In strip mall parking lots around the United States, people start lining up at 7 a.m. to dig through other people’s rejects.“I call it dumpster diving,” said Adriane Szackamer, a psychologist and mom of two living in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park.Szackamer and her daughter are among the thousands of bargain hunters flocking to America’s “bin stores” to buy returned merchandise from retailers like Kohl’s, Target, Walmart and Amazon for as low as $1.
In 2022, Americans returned $816 billion in merchandise, according to the National Retail Federation. But at the dozens of bin stores that have popped up around the country, that merchandise is now getting a second life as store owners buy truckloads of pallets of returned goods either directly from retailers or liquidation companies. Goods can range from plastic toys and face masks to iPads and power tools. Prices are typically highest on restock day, the day after a new truckload comes in, starting at around $10 per item and decreasing gradually throughout the week.
No comments:
Post a Comment