I visited a ‘bin store’ that sells Amazon returns for as little as 25 cents. It made me rethink my shopping habits.

• Bin stores that sell overstocked and returned goods are popping up across the US.
• Prices can differ each day of the week and depend on when a store receives its shipment.
• We visited a Where Ya Bin store in Columbus, Ohio in December.

Bin store shopping is not for the timid or the time-constrained.

Customers need to be ready to spend some time sorting through mountains of returned and overstocked items. It’s not pretty, but for people willing to roll up their sleeves, there are deals as low as 25 cents on everything from electronics to energy bars — expiration dates be damned.

I am, unfortunately, a rather timid shopper without a lot of time to wade through bins of goods. After two trips to my local Where Ya Bin store, I’ve seen enough returned Amazon items to last a lifetime. I won’t be back.

Still, those trips had a lasting impact. They made me rethink my cavalier return philosophy, which I’ve been known to call “catch-and-release shopping.”

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