Hotbins, an Amazon return store where prices change daily, opens in Tampa | Tampa Bay News | Tampa

A store where the inventory is made up entirely of things people didn’t want from Amazon and other retail giants is now open near Busch Gardens Tampa Bay.

hotbinslocated at 4001 E Busch Blvd, opened its first location in Tampa on October 14 and currently has three other outposts in Hialeah, Fort Myers and Lake Worth.

For the uninitiated, everything at Hotbins is either an overstock item from stores like Target, Walmart, or Kohl’s or an Amazon return (mostly still in a box without demanding labels).

It could be a box of pampers, or it could be an Xbox, you don’t really know!

And, most importantly, everything is stored in large, unorganized bins that you can rummage through.

Opening boxes at bins is against the rules and will kick you out of the store. But each location has a box-opening area, where an employee with an X-Acto blade opens your boxes and lets you peek inside before you buy.

The store is closed only on Thursdays to restock. Therefore, Fridays are the busiest days and bins theoretically have better items, but prices are highest at $12. Bin prices then drop daily until Wednesday, when everything is just $2.

There are also daily raffles for prizes (when I was there it was for an air fryer), a guy on a microphone walking around shouting out specials, and a backdrop of repeating photos. for customers to showcase their “hot” finds.

The company’s social media shows people posing with laptops, video game systems, home security systems and other high-end items likely purchased for no more than $12.

The store is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day except Thursday.

Bring gloves.