1984 (April)
Dan Cunliffe Sr. quits his long time job to start his own business in 1984. With a vast experience in sales he starts selling Coins. After approximately three days realizes that he couldn't make a living selling only Coins. He meets someone selling Jewelry and decided to go into selling Jewelry. He travels to homes of people he knows selling his Jewelry out of a briefcase. With virtually no overhead and a low markup he has found his nitch in the marketplace !
1985 (Fall)
With things going well Dan decides to set up in a mall with a seasonal table. With his wife Dot by his side, they work long hours 7 days a week. With his expertise and long love of coins he adds this to his product line. Republic Jewelry & Coin is Born. Dan Cunliffe II starts with the company soon after. With the convenience of attending a local college he's able to help out with sales when he's not in class. By the end of the season sales are brisk and the inventory has grown too large to be hauled from the mall every night. Dan Sr. purchases a large standing safe in which he is able to safely store away the inventory every night. This safe is the first permanent fixture which gives customers confidence that republic will be around for a while.
1985 (Fall)
On the advise of a friend he decides to add sports cards to his product line. With all the traffic in the Mall the sales of Sports Cards starts to grow. He purchases enough product that other local merchants start to ask if he can sell product to them. The wholesale distribution of Sports Cards is started.
1987 (July 1st)
The need for additional sales space forces him to give up his small corner of the Mall. He moves into a spot in a strip mall at 250 Center st. in Auburn. He decides to share a store with another business, to keep overhead low. As time goes on there is a need for additional space. He first rents part of a store next to him and eventually has to rent space in the rooms on the second floor above his store.
1992
With sales increasing steadily in all of his product lines, and a growing inventory he decided to move again. To display the huge selection of jewelry and coins and to warehouse the large sports card inventory he decided to build his own building. In January of 1992 he purchased a prime parcel of land only a few hundred yards from his current location. Here at 212 Center st. he built an appropriate building to suite the unique needs of his diversified business. His new building with 4,500 sq ft. opened on September 9, 1992. With the added space he was able to seperate his expanding business into two great stores under one roof- Republic Jewelry & Republic Collectibles. Due to the volume he was doing in Jewelry and Collectibles he didn't have to increase prices to cover the extra expenses. His nitch has always been to provide high quality products at unbeatable prices. And even decades later he is able to continue this today.
Today
Republic has grown over the years because of our Low Prices, Great Service, and Huge Selection. Our best advertising campaign has been "Word of Mouth". That's right, people telling other people. Once someone has come through our doors they have such a good a experience and save so much money they are excited to tell their friends and family about us. We've never had a sale because we work so close to cost to ensure the best value possible! Our regular prices are always better than any sale price you will ever see. You won't see lots of big ads in the paper or fancy commercials on television because such advertising cost lots of $$. In most businesses, it is the usually the customer who has to pay for all those added expenses. We will continue to strive to be your best source for Jewelry & Collectibles. As one young man was walking out the door he turned to his mom and said, "This is the greatest store ever !". We invite you to stop by to see our selection and check our Great Prices. We have a great staff of 15 employees eager to help you find just what your looking for. Republic offers more services than ever before. Stop on by and see what all our customers are telling everyone, Republic is a must shop store!
