I visited a discount store that sells Amazon and Target returns, and it felt like treasure hunting. Here’s what I found.

Insider’s Aaron Mok at Everyday Crazy Hot Deals.Aaron Mok/Insider

• Everyday Crazy Hot Deals is a liquidation center that buys and resells returned merchandise.

• Items from places like Target are sold at a discount, with prices varying based on day of the week.

• You can find everything from electronics to kitchenware to furniture.

I visited Everyday Crazy Hot Deals in Bethpage, New York, on three different days to see how the products vary.

The entrance of Everyday Crazy Hot Deals in Bethpage.Aaron Mok/Insider

Source: KJOY 98.3  I went the store, which opened last September, for the first time on an early Saturday afternoon. When I walked in, I was immediately overwhelmed by the sheer volume of stuff available.

The bins at Everyday Crazy Hot Deals are aligned in vertical rows.Aaron Mok/Insider

Since I went on a Saturday, every item in the store — with some exceptions — was priced at £12.

The price gets cheaper as the week approaches Thursday, the day the store gets restocked. Items are most expensive on the weekends once new inventory is added.

A sign with the daily set prices on a wall inside the store.Aaron Mok/Insider

The bins weren’t organized by product category, so I sifted through piles of random items mixed together. The most common items I saw were boxes of face masks.

The bins were not organized by product type and were filled with random items.Aaron Mok/Insider

I didn’t have anything in particular I wanted to buy, so I haphazardly scanned the bins in search of items that stood out to me.

Some of the things that caught my eye were a gratitude journal, the board game Operation, cockroach-killing bait, a vibrator, creepy Halloween costume masks, and some wigs.

This bin contained a random assortment of items, including a clown mask and wigs.Aaron Mok/Insider

Many of the packages were ripped, empty, or missing an item.

A broken hair-dryer package I found in the bins.Aaron Mok/Insider

Customers are not allowed to open sealed packages. If they want to know what’s inside, they must bring the items to the customer-service booth, where an employee will open them.

One of two customer-service stations at Everyday Crazy Hot Deals.Aaron Mok/Insider

While the majority of bins contained a random assortment of stuff, some items were organized by type with special deals, like this rack of clothing …

Customers can buy two items of clothing for £10 on Saturday and three items for £10 on Sunday.Aaron Mok/Insider

… and this shopping cart filled with notebooks. Five notebooks cost £1.

A shopping cart full of notebooks, selling at five for a dollar.Aaron Mok/Insider

There were also containers of makeup sold at £3 apiece …

Makeup for £3 each.Aaron Mok/Insider

… and these iPhone and Android phone cases — including popular brands like Otter — that were priced at five for £2.

A bin of iPhone cases that cost £2 for five.Aaron Mok/Insider

There were even boxes of Halloween candy like Haribo gummy bears and Reese’s peanut-butter cups.

The bags of candy I looked at were not expired, though the store has a sign warning customers to check the expiration date before purchasing any food.
Story continues

Bins of Halloween candy and a bin with bottles of mouthwash.Aaron Mok/Insider

Some of the “organized” bins were just as sloppy as the regular ones, like this plastic container filled with tangled-up cords, cables, and laptop chargers.

A box full of random wires and cables.Aaron Mok/Insider

Exceptions to the set-price rule included items like furniture and big boxes of toys.

Furniture sold at Everyday Crazy Hot Deals.Aaron Mok/Insider

The most expensive items I saw were electronics, like a Google Nest Doorbell and a Samsung Galaxy Watch 4, near the cash register. Each was priced at £150.

Expensive electronics near the cashier were £150 each.Aaron Mok/Insider

As I was browsing the store, an employee pulled out a fresh bin of stuff that all the shoppers picked through.

Shoppers gathered around a bin filled with new items.Aaron Mok/Insider

While some people may come just to buy cheap stuff, the store said it encourages shoppers to buy things that they can resell individually at a higher price.

There were a few shoppers who looked like teenagers looking up the price of items on their phones and discussing whether they could resell them on TikTok.

A collection of Marvel “WandaVision” action figures.Aaron Mok/Insider

Source: Crazy Hot Deals After spending nearly an hour and a half carefully looking through each bin, I wasn’t able to find anything I liked that I thought was worth £12 that day. So I decided to go back on a Wednesday when everything is a dollar.

A bin full of winter boots.Aaron Mok/Insider

When I visited again the following Wednesday, the bins contained less stuff, and the things that remained were even more random than before.

Many of the items were broken packages or loose parts that came from the original product.

A random assortment of stuff in a bin on a Wednesday, when everything costs £1, unless stated otherwise.Aaron Mok/Insider

But I was excited to get a sneak peek at the new inventory, which included things like a toy Mustang convertible and a box set of kitchen appliances wrapped in plastic packaging. There were also bins covered by blankets that were filled with fresh stuff.

Inventory wrapped in plastic packaging that will be unveiled on Friday, the day after restocking.Aaron Mok/Insider

After I spent roughly 30 minutes browsing the sparse bins with no success, I decided that I would come back one more time on a Friday, when the store is restocked with new inventory.

Bins covered with blankets that contain fresh inventory.Aaron Mok/Insider

I arrived at the store on the following Friday around 11 a.m., and it was packed with people. Each bin was overflowing with new stuff.

A packed store with bins filled with new items after restock day.Aaron Mok/Insider

When I got there, the store was doing its first restock of the day.

Dozens of shoppers gathered around the covered bins as they waited for an employee to unveil them.

Dozens of shoppers gathered around the covered bins waiting to see the new merch.Aaron Mok/Insider

Speaking through a megaphone, an employee thanked everyone for coming and briefly explained some ground rules to ensure that everyone had a safe shopping experience.

Shoppers lined up around bins as they listened to an employee lay out the store’s ground rules.Aaron Mok/Insider

After the employee finished his speech, he told everyone to put their hands up. On a count of three, the employees yanked the blankets away and a horn blared, signaling that shopping could begin.

Shoppers quickly grabbed items and threw them into their carts.Aaron Mok/Insider

Shoppers immediately grabbed whatever was available and tossed the items into their carts to sort through later. Carts were filled with boxes big and small — one even contained a bicycle.

Many shoppers filled their carts to the brim to sort through later.Aaron Mok/Insider

As people were hunting for the best items, an employee with a megaphone announced raffle numbers.

Winners were given £50 to spend at the store.

The winner of the raffle gets £50 to spend at Everyday Crazy Hot Deals.Aaron Mok/Insider

This time around, I found many items I was interested in buying, from a box of college-ruled journals to an electric blanket.

Restocked bins at Everyday Crazy Hot Deals on a Friday morning.Aaron Mok/Insider

Every time I found something I liked, I was hit with a rush of excitement, which only motivated me to keep looking for more stuff with deeper precision.

A DVD of the Marvel movie “Shang Chi.”Aaron Mok/Insider

After I spent an hour flipping through bins, I forced myself to stop looking and went to purchase the items with my family. The cashier counted how many items were in the cart and then multiplied the number by 12 to calculate the price. We were shocked to learn that our bill was more than £300.

My family and I spent more than £300 on stuff.Aaron Mok/Insider

Even though I was happy with the things I found, I was left with a nagging feeling that I spent too much money on items I didn’t need.

But overall, I found shopping there to be a fun, weirdly exhilarating experience.

Some things I bought at Everyday Crazy Hot Deals include two blankets, a giraffe mug, a storage bin, and a box of journals.Aaron Mok/Insider

Read the original article on Business Insider