Operating & Owning the Largest Bin Store in Georgia
Operating & Owning the Largest Bin Store in Georgia
Have you guys ever stood in the middle of 150 bins, stacked full of Amazon and Target returns, and thought, “Yeah… this might be a little insane”?
Because that’s exactly where I’m standing.
BinCredible Deals in Stone Mountain, Georgia just became the largest bin store in the state. We’re talking 30,000 square feet, 150+ shopping carts, 150 4x8 bins (300 4x4s), three full truckloads of fresh inventory in the building, and a parking lot that got so full on day two I had to park across the street at a gas station.
This is bin store number three for me… and hands down the craziest.
Let’s talk about what it actually looks like to operate and own the biggest bin store in Georgia – the good, the stressful, the dumb mistakes, and the money.
The Move to Stone Mountain & the 30,000 Sq Ft Beast
So here’s the story, guys.
My man (now business partner) Stellion convinced me to take a swing at Atlanta. More specifically: Stone Mountain, Georgia. The space we took over is a 30,000 sq ft plaza unit:
20,000 sq ft showroom (all those glorious bins)
10,000 sq ft in the back for storage and processing
This thing is huge. You can’t even tell how big it is at first because there was a giant wall in the middle when we got here. We’re taking that down so customers walk in and just get punched in the face with bins.
We’re not playing with “cute little bin store in a corner unit” energy here. This is destination. This is “bring the whole family, grab a cart, and dig for two hours” energy.
Bins, Carts & Fixtures: Where They Blew Money (And How We Saved It)
The previous owners? They spent over $30,000 on bins.
I’m not joking.
They bought over 300 metal 4x4 carts and skinned them with cardboard so stuff wouldn’t fall through the grates. Cool design, rolls easy, cleans easy… but they overspent.
Here’s my take for you guys starting out:
Don’t blow your money on pretty bins. Blow your money on inventory.
You can:
Build bins out of wood
Buy used fixtures from stores going out of business
Or hunt deals like we did with the carts
The business came with about 150 shopping carts already – looked like ex-Walmart carts. Then I went savage mode and bought out Big Lots carts on their last day, $3.50 a cart, shipped them up from Florida. Now we’ve got around 180 carts rolling around this monster store.
Why so many?
Because when you’ve got 150 bins and you’re slamming three truckloads into them, the carts fill up fast. Nothing kills momentum like customers walking around hugging a microwave and an Instapot because there are no carts left.
Filling Your Freaking Bins: The Inventory Game
I preach this all the time:
“Fill your freaking bins.”
“We don’t care about value, we care about volume.”
For opening weekend, we stuffed three full truckloads into the store:
1. Target IRC load
High-end stuff: PS5, VR headsets, iPads, JBL headphones
2. Coffin box loads
Those giant boxes I’ve been wholesaling to other bin stores – I finally got to dump them into my own bins and honestly, I was shocked how good they were when I wasn’t cherry-picking.
3. 3PL Smalls load out of Atlanta
All the little money-makers that keep your bins looking full and diggable.
We didn’t cherry-pick anything.
PS5? In the bins.
$250 pop-up tents? In the bins.
Stanley-style coolers, vacuums, Instapots, commercial garment steamers, Honeywell heaters? In. The. Bins.
Why?
Because on week one, you’re not just trying to make money. You’re trying to make believers. You want those first 1,000+ customers to walk out saying:
“I can’t believe I got this for $12. I’m bringing my cousin next week.”
That’s how you grow a monster.
Our Price Ladder: Why 50¢ Day Is a Money Move
Here’s our pricing strategy at BinCredible:
Friday – $12
Saturday – $10
Sunday – $7
Monday – $5
Tuesday – $3
Wednesday – $1
Thursday – 50¢ because I don’t care anymore
And I mean that.
I’m not here to marry the inventory. I’m here to blow it out and reload.
You guys who:
Never do dollar days
Never do 50¢ days
Or who keep layering new loads on top of old trashy leftovers
You’re killing your own traffic.
Customers are not stupid. They don’t want to see the same old crap in the bins week after week. They want fresh treasure.
Our 50¢ day is one of our best days. Why?
It clears almost everything out
It turns stale inventory into cash
It gets deal-hunters hooked
And it resets the store for a monster Friday reload
Avoid the scramble game. Blow it all out, then refill.
Inventory First… Store Second (Learn From the Last Owner)
The company we bought out?
They walked away from the business because they couldn’t figure out the inventory.
They had the store.
They had the bins.
They had the cameras.
But they didn’t have consistent, reliable, weekly inventory.
And if you remember one thing from this blog, let it be this:
Do not open a damn bin store unless you’ve got your inventory game locked in first.
My rule of thumb:
2–3 weeks of inventory in the building
That’s why we’ve got 10,000 sq ft of pure storage in the back
If you don’t have storage, don’t rent the store yet
You can’t be out here every Tuesday praying a truck shows up on time so you can open Friday. That’s how you end up playing the scramble game and burning yourself out.
We’re running Amazon LPN + Target as our main mix and I’m already planning to bring FC loads in next. That variety keeps the bins fun and the customers guessing.
Cash Registers, Fees & Saving Your Damn Money
Quick ops note for you guys who nerd out on back-end stuff.
The previous setup used Square. Good system, but those percentages add up when you’re running volume like this. I found a new system:
Around 1.6% per transaction
Terminals cost about $300 each
We ordered three – they just didn’t arrive in time for opening, so we ran old registers the first weekend.
Big lesson here:
Save your damn money anywhere you can on processing and overhead.
We also upcharge on credit cards.
If someone wants to pay with plastic, we pass the fee along. That keeps more margin in the business where it belongs – with you – instead of swiping it away in fees.
Security: Don’t Let Theft Live In Your Head
The business came with a $10,000 security camera system and a VA paid to watch it live every open day.
Is that overkill?
For me? Yeah… kind of.
Look, I’m not saying ignore theft. If you see someone stealing, handle it. But I refuse to live in that mental space where you think everyone is stealing from you all the time.
That mindset kills businesses.
Here’s my approach:
Have cameras, sure
Be present on the floor
Make eye contact with customers
Let them know you’re there and you care
That alone will cut down a ton of theft. Address what you see, but don’t obsess over it. Obsess over inventory and customers, not paranoia.
Location, Rent & Why Bin Stores Are Destination Spots
We’re in what I’d call a “B plaza”:
Lots of mom-and-pop businesses
Some empty units
Not some fancy Main Street, high-rent palace
And that’s perfect.
We’re paying around $6 per sq ft all-in. On 30,000 sq ft, that’s manageable for a store this size.
Right next to us is Charlie’s Collectible Show – they do a Yu-Gi-Oh / comics / collectibles event that packs hundreds and hundreds of people into the plaza every weekend. On day two, there were so many people there that our parking lot – which can hold about 500 cars – was completely full.
Is it a headache for parking? Yup.
Is it opportunity? Oh yeah.
There are literally a thousand people walking past my door with money in their pockets. My job is to grab as many of them as I can and drag them into the bins.
Remember: Bin stores are destination locations.
People will find you if you market right.
You don’t need the fanciest plaza. You need reasonable rent and relentless marketing.
ABP: Always Be Posting & Building a Brand
Here’s the new acronym I’m running with:
ABP – Always Be Posting.
If you’re not posting everywhere – Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube – you’re leaving money on the table.
This store came with a Facebook page with 5,000 followers that we still need to fully take over and re-activate. That’s 5,000 people who already know this address. Now we get to show them:
New owners
New pricing
New inventory
New energy
And while I was in Kentucky recently, I kept hearing the same excuses:
“Everybody’s cheap where I’m at.”
“Nobody has money where I’m at.”
“It’s the weather.”
“It’s politics.”
Stop.
There are hundreds of people selling loads in every region. There is good inventory out there. The difference between winning and losing is:
Your inventory
Your pricing
Your marketing consistency
And your willingness to swing the bat
I’m a baseball guy:
I swing the freaking bat every time I get a chance.
Sometimes it’s a home run. Sometimes I strike out. But I swing.
The First Two Days & Where We’re Going From Here
Let me give you the numbers, guys:
About 100 people lined up opening morning
1,587 customers came through the doors in the first two days
Bins were torn apart
Carts were overflowing
People were walking out with PS5s, scopes worth $80–$140, tents, appliances – all at $12 on Friday
Stellion said it best: the area is still in a transition period. The old bin store here didn’t have great reputation or execution. People are slowly realizing:
“Hold up. This is different. The prices, the schedule, the quality – everything’s changed.”
And me? I’m already talking about doubling sales and maxing out these bins every week.
Because that’s the game:
Fill your freaking bins
Price aggressively
Avoid the scramble game with 2–3 weeks of inventory
Keep overhead sane
ABP – Always Be Posting
And let volume do the heavy lifting
We’re building something big here in Georgia, guys.
Now go out there and make some money.
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