MURRYSVILLE, Pennsylvania — When Jim Beacom started his auction house in 1964 in an old red barn located on rolling farmland here in Westmoreland County, he had no idea it would end up becoming what it is today.
“We called it Auction 380 because we did auctions on State Route 380,” he says, shrugging matter-of-factly. “No use not to keep it simple.”
In the 1980s, Route 380 became a four-lane highway, traditionally a development that bypasses small businesses and causes them to close. But when the state re-did the steep hillside for the road, it created an opportunity in the form of a lot more flat land for the business.
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A modest retail store was built. The auctions stopped, but the name stuck. “No need to confuse the customers,” Beacom deadpans, sitting on one of the hundreds of sofas located inside his store, which today boasts 30,000 square feet of everything you might need from cradle to grave and then some. “You have to be willing to take risks sometimes. That is how great communities are created.”
Auction 380 is hard to define for anyone who hasn’t seen it. If the name is deceiving, so is the appearance. From the outside, it is difficult to imagine what you are going to experience once you walk inside. In the spring and summer, there are seemingly hundreds, if not thousands, of plants and flowers overflowing into the parking lot. In the fall, pumpkins and mums vie for center stage. At Christmas, the trees and wreaths take over.
There is also a solid stock of golf carts, gardening equipment, landscaping equipment, sheds, and wooden outhouses with quarter moons carved into the front door.
Walk inside, and one room leads to another and to another. There are fresh vegetables, fruits, canned goods of every possible variety and some you would never think of needing. There is a massive automotive section. If you can’t find the car part you were looking for, then it probably doesn’t exist.
There is a huge room full of toys and the best selection of children’s books I’ve ever seen. The furniture rooms are filled with pieces made by local Amish artisans who can custom-build any kind of bed, dresser, table, or chair and have it delivered next weekend.
Everything at Auction 380 is deeply discounted. Every person who works there is incredibly friendly and helpful. One reason is that many of those who work there are members of the Beacom family, like Matt Beacom, Jim’s grandson, who was helping someone have a sofa delivered to their home.
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“Mostly, all of our employees have been here years, 10 years, 15 years, 20 years — they are like family to us but also to our customers,” said the younger Beacom. “They know them by name the moment they walk in the door, and that is a big part of the appeal of our store.”
Walking into Auction 380 is like walking into the ideal American general store of the past. You are greeted at the front door by the woman running the register. The aisles are organized in spite of the amount they pack into each section. You can feel the care that goes into stacking each department, giving the customer a wave of nostalgia for the way things used to be when store owners were deeply connected to their customers.
Except the Beacoms remain deeply connected. They all live within miles of the business, including one son who lives on the hillside above it. In many ways, they share the same experiences and roots that their customers do. It shows in every interaction and purchase.
“We keep the prices down — which has been a struggle in the past year — by keeping our overhead down, and we just don’t mark up,” Matt said of their abundant stock.
“It is a small business inside a big building — well, a bunch of big buildings,” says Gayle Talmadge, who was shopping with her husband Ed in the household cleaning section.
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“We come here at least twice a week, you really never know what you are going to find each time you come here,” said Talmadge, who has been shopping here for decades. “That is kind of the beauty and adventure of it.”
Outside, the parking lot is packed with vehicles. Some have seen better days, and others are new, just pulled off of a luxury car lot. Auction 380 is an oasis in an era of soaring costs and short stock. No matter their income, people seek out stores like Beacom’s that understand their needs and are mindful of their pocketbooks.
The elder Beacom is not wrong to explain that he chose the location because it “seemed like a nice little hill to do some business on.” His little red barn, where he ran his auctions, is still tucked away in the corner of the property — a reminder that we all come from somewhere, from a decision to take a risk and do something different. If we treat people right along the way, it might just work out.
