HEBRON, Ky. — When you return an air fryer, coffee maker, or Lego set you decide you didn't want, in many cases it never goes back on the shelves for resale.
It often is thrown away by the retailer, and ends up in a landfill after you get your refund.
Why? Because it is too expensive to restock and resell it.
But a new online auction house in Hebron, Ky. near the Cincinnati Northern Kentucky International Airport, is selling those items for pennies on the dollar.
You get a bargain, and a local landfill gets a break.
The company is calledAll Surplus Deals, based in a huge warehouse filled with thousands of items from baby strollers to microwaves, to area rugs, and toys.
Everything is guaranteed to be in great shape, except for the fact someone else bought it and returned it in most cases. In some cases, it is overstock merchandise that never sold.
How it works
You can buy these items for a fraction of the original price, according to All Surplus Deals marketing director Meredith Diggs, by bidding online.
You search for items that interest you, and then place a bid. There is no fee.
"These might be things somebody returned something because it didn't work for them, but it might be right for you," she said. "Or it could be overstock, because they bought so many, and the end of the season is coming and they don't want to deal with it."
Diggs says if your bid wins, you are then invited out to the warehouse to pick up your item.
Items cannot be shipped, due to high shipping costs these days.
You can't go there and browse, as in a retail store. You have to shop online first, and win the auction for that item.
There are other liquidators that sell returned items, but in most cases you have to buy a whole pallet of goods, where you may not want all of them.
This is All Surplus Deals' second location: It's been running in Phoenix, Arizona for about a year, where it says business has been booming.
As always, don't waste your money.
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