New and used is the game, Bid and Buy is their name. In the summer of 2018, founder Jennifer Lanzetti started the journey of leaving the construction industry, after spending 25+ years building a better world. She started as a rough carpenter at the age of 16 and eventually owned her own construction firm that she sold in 2018. While pondering her next career, she was also shopping for all the things she needed to add another baby to her family. It was then that the idea of Bid & Buy started. As she was searching for great deals on name-brand, trusted products she realized there had to be a better way for people to save money without wasting hours scouring the internet. Knowing how busy she was as a mom of two, she knew shopping at four different stores both online and in person could not be the answer to getting the best deals.
Bid & Buy opened for "official business" in January of 2019. Navigating the online retail world took a minute, and so did the major remodel of their space. She chose a vacant 2,500 SF area located in the Ivy Place Shopping Center in Murray, Utah. It was 2 minutes from her house and perfect. Of course back then she did not know she needed 15,000 square feet to realize her discount store dream. With the mission at the top of her mind and a lot of positive energy buzzing around her, Jennifer persevered even when COVID hit the world like a meteor a few months later. By the time the remodel was finished, and the online store was up and running, the cute discount boutique still opened its doors in the summer of 2020 despite the international pandemic underway.
Some probably thought that starting a new retail business when most people were working from home, and hardly ever leaving their homes, was a terrible idea. But in Jennifer's mind, she thought this was the exact business the world needed. A place they could get their essentials, as well as gifts and desires, for less than retail. She knew this was the type of business that needed to be showing up for people. A business that helps everyone maintain some normalcy in their lifestyle and habits, since so many things are changing rapidly.
When asked why she keeps her doors open, when many small businesses are closing, she said "We are creatures of habit, and from my experience there is only so much disruption us humans can deal with every day. We have all been living according to a certain status quo for a long, long time. Our lifestyles were imprinted heavily before COVID. Maybe buying shampoo, toothpaste, new back-to-school clothes, and a coffee maker for less than $100 seems inconsequential to the big picture and major trauma happening in the world; but I think every act of kindness and every great deal people find, makes the challenges we are all facing a little more tolerable."
Along with finding deals the Bid & Buy team is growing. They are inviting investors to consider their proposal to have a Bid & Buy store in every major city. Along with selling discounted goods, Bid & Buy also: 1) helps distressed businesses liquidate their inventory quickly with online auctions, 2) runs estate auctions online to alleviate burden for estate holders, and 3) they support their local community artists by giving them store space for their creations and selling their goods on consignment.
Although COVID has disrupted the world, and buyers are drastically different than three years ago, a good deal is a good deal. That never goes out of style and is always trending.