How to Save Money at Bin Stores PLUS Find Bargain Bin Stores Near Me

Images for this post courtesy of The Looney Bin Store in Clive, Iowa.

Do you love garage sales, thrift stores and saving money? If so, a whole new type of shopping is sweeping the country, and chances are there are locations in your area. What is it? Bin Stores take the fun and treasure hunting of thrifting to a whole new level.

Bin stores are a whole new way to save money, and you can often score an amazing deal on brand new and name brand merchandise for a fraction of the price. These stores also have a treasure hunting element, where you can search for deals and items that you love.

With more locations opening regularly you may be wondering about what these stores are and how you can use them to save money. You also may be asking yourself how do I find bargain bin stores near me? Here’s what you need to know before you go bin shopping for the very first time.

A bin store is a liquidation store that sells merchandise in bulk. These retailers purchase pallets, and often whole truckloads of store returns and overstocks and sell them at deep discounts. Prices for merchandise do vary by retail locations, but prices for these items in the bin often average $7 to $10 on the first day the merchandise is available.

The price then drops on the following days to keep any leftover merchandise selling until it’s time to empty the bins and restock again.

Because this merchandise is sold in volumes, it is often placed into bins where shoppers can search for items that they want to purchase. Other items may be displayed on racks or on shelves.

Merchandise sold at bin stores can be overstocks, returns or simply excess inventory. Sometimes you will find used items or broken items, but for the most part most items are in good condition.

See below for some of the basics about bin store shopping to help you save the most money.

Because this is a different type of shopping, many bin stores have rules that you may not find at other types of retailers. Purses or strollers may not be allowed. You may be limited to a certain amount of purchases, or a certain number. Also returns are typically not permitted and sales are usually final. Visit the bin store website or social media page to learn the rules for each location.

You’ve heard of the phrase the early bird gets the worm? When it comes to bin store shopping, the early bird gets the deal! Many bin stores have shoppers lined up in front of their doors as early as an hour or two before they open.

Other retail locations pass out “line passes” to determine who gets to go in the door in what order. If you want the premium items, being one of the early ones in line is definitely to your benefit. Some shoppers even bring breakfast and a lawn chair to make their wait more comfortable.

Some bin stores even sell advance line passes that might be $5, $10 or even $50 to move to the front of the line or to get into the store a few minutes early. Before purchasing, make sure that your benefit for paying for early admission pays off in the merchandise that you’ll be able to purchase.

So how do you know the procedures for your local bin stores? This goes back to learning their rules. Visit the retailers website and social media to learn the details for the locations near you.

Want to know what types of inventory are coming to the bargain bin stores near me each week? Follow the stores for your area on social media, and in particular Facebook. Many of these retailers share a sneak peek at their restocks including pictures and / or videos or Facebook lives of some of the latest merchandise.

If your store restocks on Saturday, watch for a sneak peek on Thursday or Friday. That way you can see if they have products you are interested in and possibly even where they are located in the store so that you can score them before the item is purchased by someone else. If there are multiple bin stores in your area, use the sneak peek to decide which store you want to visit and when.

Depending on the store location and what you are looking for there may be something for you every week, or maybe just occasionally. My husband and I buy just for our family and occasional gifts, so we don’t find something every time, but there are resellers who frequent these stores and buy cart loads every week. They then flip the merchandise, reselling it for a higher price at other retailers or sell online.

Usually the first day or two at bin stores when they have the latest merchandise is the most expensive. After that, their inventory is often discounted daily to help make room for the upcoming week.

It can be worth it to stop back in your local bin store on these cheaper days to score great deals on less expensive merchandise. I often go to our bin stores on $1 day to score cheap health and beauty items, as well as household items. This is a great day to buy things like skin care products, sunscreen, hand soap, shampoo and more.

When you’re shopping at bin stores, it is important to check the quality of any items you might be buying. Because some of these items are store returns, there may be items missing parts, damaged or with other flaws. Sometimes, this will be something minor that doesn’t matter like a dented box, and other times the item might end up being totally useless.

While there is always some risk involved, whenever possible check your items before checking out at bargain bin stores near me. Many locations have tables or a counter where you can open boxes and test items, and even plug them in. Be sure to check the store rules or ask an employee before doing so, but most locations will permit you to check items before purchasing.

We have purchased headphones where the headphones were missing from the case and LEGO sets that were missing pieces, so my family and I are more diligent about checking our items before we purchase.

Want to know how much something is worth before you buy it? Look it up! Use your smart phone to research current selling prices to know the value. We often check eBay and Amazon for current pricing and Amazon even has a seller app that you can download and easily scan items to research.

Did you know that many bin stores have more than just bins? These discount retail stores often have a section of larger or higher end merchandise as well. Items may be electronics, furniture, appliances and more.

While these items are not available for the daily prices, they are usually individually priced with deep discounts and frequent sales are also often available.

These items may or may not be assembled, and some locations offer a discount if you purchase in the box and put it together yourself.

If you’re looking for bin stores in your area, you can usually find them with a quick search on Google or on Facebook. Check out their social media pages and websites for more information, and you can also see ratings and reviews their from their shoppers which can help you determine which locations might be the best.

There are also bin store directories that are starting to pop up including binstorefinder.com.

Be sure to follow the bin stores for your area on social media for upcoming merchandise, sales and information on additional ways to save.

Overall, shopping at bin stores can be a rewarding experience and a great way to save money. Do you have tips for shopping at bin stores that we missed? Leave a comment below!

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