![]() ![]() So could all the other treasure hunters at the estate sale, mashed shoulder to shoulder like strap hangers at rush hour. I can’t look at a Beanie Baby without thinking about all the Beanie Babies we sold.The art nouveau-era brooch shaped like a dragonfly had landed gracefully atop a mound of jewelry inside a display case. I had to hire extra staff just to do the shipping. We were shipping them out of the country. ![]() People were coming in (to his store) and were nasty to us because we were selling them for more than $5. "So my dad started buying them and then charging double or more for them. ![]() “For the longest time, only Hallmark stores could get those Beanie Babies and they’d have them for a minute because people would buy them all," Dawn said. The secondary market items brought two or more times their original price. When Beanie Babies became popular in the 1990s, Linn bought the plush toys for resale. She said her father was interested in selling “anything that became a hot item.” She regarded both of her parents - her mother Patricia died six years ago - as “tremendous” salespeople who stressed customer service. “We’d buy all these flowers and we’d have at one time 10-12 corners and we’d get all our family members and friends and we’d work the corners,” Dawn said. Over the years, Linn worked trade shows, sold ammunition at gun shows, peddled nostalgic items at his Johnny Lema's store in Westland mall, ran a kiosk at Great Lakes Crossing, worked as a video game distributor and sometimes rented space outdoors at corner gas stations to sell flowers, fireworks, “anything you could think of.” He had a fireworks business in Canton for 37 years and then we opened a (fireworks) store in Indiana." He started with a little newspaper stand back in his 20s. I don’t know anything different,” she said. “I’ve been working for my dad since I was 8 years old. Linn likely would have approved of his daughter’s venture. View Gallery: Timeless Treasures for sale The couple plans to continue the business, selling other families’ estates, after Linn’s items are gone. Store vs. saleīrian said it made more sense to open a store, rather than attempt to hold multiple sales at his father-in-law’s three houses. The couple opened the doors to the public Feb. I’ve been putting in some late hours trying to get things set up.” There’s so much stuff to bring in, it’s hard to find a place for it all. “It’s all been overwhelming, to say the least. They had china hutches, cabinets positioned around their homes and they had on display a lot of beautiful items. He’d see something he liked or something my mother-in-law liked and he’d purchase it for her. “A lot of this came from his houses in West Bloomfield and in Indiana. There still is a lot more stuff to bring in,” Brian said. “The home in Highland hasn’t even been touched yet. More: Highland seeks proposals to demolish, then build 2 new fire stations More: Spring training is underway at new Highland sports complex “We still have another house full of stuff, the Highland house,” said Melonio, who lives just a few houses from her father’s former home. It could take months before Melonio and her husband Brian run out of goods. Sunday, the store is selling the contents of Linn’s houses and inventory from retail ventures that he had stored over the years. Main Street, just north of Huron Street, in downtown Milford. Open from 10 a.m. ![]() It’s called Timeless Treasures, an estate-sale-turned-retail-shop at 222 S. So his daughter, Dawn Melonio, opened one. When Don Linn of Highland Township died last year, he left behind enough belongings to stock a small store. Watch Video: His nickname was the Beanie Baby King ![]()
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