It’s a concept that’s a hit on social networks: that of lost packages bought by weight by individuals, who don’t hesitate to unwrap them on video. But watch out for scams.
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When lost packages become surprise gifts: a huge trend! The principle: buy by weight of lost packages, not delivered to their recipients, with the hope of coming across a treasure. Allow 10 euros per kilo of lost packages. On social media, videos of influencers filming themselves unpacking these mystery boxes garner thousands of views.
Everything starts from a warehouse: the largest in France is located in Orne, in Normandy. Before being resold by weight, lost packages are stored there on pallets that rise to the ceiling, in a space the size of a supermarket. “We received 12 tons of Shein a few days ago”, indicates Wiliam Mourrière, co-founder of the Flamingo box company. With his company, he buys these lost packages from platforms, such as AliExpress, Wish or Amazon. On its site, you can order five, ten or twenty kilos, without knowing what they contain. “These packages, we call them small lost packageshe explains. A person placed an order on the other side of the world and wrote down their address incorrectly, or they moved without indicating it. These are all unclaimed packages. We don’t know what’s inside, we don’t want to know because that’s the business model I had imagined: it’s to only make surprise packages.”
“It’s like Christmas!”
Previously, these packages were burned, but since the anti-waste law of 2022, it is prohibited to destroy new products, other than food. Since then, they have made people happy: Bertille, a trader in Aigle, in Normandy, has become a follower. “We had a blast opening this in front of the TV one eveninghe says. It’s like Christmas: you open it and it’s a big surprise every time, you don’t know what will be inside.” And he had some good surprises, she confides: “We happened to find pants, shoes, lanterns, phone cases. My daughter collected a small backpack, hooded sweaters. Lots of textiles: if it’s the right size so much the better, If it’s not the right size, we give it to friends or put it on resale sites.”
“It’s like a scratch ticket: there are people who put 10 euros per week in scratch tickets, there you have to put 108 euros in a 10kg package. But the scratch, if it’s 0 it’s is finished, while the package, we are sure to have things to discover.”
Bertille, a fan of opening lost packagesat franceinfo
These openings of lost packages have also become a real trend on social networks. But sometimes, scams are not far away. Some influencers claim to discover real treasures: on TikTok or YouTube, some claim to find luxury clothing or the latest technological products in these lost packages, which only cost them around fifty or a hundred euros. Very unlikely jackpots for William Mourrière, who prefers to focus on transparency. “That’s to attract customers, because 80% of the products in these boxes come from China”he reveals.
“Anything over 300 or 400 euros, you will never find them in lost packages! The big luxury brands recover the goods, because there is traceability.”
William Mourrière, co-founder of the Flamingo box companyat franceinfo
It may seem paradoxical, but the company, created a year ago, itself sends a ton of parcels per day across France. She has seen her sales explode and is already planning to purchase a second warehouse.