What Floridians Are Talking About: Hotbins
About $215 billion worth of our online purchases end up as returns, and much of that merchandise is simply abandoned by the retailer. So what happens with all that leftover stuff? Enter Hotbins, a store filled with random boxes of potentially amazing finds from Amazon and Target, all to be had for a song.
The internet has transformed the way we buy things, but the convenience of shopping in our pajamas comes with a catch for retailers: Americans are not shy about returning the products we purchase online. In a survey, the majority of us say we’ll return items we buy online as readily as we’ll return items we buy at the store.
In 2022, we spent $1.3 trillion buying stuff online; $214.5 billion worth of those purchases ended up as returns. Stores often abandon this merchandise—sometimes even paying out refunds without asking for an item back—because the cost of shipping and labor to process the return outweighs the value of the item being returned. So what happens with all that returned and abandoned merchandise?
Enter Hotbins, a store filled with giant bins that are in turn filled with boxes and boxes of random stuff.
Hotbins buys up returned items from stores like Amazon, Target, Walmart and Kohl’s and resales it at bargain rates. And business is booming. The Tampa location, across from Busch Gardens, was its 4th store in Florida. There are now six, with three more set to open soon.
Hotbins is capitalizing on billions of dollars in throw-away returns while also saving some of it from the landfill. Borrowing from the dollar store concept, every item in the store is the same price, and that price changes daily:
FRI = $12
SAT = $10
SUN = $8
MON = $6
TUE = $4
WED = $2
A lot of packages are unmarked, so the room is literally full of surprises. Shoppers are allowed to bring unmarked boxes to an unboxing station, where an employee with a box cutter shows you what’s inside.
If you like it, it’s yours. Returns not accepted.
