Have you ever wondered what happens to Amazon’s or big-box retailers’ overstock items, customer returns or products they won’t be carrying any longer on their shelves?
Sometimes they get a new lease on life at Krazy Binz, the newest discount store in northeast Calgary that is attracting hundreds of customers each day.
The store is part of a chain that began in the U.S. but now has six locations in Canada, including four in Ontario and two in Alberta, the other being in Red Deer. There are also plans to add a store in Edmonton.
Before shopping at Krazy Binz, customers must first register in a virtual line-up 12 hours prior to store’s opening the following day. If customers are one of the 100 selected for a shopping session, they’ll be notified approximately 30-45 minutes before the session begins.
This is where is the mayhem begins.
In a effort to prevent shoppers from bargain bin diving all day, customers are allotted 30 minutes to fill their baskets with as many items as they want and then have around 15 minutes to settle up at the checkout.
New items are added each Thursday (a.k.a. “Prime Day”), Friday and Saturday, and as the stock dwindles throughout the week, the price gradually drops from $25 all the way down to $1 on Wednesdays.
“Sometimes you will find laptops, tablets, massage guns, golden necklaces and golden rings,” said Krazy Binz regional manager Samer Jeibat.
Customers hoping for an organized shopping experience will likely be disappointed, as there is no rhyme or reason of what items can be found in each bin.
“It’s totally random,” says Jeibat.
Customers in store Thursday didn’t seem to mind the chaos.
“Usually I’m looking for a section and I know what I’m looking for,” said Brock Boyd.
“Coming to a place like this, it’s anarchy. I love it.”
Others who were shopping together weren’t sure what they would do if they came across a high-end gadget, such as a smart watch.
“Depends who sees it first,” said Elroy Chiang, who was shopping with his friend Megan Wou.
Fans of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory will surely know all about the significance of a Golden Ticket and Krazy Binz puts its own spin on that.
Golden or blue eggs are hidden in the bins for each shopping session and, if found, customers can swap them for an expensive item, such as $600 Dyson hair dryer. All they need to do is pay the going rate that day.
With deals like that, it’s no wonder staff at Krazy Binz have dubbed the shopping experience a “real-life treasure hunt.”
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