What Are Bin Stores? A Complete Beginner's Guide

What Is a Bin Store?

A bin store is a type of retail liquidation shop where merchandise is sold directly out of large plastic bins or cardboard boxes — hence the name. Instead of neat shelves and organized displays, you walk into a warehouse-style space filled with dozens of bins piled high with a random mix of products.

The merchandise itself is almost entirely customer returns, retail overstock, and shelf pulls — primarily from Amazon and major retailers like Target, Walmart, and Home Depot. These items can't be cost-effectively restocked and resold by the original retailer, so they get sold in bulk to liquidators, who in turn sell them to bin store operators.

The result is a constantly rotating, completely unpredictable inventory where you might find a $400 air fryer sitting next to a pack of socks. That randomness is half the fun.

How Bin Stores Work

The business model is elegantly simple. The store buys pallets of mixed returns and overstock by the pound or per-pallet from liquidation companies. They then dump everything into bins and let shoppers dig through it all.

Pricing is flat and decreasing. Every item in the store costs the same price on a given day, regardless of what it is. A paperback book costs the same as a kitchen appliance. And that price drops every day of the week on a set schedule.

The Weekly Pricing Cycle

Most bin stores operate on a Monday-through-Saturday cycle that looks something like this:

• Monday (Restock Day): New pallets are opened and bins are freshly filled. Prices are at their highest — often $8 to $12 per item. Selection is excellent.
• Tuesday–Wednesday: Prices drop to the $5–$7 range. The best items from Monday are gone, but there's still plenty to find and the pricing is more reasonable.
• Thursday–Friday: Prices drop again to the $2–$4 range. This is the sweet spot for resellers and savvy shoppers who know what they're looking for.
• Saturday (Dollar Day): Everything left in the bins is $1. Whatever didn't sell earlier in the week gets cleared out. The bins are picked over, but deal-seekers can still find hidden gems.
• Sunday: The store is usually closed (or uses Sunday to restock). The cycle resets on Monday.

This cycle varies by store — some do $2 dollar days, some start their week on different days, and some have multiple restock days per week. The Bin Store Map directory lists the specific schedules for stores in your area.

Where Does the Merchandise Come From?

The short answer: mostly Amazon. Amazon processes an enormous volume of customer returns every day — an estimated 20 to 30 percent of all purchases come back. Many of those returns can't be resold as new, so Amazon sells them in bulk through liquidation auctions on platforms like B-Stock and BULQ.

Bin store operators bid on these pallets, often sight unseen. A pallet might contain a curated category (all electronics, all baby products) or be a completely random mix. They pay anywhere from 10 to 30 cents on the dollar of the original retail value, which is how they can afford to sell things so cheaply while still making a profit.

Beyond Amazon, bin stores also source from:

• Retail overstock: Excess inventory from Target, Walmart, TJ Maxx, and other retailers
• Shelf pulls: Products removed from store shelves to make room for new inventory
• Seasonal clearance: Holiday items, summer products, and back-to-school merchandise that didn't sell
• Insurance claims: Items damaged during shipping that have been partially or fully replaced

What Can You Find at a Bin Store?

The inventory is genuinely unpredictable, but some categories show up consistently:

Electronics — Bluetooth speakers, earbuds, phone chargers, small kitchen appliances, LED lights, and occasionally laptops or tablets. Electronics are among the most valuable finds, but also the most likely to be non-functional.

Toys and Games — Action figures, board games, puzzles, and outdoor toys are extremely common. These tend to be in good condition since they're often returned simply because they were the wrong gift.

Clothing and Shoes — You'll find plenty of clothing, though usually not in organized sizes. Footwear in particular can be excellent value.

Kitchen and Home — Small appliances, cookware, storage solutions, cleaning products, and home decor show up regularly.

Books and Media — Physical books, DVDs, and video games appear frequently and are usually in great condition.

Personal Care — Shampoo, lotions, and other personal care items often appear, though many shoppers avoid these for obvious hygiene reasons.

Tools and Hardware — Power tools, hand tools, and hardware occasionally surface and can be extremely valuable finds for resellers.

What to Expect on Your First Visit

Walking into a bin store for the first time can be overwhelming. Here's what to expect:

The atmosphere is part treasure hunt, part chaos. Shoppers are actively digging through bins, and things move fast on restock day. It's normal to see people reaching past each other, stacking discoveries in shopping carts, and scanning barcodes with their phones to check resale values.

Bring gloves. This is the single most common piece of advice from experienced bin shoppers. You're digging through hundreds of random items, including things that may have leaked, broken, or just been through a lot. Gloves protect your hands and make the experience much more comfortable.

Bring a phone charger or power bank. You'll be scanning barcodes constantly to check retail prices and resale values.

Bring bags or a cart. Many stores provide shopping carts or bins, but having your own bags helps.

Have realistic expectations. You won't hit a jackpot every visit. Some days you'll walk out with a cart full of great finds; other days you'll buy one thing or nothing. That variability is part of the experience.

Is a Bin Store Different from Goodwill?

Yes, meaningfully so. Goodwill and other traditional thrift stores receive donated goods from individuals and price items individually based on their assessment of value. A Goodwill store might price a used toaster at $6 and a designer blazer at $25.

Bin stores, by contrast, sell retail returns and overstock — items that were purchased new and returned. Pricing is flat and not item-specific. The inventory skews much more toward new or like-new condition, and the product categories lean heavily toward Amazon-type purchases (electronics, household goods, toys) rather than the clothing and furniture that dominate thrift stores.

Goodwill Outlet stores (sometimes called "The Bins") are a separate animal entirely — they sell by the pound and are more similar in experience to bin stores than standard Goodwill locations.

Are Bin Stores Worth It?

For the right type of shopper, absolutely. If you enjoy the treasure hunt aspect of thrift shopping, don't mind unpredictable inventory, and are willing to spend time digging, bin stores offer exceptional value.

The people who get the most out of bin stores fall into a few categories:

• Resellers who know what sells and what doesn't, and can quickly identify valuable items
• Bargain hunters who are patient and visit regularly to catch good restocks
• Dollar day shoppers who wait until Saturday to fill bags with $1 items
• Collectors who might find specific items they've been searching for at dramatically reduced prices

If you're expecting a clean, organized shopping experience with reliable inventory, bin stores will frustrate you. But if you love the thrill of not knowing what you'll find, they're genuinely addictive.

Finding Bin Stores Near You

Bin stores have exploded in popularity over the past few years. There are now hundreds of locations across the country, with new ones opening regularly in suburban strip malls and industrial spaces.

Bin Store Map tracks 321 stores across 47 states, with information on restock schedules, dollar day pricing, and hours. Use the directory to find locations near you — and if you know of a store that isn't listed, you can submit it directly through the site.