Seven Days at the Bin Store

Environmental and Ethical Concerns

• Many see bin stores as a vivid symptom that product prices don’t reflect true environmental and social costs.
• The goods are framed as “store-to-landfill” junk: new items that are effectively trash at manufacture, with added shipping and handling waste.
• Some argue most of these products should never have been made; the volume of global plastic/novelty junk feels dystopian and anxiety‑inducing.
• Others note that almost everything eventually becomes landfill; bin stores just change who pays to dispose of it and when.

Reverse Logistics and Business Model

• Bin stores mostly source Amazon (and other retailer) returns and overstock via pallet auctions, often sight-unseen.
• They’re described as a kind of “retail catalytic converter” or scavenging: extracting a bit more economic value before disposal.
• Several commenters doubt long‑term viability: margins seem thin, quality is dropping over time, and some local bin stores have already closed.
• Comparison is made to traditional outlet stores, Goodwill outlets, and surplus chains that buy written‑off inventory and resell at a fixed discount.
• There’s suspicion that operators skim the best items for online resale or VIP sections, leaving “mystery boxes” and bins as a kind of low‑stakes lootbox.

Consumer Psychology and Impulse Buying

• Strong sense that the model depends on impulse buys and “serotonin hits” rather than need: gambling for treasures in piles of junk.
• Some see it as arbitrage on disposal costs: distribute trash across many households’ bins instead of paying for bulk landfill.
• Others argue that giving these items a “second chance” is marginally better than immediate dumping.

Returns Culture and Online Retail

• Thread dives deeply into returns: some feel guilty returning items; others are “enthusiastic returners” who see it as the only effective feedback mechanism.
• High return rates, low manufacturing costs, and generous policies encourage over-ordering and quality churn, feeding the returns economy that supplies bin stores.
• Several note that brick‑and‑mortar options have shrunk, making multi‑size ordering and returns the only way to get proper fit, especially for clothing.

Anti‑Consumerism and Secondhand Alternatives

• Multiple commenters describe clearing estates or hoards and finding almost nothing worth keeping, leading to a strong rejection of “stuff.”
• There’s praise for living secondhand‑only, using thrift and resale markets (local shops, marketplace apps, specialized secondhand streets) instead of buying new.
• Some reminisce about earlier surplus/“floppy warehouse” eras as more charming versions of the same phenomenon.