I visited a discount store that sells Amazon and Target returns, and it felt like treasure hunting. Here's what I found.
Insider's Aaron Mok at Everyday Crazy Hot Deals
Aaron Mok/Insider
Everyday Crazy Hot Deals is a liquidation center that buys and resells returned merchandise from retailers like Target and Amazon.
The items are sold at a discounted price, with prices depending on the day of the week.
It sells everything from electronics to kitchenware to furniture. One customer even found an Apple external hardrive for $10, according to Yelp.
I visited Everyday Crazy Hot Deals in Bethpage, New York on three separate days to see how the products vary.
The entrance of Everyday Crazy Hot Deals in Bethpage, New York.
I went the store, which opened last September, for the first time on an early Saturday afternoon. When I walked in, I was immediately overwhelmed by the sheer volume of stuff available.
The bins at Everyday Crazy Hot Deals are aligned in vertical rows.
Aaron Mok/Insider
Since I went on a Saturday, every item in the store — with some exceptions — was priced at $12. The price gets cheaper as the week approaches Thursday, the day the store gets restocked, and is most expensive on the weekends once new inventory is added.
A sign of the set prices hung on a wall inside Everyday Crazy Hot Deals.
Aaron Mok/Insider
The bins weren't organized by product category, so I sifted through piles of random items mixed together. The most common items I saw were boxes of face masks.
The bins were not organized by product type and were filled with random selections of items.
Aaron Mok/Insider
I didn't have anything in particular I wanted to buy, so I haphazardly scanned the bins in search of items that stood out to me. Some of the things that caught my eye were a gratitude journal, the board game Operation, cockroach killing bait, a vibrator, creepy Halloween costume masks, and some wigs.
This bin contained a random assortment of items, including a clown mask and some wigs.
Aaron Mok/Insider
Many of the packages were ripped, empty, or missing an item.
A broken hairdryer package I found in the bins.
Aaron Mok/Insider
Customers are not allowed to open sealed packages. If they want to know what's inside, they must bring the items to the customer service booth where an employee will open them.
One of two customer service stations at Everyday Crazy Hot Deals.
Aaron Mok/Insider
While the majority of bins contained random assortments of stuff, some items were organized by products with their own special deals, such as this clothing rack...
Customers can buy two items of clothing for $10 on Saturday and three items for $10 on Sunday.
Aaron Mok/Insider
...and this shopping cart filled with notebooks. Five notebooks cost $1.
A shopping cart full of notebooks where five notebooks cost a dollar.
Aaron Mok/Insider
There were also containers of makeup sold at $3 per piece...
Containers of make up sold at $3 per piece.
Aaron Mok/Insider
...and these iPhone and Android phone cases — including popular brands like Otter — that were priced at $2 for five.
A bin of iPhone cases that were priced at $2 for five.
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There were even boxes of Halloween candy like Haribo gummy bears and Reese's peanut butter cups. The bags of candy I looked at were not expired, though the store has a sign that warns customers to always look at the expiration date before purchasing any kind of food.
Bins of Halloween candy and a bin with bottles of mouthwash.
Aaron Mok/Insider
Some of the "organized" bins were just as sloppy as the regular ones, like this plastic container filled with random cords, cables, and laptop chargers all tangled up.
A box full of random wires and cables.
Aaron Mok/Insider
Other exceptions to the set-price rule included items like furniture and big boxes of toys.
Furniture sold at Everyday Crazy Hot Deals.
Aaron Mok/Insider
The most expensive items I saw were electronics like a Google Nest Doorbell and a Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 near the cash register. Each was priced at $150.
Expensive electronics placed near the cashier were sold for $150 each.
Aaron Mok/Insider
As I was browsing the store, an employee pulled out a fresh bin of stuff that all the shoppers flocked to and looked through.
A flock of shoppers gathered around a bin filled with new items.
Aaron Mok/Insider
While some people may come just to buy cheap stuff, the store said it encourages shoppers to buy things that they can resell individually at a higher price. There were a few shoppers who looked like teenagers looking up the price of items on their phones and discussing whether they could resell them on TikTok.
A collection of Marvel Wanda Vision action figures.
After spending nearly an hour and a half carefully looking through each bin, I wasn't able to find anything I liked that I thought was worth $12 that day. So I decided to go back on a Wednesday when everything is a dollar.
A bin full of winter boots.
Aaron Mok/Insider
When I visited again the following Wednesday, the bins contained less stuff, and the things that remained were even more random than before. Many of the items were broken packages or loose parts that came from the original product.
A random assortment of stuff in a bin on a Wednesday, when everything costs $1 unless stated otherwise.
Aaron Mok/Insider
But I was excited to get a sneak peek at the new inventory which included things like a toy Mustang convertible and a box set of kitchen appliances all wrapped in plastic packaging. There were also bins covered by blankets that were filled with fresh stuff.
Inventory wrapped in plastic packaging that will be unveiled on Friday, the day after restock day.
Aaron Mok/Insider
After I spent roughly 30 minutes browsing the sparse bins with no success, I decided that I would come back one more time on a Friday, when the store is restocked with new inventory.
Bins covered with blankets that contain fresh inventory.
Aaron Mok/Insider
I arrived at the store on the following Friday around 11 a.m. and noticed that it was packed with people. Each bin was overflowing with new stuff.
A packed store with bins filled with new items after restock day.
Aaron Mok/Insider
When I got there, the store was doing its first restock of the day. Dozens of shoppers gathered around the covered bins as they waited for an employee to unveil them.
Dozens of shoppers gathered around the covered bins waiting to see what new items are in store.
Aaron Mok/Insider
Speaking through a megaphone, an employee thanked everyone for coming and briefly explained some ground rules to ensure that everyone has a safe shopping experience.
Shoppers lined up around bins as they listen to an employee lay out the store's ground rules.
Aaron Mok/Insider
After the employee finished his speech, he told everyone to put their hands up. On a count of three, the employees yanked the blankets away and a horn blared, signaling that shopping had begun.
Shoppers rapidly grabbed items and threw them into their carts.
Aaron Mok/Insider
Immediately, shoppers quickly grabbed whatever was available and tossed the items into their carts to sort through later. Carts were filled with boxes big and small as well as a range of items — one even contained a bicycle.
Many shoppers filled their carts to the brim to sort through them later.
Aaron Mok/Insider
As people were hunting for the best items, an employee with a megaphone was announcing raffle numbers. Those who won were given $50 dollars to spend at the store.
The winner of the raffle gets $50 to spend at Everyday Crazy Hot Deals.
Aaron Mok/Insider
This time around, I was happy to find many items I was interested in buying, from a box of college-ruled journals to an electric blanket.
Restocked bins at Everyday Crazy Hot Deals on a Friday morning.
Aaron Mok/Insider
Every time I found something I liked, I was hit with a rush of excitement, which only motivated me to keep looking for more stuff with deeper precision.
A DVD of the Marvel movie 'Shang Chi' on a pile of random things in a bin.
Aaron Mok/Insider
After I spent an hour flipping through bins, I forced myself to stop looking and went to purchase the items with my family. The cashier counted how many items were in the cart and then multiplied the number by 12 to calculate the price. We were shocked to learn that our bill came out to a total of more than $300.
My family and I spent more than $300 on stuff.
Aaron Mok/Insider
Even though I was happy with the things I found, I was left with a nagging feeling that I spent too much money on items I didn't need. But overall, I found shopping there to be a fun, weirdly exhilarating experience.
Some things I bought at Everyday Crazy Hot Deals include: two blankets, a giraffe mug, a storage bin, and a box of journals.
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