Testimonials
If there are two places you have to visit in Asheville, one is the Biltmore Estate, and the other is Scroungers Paradise.
Andrew Shea
Fort Lauderdale, florida
Look at this place!… Came to Scroungers Paradise for some salvage to use for the tiny house siding. I spent a few minutes drooling everywhere before grabbing some gorgeous tongue and groove cedar!
This place is amazing.
Time to torch that cedar and get to work…
5/20/21
The Capable Carpenter
Asheville, north carolina
02/02/2021
J. Rountree
Asheville, north carolina
Hi, Mark:
Thanks so much for your time, expertise, and generosity yesterday! I really enjoyed our chat and think the itauba will be the perfect accent for my project. I’ll send along some pictures of the final piece when it’s done.
“Scroungers” is an amazing place. It’s so cool to meet folks who are doing things with passion!
All my best for the season and the new year.
Gratefully,
Jeff
12/21/2020
Jeff Kalil-Carolina Day School
Asheville, north carolina
10/2020
K. Giddens
Asheville, north carolina
We went to scroungers Paradise yesterday and had a ball! There are many varieties of tile, all sorts of exotic wood from Brazil and South Africa, as well as other odds and ends that home renovators would love to have. We are remodeling our home and got a fabulous deal on a single lever kitchen faucet and a smashing deal on some glass tile. We will definitely be back! The prices are great and so is the stuff. Everyone there is friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable.– Stand with our friends and neighbors for equality — real American values.
9/28/2020
Shannon Kirk
Asheville, north carolina
Best supply of exotic woods on the planet. Just picked up this Rosewood, Canary and Zebra and turned it into a great countertop. Scroungers Paradise is a must for those extra special projects.
9/23/2020
Philip Vignola
Boone, north carolina
9/2020
L. DeJournett
Asheville, north carolina
Cameron and Stacy,
9/5/2020
Bill and Nan
Hendersonville, north carolina
I went to Scrounger’s Paradise for the first time today and I was in awe—a compliment you must hear multiple times daily.
8/5/2020
Laura S.
Asheville, north carolina
We had a great visit to Scoungers Paradise today. Mark, the president of the store, was incredibly generous and helpful! The store has amazing works of art, cool wood, all kind of antiques and unusual items!! Stop in for sure!!
2/5/2020
D., P., H., and T. Weksler
Asheville, north carolina
If you’re looking for wood for projects, it’s the perfect place.
1/13/2020
A. Pattie
Asheville, North Carolina
I love this place. My son-in-law and I drove four hours each way to visit. Well worth it.
1/12/2020
T. Gibson
Raleigh, north carolina
Mark is the best source for exotic wood and flooring. Great services and price. Knowledge par excellent.
12.02.19
Bob Smythe
Asheville, North Carolina
Another of Asheville’s “hidden gems.” Interested in Exotic woods? How about Asian art and sculpture? Lost and need a specific map…..is more here than you imagine. Thrift store?
50,000+sq ft. !! Did I mention EXOTIC WOODS and furniture? Art gallery and museum all rolled up into one stop shop or just visit. Staff is friendly, informative and welcoming. This is a wonderful place to spend a lazy afternoon or take your kids for a Sunday learning experience.
WOW!
11/11/19
Bill
Asheville, north carolina
Bill and I have been shopping at Scroungers Paradise in Asheville for years. You may have an interest in checking it out.
You can find large and small woods from all over the world. We found Ipe wood that is stronger than teak for a project.
The very large warehouse has rugby shirts, tile, Biltmore things, antiques, hardware and old maps for framing. The prices
are great and the quality is mighty fine.
Leaving the grounds you may want to pick up a few mining car wheels. Just sayin.
Donna Robinson
9/7/19
Donna Robinson
Asheville, North Carolina
Thank you so much for your kindness and generosity. The signs you blessed us with are so beautiful! We are so excited! You have mad our Little Forest a place of awe and wonder! Thank you! Please come and see the joy your gift brings to the kids at Asheville -Pisgah Christian School.
May God bless you as you have blessed us!
Susan King - Asheville Pisgah Christian School
Asheville, north carolina
“Scroungers is the BEST place I have ever found to search for rare and hard to find wood and building materials. There is something new and unusual around every corner! Every part of the place is filled with quality items from around the world – stuff you literally can’t find anywhere else! It’s THE most fascinating place to shop in Asheville!”
06/21/19
Terry Burnett
Chapin, South Carolina
Mark,
I just wanted to thank you once again for the wonderful gift you gave my wife and I when we visited your shop. It’s a memorable gift that’ll make our
45th Anniversary significantly a super special day in the history of our marriage!
We arrived home safely at around 2:30 p.m., tired but totally satisfied with our visit to Asheville. Your shop was a totally mind blowing experience! I was so shocked at the various selections of wood there, I forgot to tour the whole facility! I am seriously intent on traveling across the state to visit you again for further purchases sometime in the future. I have to use what I have in stock first.
If there’s anything I can do for you on this end, please let me know!
Sincerely,
John Bojack
05/19/19
Neal C.
Asheville, north carolina
Came in to see if I can find wood to build with and walked out in awe. If you are a woodworker, it will be an amazing place for you. If you are looking to find a no frills but rarest pieces in stone, wood or furniture or anything really, this is for you. If you like “picking” this is for you. Like steampunk? This is for you. Can’t wait to design projects and come here!
04/01/19
Heather Munoz
Asheville, north carolina
Could spend days in there. The staff was great; they led me to what I was looking for, helped me load it onto a cart and helped me load it into my vehicle. Anyone that’s into unique and rare wood, furniture, rare building materials, etc., you will love this place.
03/30/19
Neal C.
Weaverville, north carolina
Scroungers is wood lovers Paradise! And Mark & Jim are princes among men. You gotta go check it out – if you need REAL tongue and groove flooring – they got it (any kind of wood you could imagine and some you can’t), if you need mahogany, Ipe, Hickory or even Purpleheart they got it! If you need plywood with an exotic skin they got it. If you are looking for wood for counter tops, they got it. Hell we bought Iron Gates from Egypt today – and gonna come back for the boat motor and some more rugby shirts. GREAT PRODUCTS TO SET YOUR HOME APART FROM THE BIG BOX STORES CRAP & great prices and they will take the time to guide you in your projects. You just gotta go check it out!
03/19/19
Tony Mugno
Asheville, north carolina
At Scroungers Paradise, the fun things and building materials seem limitless; the prices are great, and the service is excellent. Thank you, Mark, for helping me get my treasures.
02/12/19
Janie Neely
Weaverville, north carolina
Mark,
Thanks to our wonderful finds and the best customer service we now have amazing Albino Tiger hardwood floors and Brazilian Walnut wood staircase balusters in our new home! Mark and Jim were so helpful and spent endless hours helping us during multiple trips browsing through Scroungers Paradise! We are so pleased to have found Scroungers and find us stopping weekly to see what unique stuff Mark has found! Check out Mark’s front room for his artwork too! He is so creative and has many beautiful pieces on display!
02/21/19
Mike & Barbara Halprin
Asheville, north carolina
This place was amazing! The wood selection was much larger than I anticipated- exotic woods galore at great prices. Eclectic collection of stuff to dig through. If you are a scrounger not a looker you will adore this find!!
01/27/19
Tiffany Proctor
Asheville, north carolina
Hi Mark,
Thank you for providing such a wonderful collection of hard to find woods at a great price. I was in heaven just looking around at all of the unique stuff in your huge 42,000 sq/ft foot building. Amazing, wonderfully amazing. I don’t think that there is a woodworker anywhere that could leave your store empty handed!
The deal on the African Mahogany was great!
12/14/2018
Robert King
Asheville, north carolina
We’re excited to visit again – my wife is a 6th grade teacher and found a lot of great books the last time we were there. I’m also interested in your USGS maps!
BTW I sent a friend of mine up your way a couple of months ago and he bought a bunch of cherry plywood from you. He paneled his new workshop with it and it is absolutely beautiful. I hope he sends you a picture!
Thank you!
12/06/2018
Brian Smithson
Clover, SC
Mr. Mark Olivari,
I’m so excited about finding such a great deal on the Paulownia wood boxes! I appreciate you and your staff’s friendly customer service. I loved looking at all of the different types of wood that you would not see anywhere else! Scroungers is a great resource for anyone who appreciates finding beautiful wood pieces. Blessings to you.
Sincerely,
A very happy customer
12/03/2018
Cheryl G.
Asheville, north carolina
Thanks for a trip to paradise. I send everyone to Scrounger’s Paradise for plywood and they end up finding more deals. Shopping at Scrounger’s is another day in Paradise.
Nick Moen
Asheville, north carolina
Came down from Virginia and purchased 2,000 square feet of Brazilian tiger cherry flooring. The flooring we purchased was of the highest quality that you can buy anywhere at an awesome price. I really appreciated the service and knowledge that Mark and his guys gave me and my father.,
Bo Driskill
Matoaca, Virginia
Clearly the owner really knows what he is doing. Incredible art, wood, furniture, and exceptionally friendly helpful people. Fell in love with a piece in this haven of inspiration and will treasure it more than gold.
Lisa Marie Cuniff
Prague, Czech Republic
Every trip to Scrounger’s is an adventurous hunting expedition. I go in to buy South American hardwoods, but can’t resist walking all through the store, finding building supplies & décor from all over the world. Love going there!
John-Terry McDonough Osborne
Asheville, NC
For what we were looking for (out of the ordinary furniture building materials), this place was a gold mine! Plus, if you’re in the market for unique artwork, this is the place for you! We’ll definitely be back.
Karen Jernigan
Asheville, NC
Monday, March 4th, bought 25 sheets of Arauco 1/2” plywood from Mark. It is without a doubt the best quality plywood I have seen in recent years. Mark was very professional and knows his stuff. I was in and out in 10 minutes. What a real Paradise!
Greg Whitfield
Raleigh, NC
The owner, Mark, is a very interesting guy with a bunch of stories. A lot of really neat stuff there especially if you’re into hardwood flooring or great slabs of wood.
Benjamin Miller
Asheville, NC
Lots of beautiful wood! Everyone was helpful. We enjoyed our visit and will be back. Thanks, Jim, Kevin and Mark!
Tamra Henry Crane
Hendersonville, NC
The flooring selection was like nothing I had ever seen here in Western Carolina. They had a large selection to choose from, at some of the lowest prices I had ever seen. On top of the flooring, there were tons of unique pieces of art I picked up for my wife. Definitely will be back in the near future to decorate my house.
Christopher Wynn
Hendersonville, NC
We found exactly what we were looking for! Started the morning out looking for preprinted crown moulding and found it there. Awesome pricing, too. We saved almost $50 [over] the big box store. We just love shopping here.
Kathy Neely
Arden, NC
Found the most beautiful piece of wood at Scrounger’s. 5” thick Bolivian Chestnut. Made 2 mantles and a 7’ bar top from 1 piece of wood. Beautiful stuff.
Jeff Sasko
Charleston, SC
Yes sir. Looking forward to doing more business with you now and in the future. I’m very pleased with the quality of material I’ve received thus far and the customer service experience has been exemplary as well. We’ll be in touch soon.
Joshua Lauman
Asheville, NC
Thanks to Mark and Jim at scroungers paradise. I remodeled my kitchen and put in a new floor and countertops, I got all the wood at SP and saved a ton. Where else in town can you buy Brazilian Ipe (floor). Or Brazilian cherry (counter top)? Awnser you can’t. It cost less than 200$ for the counter top wood. Thanks again.
Chris Coleman
Asheville, NC
Mark, My wife and daughter came in and found some of the most beautiful wood that I have seen in some time. We bought a piece of Purple Heart and a very beautiful piece of Aspidosperma for me to make a desk out of. I’m a service member that has PTSD and doing wood working helps calm me down when I get feeling overwhelmed and anxious.I served over seas in Afghanistan in 2010-2011 and my entire job was to look for the IED to ensure that everyone else had safe travels to and from locations. In August of 2010 my truck was hit by an IED and lifted into the air then slammed back to the ground and injured everyone in the truck. Since then I have issues with loud noises and strange areas and people but the guys at Scrounger’s made me feel welcomed and they did everything they could to make sure we had a great experience while we were there. I just want to thank Mark and his staff for making me feel so welcomed and helping me find the perfect piece for my next project. We will be back again for more pieces.
Bill Inman
Asheville, NC
Hey Mark, I was in scroungers last spring with my wife and picked up one of those beautiful 10′ Bolivian cherry boards and a black walnut cookie.
I thought you would get some satisfaction to see how they turned out. I used have the cherry for a console with a curly maple base I made and half the cookie for an accent table – this one is a little out there – I can’t it into white epoxy.
I still have the other have of both pieces and are working on two more tables.
Thanks for such interesting materials at great prices!
Craig Trapp
Asheville, NC
I was looking for a different type of wood for some projects. My wife and I went to Scroungers Paradise and the only problem was deciding on what to get . The tiger wood has a lot of character and a lot of colors . I used it for thresholds in door ways , and this breakfast bar .it is a very hard , durable wood but it is fairly easy to work with . I’m looking forward to shopping for materials for our next project at Scroungers Paradise! Minwax golden honey stain brings out all the different colors and character! Then several coats of water based poly.
David Gasperson
Asheville, NC
I live in Charleston South Carolina and drive all the way up to scroungers paradise because of their selection and pricing is unrivaled by any other supplier in my area. Anything from rare species to cabinet grade building material, they have wholesale pricing that I can’t even get with my contractor discounts at my local suppliers.
It truly is a unique place when it comes to selection. If you are into any kind of specialty furniture projects or do any kind of high-end woodworking, they have wood species and dimensional lumber of sizes you cannot find anywhere else except for commercial suppliers from woodworking magazines. The commercial suppliers in woodworking magazines charge about double what scroungers paradise does- and the benefit of scroungers is you get to walk in and look and feel everything to cherry pick the most square stock.
Mark, the owner, is very helpful and is willing to spend personalized time with the customer to find all of the right materials to fit their needs. He spent probably about an hour with me before I ended up making my purchases- name one store that would ever go to these lengths of customer service! I only wish they were able to expand to my area- I’d be there at least once a week!
Garrett Schmelter
Charleston, SC
Hi mark as you can see the Epey Floor tuned out beautifully. The variation in color really makes a stunning impression. And my dog matches the floor too. Thanks!
R. Robertson
Asheville, NC
As promised, here are the photos I showed you today of the cuci froor that I installed that I bought from you. It weighs a ton but everone that sees it loves it.
PS. I’ll see you again in a few days to buy some of the wainscoating you have in stock.
T. Sanko
Asheville, NC
Yesterday was our first trip to Scroungers Paradise, and HOLY COW! what an undiscovered treasure trove! If you’re a sculptor or otherwise creative person, this is the place to go for materials and inspiration. If you’re a builder or finishing your own home, the possibilities for handsome and high-quality flooring and trim are endless. Interior designers, artists, pickers, preppers, and builders of all sorts should check this place out!
S. Wilds
Asheville, NC
Just wanted to send you both a quick note to let you know that the flooring install is done and it looks great. I picked the wood up Monday afternoon and they finished installing 750sf by Wednesday with less than a half a box left over. Of the 36 boxes, there was one short piece that had a chip in it which is pretty remarkable and speaks to the quality of the lot. Everything is perfect with beautiful variations in the grains and coloring and it all fit together without a hitch.You now have a satisfied customer that would buy from you again and would recommend you to others. Thanks!
John Elwood
Asheville, NC
Northview Church would like to thank Scroungers Paradise for their kindness and generosity towards us. We were doing a remodel of our meeting space and Mark was kind enough to donate some amazing pieces that have transformed our building. They are beautiful and add so much to our space. Thank you so much for your generosity and willingness to help. It is always amazing to come in and see what new things you have from day to day. We recommend you to folks all the time.
Northview Church
Asheville, NC
If anyone needs large or small quantities of special woods, Scroungers Paradise is the place! The prices are unbelievably good and the selection is excellent.
For building a deck or installing floors or just working on small woodworking projects, it is the right place to get a good buy on good exotic woods.Mark Olivari and his staff are so friendly and accommodating. If you are like me, you will come back again and again!
Dewey Johnson
Asheville, NC
I wanted to take a moment to say how much I appreciated the cordial welcome you extended to my family the other day on our visit to your facility…..you treated my mother and father with great respect and you had nothing but kind words about my sisters you know from Binions. I will be sure to let others know about Scrounger’s Paradise and the warehouse full of items you have at reasonable prices…
I would like your permission to add your email to my auction mailing list in the chance that you might find something to your liking in one of our upcoming auction events.
Again, thank you for your warm hospitality.
Rob Hays
Asheville, NC
Hey Mark, my wife and I bought some odd & end pieces of hardwood flooring from you a couple of months ago. I can’t remember or pronounce most of the wood species that we bought but we mixed it with some Black Walnut that we already had and made a cutting board for a Christmas present. My wife arranges the colors and styles, I do the carpentry work. This is not our first wood project and when we make something we make it to last. This is not the usual 3/4″ flimsy store-bought cutting board, ours is about 3″ thick and very durable. We use food grade glue and seal it with a food grade oil, this makes it easy to refinish and they last for years, even with heavy use. The first picture is of the wood we started with and then one of the finished board. Thanks for the wood and we’ll be back for more!!