Hunting for bargains — in bins — becomes growing trend for deal-seekers

Written by Courtney Collen for Pigeon 605

“You can’t beat a dollar!”

That’s what the co-owner of Brandon’s newest discount bin store said to a customer on their way out. 

Technically, depending on the day you visit, you could beat a dollar. 

On that particular week inside Bargain Bins 605, the Tuesday deal was 50 cents for bin items. 

It’s one of several stores in the Sioux Falls area catering to bargain hunters by offering liquidated, overstocked or returned merchandise at a fraction of its original price – often less than $10 for most items. 

Co-owners and best friends Leah Brennan and Hailey Franka opened the store in June at Splitrock and Holly boulevards.

They say it’s exciting to have something new to offer the Brandon community.  

“You have boutiques selling clothes with a higher price point, the Dollar General and the grocery store,” Franka said. “So Brandon needed a different shopping experience.”

There’s a common denominator to this popular concept: Everyone loves a good deal to save themselves money. 

“Times are hard for all of us right now,” Franka said. 

Like-minded businesses nationwide are taking this concept to the next level with stores catering to bargain hunters by offering something new every day.

The items range may in variety from health and beauty, clothing, baby items, electronics, appliances, sporting goods, gaming systems, home goods, hardware, pet supplies, toys and more inside bins and other items like major electronics that are higher priced but still a steep discount. 

Items come from stores like Target, HomeGoods, Lowe’s and Home Depot among others.

Before checkout, stores will offer testing stations where they provide batteries, plugin outlets and space to make sure the items are working properly. 

One of the stores sold a name-brand smart TV, originally $1600, for $800.

The liquidation store to pioneer this concept in the Sioux Falls market was A Crate Deal in October 2020. 

Owners Cole and Alisa Schantz moved from North Dakota to open the store in Sioux Falls, followed by a second store in Tea 10 months later. 

“The merchandise arrives by the truckloads, will be held in big crates on the sales floor and restocked weekly. Items are essentially unseen and straight from distribution companies,” Alisa Schantz said.

“It’s like Black Friday every Friday,” she explained. The week begins each Friday with bin items at $7, decreasing each day down to 50 cents. 

“We disperse the new merchandise every week into 4-foot-by-4-foot crates, making it a truly fun and unique experience for customers to find their crate deal.”

Anything left at the end of the week is donated to area nonprofits, which is something they’ve done since the beginning. 

“When we moved here, the purpose of our store was to benefit the community,” Schantz said. “And we’re building relationships along the way.”

DaaBin Store on East 10th Street is all about making the experience fun for the whole family. 

“The experience starts the minute you get to the store in line,” Richie Hutchinson said. “We want you to be greeted, known and enjoy the experience more than just finding an item that is well-priced.”

The local franchise is owned by Hutchinson, brother Brody and their wives.

DaaBin Store originated in Waterloo, Iowa. 

“We restock the supply on Thursday and Friday, and then every Saturday, we have a flash-day sale,” according to the website. “First come, first serve. Every day following decreases in price until Wednesday when we have a fill your bag for $10 sale.”

Crate, along South Carolyn Avenue, opened in late July and markets itself as offering high-quality goods at a discount. Its original store opened in Rapid City. 

“We have no idea what we’re getting,” owner Paula Bahm said. “The products we bring in by truckload are phenomenal.”

The stores attract shoppers from all over the region. 

Owners reported seeing an influx of teachers who are preparing their classrooms for the new school year while other customers are getting an early start on holiday shopping. Many of them come in several times each week to find items they turn around and donate to local nonprofits. 

Some shoppers make extra income by reselling the items they buy. 

Each store has worked hard to set itself apart from the rest. 

A Crate Deal sells “mystery pallets” and big-box items that get cheaper by the day, with a rewards program earning shoppers points toward free items. 

It pays to engage with them on social media too. 

A Crate Deal also offers a “Top Fan Skip the Line Pass” every Thursday, which allows selected shoppers to be the first in the store by engaging with its Facebook content through likes, comments and shares.  

Bargain Bins 605 offers a nightly auction on its Facebook page featuring four items starting at $10. The bidding begins at 9 p.m. and goes for 24 hours. 

“You get more bang for your buck when you shop at these stores,” Frank said. “That way, customers can save money for essentials like gas and groceries.”

If you plan to shop, each store varies its days and hours of operation.

Visit their websites or social media pages for specific information.