TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A new store in Tampa is helping shoppers save money during times of high inflation.
Hotbins opened across from Busch Gardens on 4001 E. Busch Boulevard in October. There are three other outposts in Fort Myers, Hialeah and Lake Worth.
The store buys returned items from Kohls, Target and Amazon from third-party sellers and sells them out of bins for shoppers to sort through and score deals. The bins are filled with electronics, appliances and other merchandise on sale for $12 or less. Customer can test out the products before they buy them.
“We start at $12 on Friday and then our prices drop daily. Saturday is $10, Sunday is $8 and then it drops $2 a day until Wednesday. Then, we clear all the bins,” store manager Mike Ijak explained. “Items that originally cost above $100, they’re saving like 70%-80% off and it does help against inflation.”
Shoppers lined up outside of the business Friday morning and stormed the store when doors opened. The parking lot was packed.
“This is only my third time here and it’s really crazy,” said one customer, Melissa Newell.
Newell planned to buy a pair of wireless earbuds and security cameras.
“The that’s returned, that they can’t resell through Amazon or Target and stuff like that then it’s good to sell it at a discount then have it thrown away,” she explained.
