location as the former What About Bob’s furniture store.
Derek Taylor, who owns the business with his dad Ian, calls the buy and sell an “everything store.”
While there are several stores in the Boundary that sell a little bit of everything, Taylor feels his store stands out for several reasons.
“Outside of Nelson, we have the biggest supply of vinyl in the Kootenays,” he said, adding that, like most vintage items, traditional vinyl records are making a comeback.
He will sell, trade or swap almost any kind of vinyl, and loves to collect unique records. His selection changes every week and can range from AC/DC to old Doukhobor gospel records.
“No one else has those,” he said of the Doukhobor collection.
Taylor offers a trading program for people who want to swap records. He will let them bring in their old vinyl and take home a new one for only a dollar, but the new records have to be ones that he is interested in having.
People that are familiar with his old store, know that he sold fish, reptiles, birds and pet supplies. This is still true, although they are not in the main part of the store.
“We are opening a critter corner in the back,” said Taylor, adding that some people won’t come in the store if they have to walk through tanks of snakes or lizards. For now, his regular customers know that he still has pet supplies and will ask for specific items when they come in.
Shoppers will find a wide selection of items at the buy and sell. They will still find plenty of furniture, but it will range from new, high-end items to antiques made from solid wood. Sometimes he will even carry “basement” quality furniture, although he prefers higher quality items.
“This is furniture for low income people that just need a couch to sit on. They don’t care what it looks like,” said Taylor, of the basement furniture. “I donate a lot of furniture and try and find things local to reduce our carbon footprint.”
However, if a custom asks him for a specific item that he doesn’t have, he will seek it out.
“If someone asks me for a leather sectional, I will call my Kootenay suppliers and go and pick it up tomorrow,” he said, noting that his suppliers can be as far away as the coast but many of them are in the Kootenays.
Even though the store reopened in July, Taylor would like more people to be aware of what they offer.
“I want people to know how unique we are,” he said, adding that customers assume it is still mostly a furniture store but they also carry kitchen supplies, tools, camera equipment and have even sold cars.
The store’s most intriguing items that are currently in stock, include a complete, antique veterinary injection kit and an antique dresser with make-up vanity from the early 1900s.
Antique dressers are something the store always has in abundance, according to Taylor.
While he will strive to find anything a customer needs, Taylor is happy to redirect customers to another store if he can’t help them but knows someone else can.
“I want people to shop local,” he said.
