Oct. 10--Even as a teenager, Gary Cino had an eye for a bargain, turning dollars into profits at Southern California swap meets.

As an adult, Cino became one of the nation's pioneering deep-discount retailers.

He earned that reputation -- and his personal fortune -- through his chain of 98 Cent Clearance Centers, launched in North Highlands two decades ago. He left his dollar-store empire in 1998, selling to Dollar Tree Stores Inc. and became a Granite Bay private developer.

Now, he's back with a new store that takes the dollar-store concept to a new price point. WiseBuys, which Cino opened last week in Roseville at the intersection of Douglas and Harding boulevards, offers a massive inventory, where nothing is priced higher than $9.98.

"Some people call us a dollar store on steroids, but we're actually more of an 'inflation-adjusted' store," says Cino, who says expanding beyond 98 cents allows him to sell a broader base of merchandise.

Over the next five years, Cino hopes to open 12 to 15 WiseBuys stores between Fresno and Redding.

The 53-year-old entrepreneur is all too aware he's getting back into the deep-discount game amid stiff competition, including high-profile discounters such as Big Lots and Tuesday Morning, membership warehouse outlets such as Sam's Club and Costco and even grocery discount chains like Save Mart.

But he's confident the public appetite for deep discounts, particularly in a tightened economy, will help launch another retailing empire.

"Not everybody understands the virtues of a single price point or a maximum price point," Cino said.

His 42,000-square-foot WiseBuys store in Roseville is neatly packed with merchandise, including school supplies, housewares, clothing, sunglasses, sporting goods, jewelry, pet supplies, holiday decorations and tons of food and beverages.

Cino got his start as a 13-year-old going to weekend swap meets about two miles from his parents' home in La Mirada in Los Angeles County.

"I'd get my Radio Flyer wagon and go down there and look for merchandise that was being sold too cheap, like a bike or a watch or clock radio," Cino recalled. "I'd have maybe 10 or 20 dollars in my pocket."

Cino often showed up early and waited for sellers pulling up in their cars. When they popped the trunk, he'd be ready to pounce. If he saw something of value, say a bicycle in fair condition, Cino made an offer.

"If (the seller) said $15 or $12, I'd say, 'Will you take $10?' and I'd have a $10 bill in my hand."

More often than not, the approach worked, and Cino would haul the merchandise "back to my little 10-by-10 booth" and resell it for a profit.