8
What’s a Bin Store, and Why Are They Popping Up All Over the Place?
One after another, bin stores are popping up all over America.
There’s Bin City New York, located on Long Island. Cheap Charlie’s Bargain Bins in Appleton, Wisconsin. Bargains in a Box, a Chicago-based chain. Not to mention Where Ya Bin in Columbus, Ohio.
What’s a bin store, you ask? It’s a store where shoppers rummage through big bins of overstock or returned goods that are being sold at bargain-basement prices. Think of it like a treasure hunt. We’ve got some tips for how to shop at these places.
Most of these stores operate the same way. They get truckloads of returned or overstock merchandise from Amazon, Walmart, Target and other major retailers. They pick one day a week to set out their new products — everything at the same price. Each day after that, the price drops. They try to sell everything in the bins during the week, and then they start all over again.
Here’s an example of how that works:
At Hotbins, a chain of six bin stores in Florida that sell Amazon returns, every item in the store costs $12 on Friday. Then it costs $10 on Saturday, $8 on Sunday, $6 on Monday, $4 on Tuesday and $2 on Wednesday. On Thursdays they close all the stores and restock them with a fresh shipment of returned goods.
So Friday is the highest-priced day, but it’s also when bargain hunters can find the best deals — usually electronics that are selling for a fraction of their normal price.
“Friday mornings, we have 70 to 100 people outside waiting for the door to open, because that’s when they find the premium items,” said Mike Ijak, co-owner of the Tampa location of Hotbins. “Everything from small kitchen appliances to cordless vacuums, camera lenses and coffee makers.
“Two weeks ago, someone found a telescopic sight for a rifle. It was a $4,000 value on Amazon. He paid $12.”
It’s the same story at other bin stores.
“You name it, we’ve had it. We had a PlayStation 5 today — a $600 item someone purchased for 6 bucks,” said Michael Prendamano, founder and CEO of The Bin Store, which has two locations in South Carolina. “We’ve had Xboxes, phones, laptop computers. Depending on the time of year, we can have a line of 200 people waiting for us to open on any given Friday or Saturday.”
They charge $6 per item on Friday and Saturday, $5 on Sunday, $4 on Monday, $3 on Tuesday, $2 on Wednesday and $1 on Thursday. Then they reload and do it all over again. Every week they buy a tractor-trailer full of overstock or returned goods.
What can you find in a bin store? Electronics; bedding like comforters and sheets; drapery; clothing and shoes; toys and tools; health and beauty products; and all kinds of general merchandise. Basically, just about anything you can buy on Amazon or at Walmart has the potential to end up at a liquidation sale, which is what a bin store really is.
A lot of bin stores also have “opening stations” where staffers will open boxes so customers can get a look at what’s inside.
So many new bin stores are opening that it’s become trickier to acquire liquidated goods, Prendamano said — although he’s noticed that some of these stores are closing because they don’t have a sound business strategy.
“You have to be very customer-centric,” he said. “Some people will just get the product and throw it in a warehouse with no lighting, no AC or heat, no music playing, and say, ‘Hey, it’s super discounted, so here you go.’ ”
He’s been in business since 2021. In his stores, he’s noticed that more customers are doing their regular shopping there before they go to a traditional retail store.
“In an economy like this, with inflation the way it is, where simple items cost so much more than they did a year or two ago, people still have a place where they can come and they can count on savings here.”
These tips come from The Bin Store in Columbia, South Carolina, and a few other places.
Mike Brassfield (mike@thepennyhoarder.com) is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder.
Ready to stop worrying about money?
Get the Penny Hoarder Daily
Some of the links in this post are from our sponsors. We strive to provide accurate, reliable information.
Compensation may influence how and where products appear on our site (including their order), and we do not include all companies or offers.