Every year millions of packages are lost during shipments. So there are companies that are selling them to weight

Only in the United States They lose or steal 1.7 million packages every day. In Spain the latest data from the TDI logistics group They revealed that more than two shipments were lost per minute. The curious thing is where at least part of them end: they are shown to weight.

Millions of lost packages. According to They indicate to EFE From the employer of the logistics sector one, in Spain more than 3.3 million packages are sent per day, and the cases of loss involve a tiny fraction of 0.001% (about 3,300 per day). A simple error on the label or lack of centralized information can cause these problems, and that is where some companies recover them to resell them.

Reversing weight. Services such as Crazy Day Factory, My Mystery Package, Merkandi, LotesDevolutions, or King Colis are dedicated exactly to the same thing: acquiring those lost packages to often resell them as part of surprise boxes that are sold to weight. As they point out in the confidentialin Kink Colis for example they establish a price of 1.99 euros per 100 grams in standard packages and 2.79 euros in the premium type.

A lot of noise and few chollos? In King Colis FAQ, a French startup, they explain that buying this type of surprise packages can be very profitable, because one “can contradate state -of -the -art technological devices to clothing or accessories of recognized brands.” However, they also warn: “Not all lost packages necessarily contain treasures. There is a part of chance!”

You don’t know what you buy. One acquires these packages to weight, but does not really know what he is buying. As they revealed in the nationalin stores such as my mystery package open ephemeral stores throughout the year in different municipalities to give out these packages, but there is a key requirement: the package cannot be opened until after buying it.

And that implies risks. These lost packages are not checked and therefore can be damaged, be defective or have a much lower price than the buyer ends up. In Lotes Devolutions they explain that those products that put on sale – which are returns, not lost shipments – do not go through a previous check, which can end up causing a disappointing surprise effect. Packages are sold repaired without visible brands to eliminate commercial references, turning the purchase into a riddle … or a bet.

The psychology of surprise. The surprise boxes such as those offered by all these businesses take advantage of known phenomena of human psychology. Several researchers published in June 2024 A study in which they revealed how the stimulus-organism-response (Sor) causes that impulsive purchase out of curiosity without intervening conscious thinking. We think quickly instead of thinking fast, as the Nobel Prize Daniel Kahneman in his famous’ stood out in depth.Think quickly, think slowly‘.

Previous experience. In Xataka we were able to meet this type of business last year, when we went to an old warehouse on the outskirts of Madrid to try to locate some cholt between the chaos of Amazon returned products that a company put on sale. There was no surprise effect here and the proposal is something different, but the conclusion was already clear: we had no luck and after hours of search we went out empty. Finding chollos, whether by surprise or not, is not easy.

Image | Chuttersnap

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