By Carol Mowdy Bond
Contributing Writer
July 17 marked a prehistoric day for Yukon. That’s when Jessica and Lyle Jameson, co-owners of Jameson’s Discount Home Improvement Warehouse, 12451 NW 10th Street in Yukon, relocated a gigantic dinosaur to their store property.
The fiberglass behemoth overlooked I-35 from Statuary World for quite a few years. But when the business closed, Lyle bought it at auction. Lyle said, “It’s 65 feet long from head to tail, and 27 to 28 feet tall.”
Since December 2016, Lyle and Jessica’s Yukon home improvement warehouse has been rockin’ and rollin’. In fact, the COVID-19 pandemic didn’t slow them down at all. Lyle said, “Because of what we sell, we’re an essential business. So we stayed open. Some products have not been readily available or have been in short supply, like scratch and dent appliances. But people have been home, and they kept coming in. They’ve used this time to work on their homes.”
The Jamesons partner with a variety of businesses. They buy inventory from manufacturers, big box stores, distributors and more, and they source from quality closeouts. They sell tools, bath vanities, ceiling fans, toilets, and more, and bargain shoppers will find up to 50% off retail prices. But their inventory changes almost on a daily basis. So, you might spot anything, including a doggy door or collar, a stack of sweaters and jeans, or even a trendy, outdoor light-up pelican from a national, high-end home decor chain. They buy at low prices because as Lyle said, “When we buy, we buy a ton. We buy by the truckload.”
Jameson’s is an authorized dealer for Premier Portable Buildings. They also sell Montage Paint. Montage has even created a special color just for Jameson’s to sell. An upcycled paint, Montage is more cost effective, is eco-friendly, and has a stronger hold on surfaces due to the upcycling process.
Lyle and Jessica keep about half of their 10,500 square feet warehouse full of seasonal items such as patio furniture. But that inventory will soon change. A large, hand-made sign on the wall reads, “HALF PRICE CHRISTMAS AND HALLOWEEN DECORATIONS COMING SOON.” Lyle said, “At the end of each year, we have a lot of artificial trees. Christmas is big around here. It’s a big deal for us. We sell Christmas trees and Christmas anything. Our Christmas prices are about 50% off or more. In March, I bought five semi truckloads of Christmas items from Home Depot. For Home Depot to store all that merchandise in their warehouse is cost prohibitive so they sold it.”
“The most unusual items we’ve sold is, at times, we’ve had make up, health and beauty products, and mattresses,” Lyle said. “But one time we bought a bunch of bras.”
The Jamesons are doing so well that they opened a second location in June 2019 at 7010 SE 15th in Midwest City.
Mustang residents, Lyle and Jessica had solid jobs, but not much extra cash on hand. Lyle, who holds university degrees from Southwestern Oklahoma State University at Weatherford, and Fort Hays University in Kansas, worked for the Oklahoma Department of Corrections as a teacher for adult offenders. Jessica, who earned a degree from Redlands Community College, ran a home day care business.
The Jameson story is a page right out of history. They wanted to fix up their home, but their income was prohibitive. So, Lyle, who has always enjoyed DIY home improvement projects, began scouting around for products on a budget. One thing led to another, and he began buying home improvement items, keeping them in a storage unit, and selling them online and out of the unit so he could earn extra money to fix up their family home. The storage units progressively got bigger, until they gave up their jobs and opened their Yukon store. Now they both work in their store full time. And their children, who attend Mustang schools, sometimes work the register or do other jobs in the store during the summer months.
Connect with the Jamesons and their dinosaur-size bargains by visiting http://www.discountokc.com, or their Facebook page Jameson’s Discount Home Improvement Warehouse Yukon, or by calling (405) 494-0355.
