New Akron discount retailer offers deals on everything from kids' clothes to ukuleles

What began as an opportunity to work from home in Michigan has quickly transitioned into a heterogeneously supplied Akron retail storefront.

A little over a year ago, husband and wife Ryan and Chelsea Leaventon, who are originally from the Rubber City, were living in Michigan and working in the jewelry industry. But, expecting their first baby, a daughter, Chelsea decided to leave her job. To bring in income and spend more time together, the couple purchased some pallets of items on Facebook Marketplace and resell them.

“It went really well — better than we had expected,” Ryan said.

The couple decided to jump into the venture full time. Then, the Leaventons moved back home. And on July 18, they opened CRL Retail and Pallet Liquidation at 865 W. Waterloo Road in Akron, where customers can find items ranging from baby and children’s clothes to electronics, picture frames, bedding and furniture.

CRL owner and CEO Ryan Leaventon runs the store with his wife and and his longtime friend Michael Malone, a former roommate and colleague in Akron’s restaurant scene.

Many of CRL’s items are priced at 40% to 60% of their retail price but sometimes much less, Leaventon said. He looked at a tag on a piece of clothing on Thursday. “So, $3 dollars for a $12 sweatshirt,” he said.

“We know what it’s like to be in a tough spot, especially with the economy the last few years,” he said. “Everything has gone up in price, so if we can help just even a few people, we know we're doing a good job.”

What’s for sale at CRL?

Item availability changes regularly. On Thursday, CRL had a hoverboard on display near a ukulele and docking stations, just around the corner from numerous pool cleaners Ryan Leaventon said have been selling well.

They never know what they're going to get, he said.

“Last year, we got a pallet, and it had 32 bread makers on it — and it was all bread makers," he said. "Didn't plan on it, but that's what we got. Or we bought two pallets and there was, between the two pallets, 750 pairs of shoes.”

Anything priced below $500 is tax-free through 11:59 p.m. Thursday because of Ohio’s 10-day tax holiday , Leaventon shared with social media followers.

How CRL sources its items

Leaventon said sellers like Amazon and most big-box stores regularly liquidate items.

“Walmart’s a big one — Target, Kohl's, Home Depot, Lowe's — a lot of the shipping carriers liquidate stuff,” Leaventon said. “There's really just a ton of companies out there doing it, whether it saves them money on logistics, whether it saves them money on packaging. For some reason or another, they decide to get rid of it in bulk."

In addition to its shelved and racked items, CRL sells “mystery boxes” that came from shipping carriers. They’re still in their packaging — and the CRL team doesn’t know what’s in them, either.

“They’re undeliverable — they can’t find their owners, or they could be returns,” Leaventon said.

Customers can claim items in CRL Facebook group

People who join the “CRL Retail and Pallet Liquidation” Facebook group at bit.ly/4cccJYH can see which items are available, claim items and participate in giveaways and deals.

CRL plans to sell packaged products to other resellers

The CRL crew also operates a warehouse area in the West Waterloo Road building that it plans to open up to other resellers.

“Our goal is to get into selling pallets to provide opportunity for other people to make an income at home like we did,” he said.

“They can choose what type of items they want to sell, they'll be able to come into the warehouse, once we open it, and walk around and research the boxes on the pallets if they want to,” Leaventon said. “The only thing that they won't be able to do is open anything because then the next person won't want to buy it."

Specific items have a 48-hour return policy

CRL has a 48-hour return policy on various items, such as coffee makers, espresso machines, meat slicers and portable grills.

Customers cannot return products that were unopened before the customer purchased them, including mystery boxes and items purchased from CRL in their pallets, Leaventon said, adding that purchasers are assuming risk in those situations. The return policy also does not apply to clothing or bedding.

Leaventon said the team plugs in and tests out its electronic items but realizes that some customers may purchase things they can’t use.

“I think people see a lot of that in liquidation where they go, they buy something and then get home with it, it's missing half the parts, and then they've got to go on to the manufacturer website and buy everything and then all of a sudden, they could have just bought a brand new one anyways,” Leaventon said.

“We're here to help people, not to hinder them," he added.

Patrick Williams covers growth and development for the Akron Beacon Journal. He can be reached by email at pwilliams@gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @pwilliamsOH.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: New Akron discount retailer offers deals on everything from kids' clothes to ukuleles