From a wig to an iPad: the Barcelona store where you buy packages without knowing what's inside

BarcelonaThe process is simple: choose the box you want, pay for it, and take it home without knowing what's inside. The Surprise Box store on Carrer Ferran in Barcelona doesn't go unnoticed. It's a warehouse (or a pit) of lost packages from e-commerce giants like Amazon, Shein, AliExpress, or Temu: products that haven't reached their recipients. Pedestrians constantly come and go, intrigued by the objects hidden on the shelves, packed in boxes of different sizes and origins. Many rummage and shake, trying to figure out the contents of a package, but few risk paying for a random surprise. The price is around 24 euros per kilo, and is calculated on the scales scattered throughout the store. Intrigue is the key to business, and ARA has tried the experience.

Ronaldo, a store employee, gives us some advice on which boxes to choose: "It's better not to take anything that has the " fragile, "The contents may be broken," she warns. After rummaging around a bit on the main shelf, the one that runs from end to end of the store, she takes a box wrapped in black and shows it to us. We choose another one and pay: the total weight is around two kilos. Although she has explained to us that most people are in the editorial office. There is anticipation in case something of high value comes out. inside the wrapping, we see a shoe box. When we open it, we reveal the real contents: a massage pillow, one of those electric ones that you put on the chair. where they come from: "Many are of foreign origin and come from countries like Holland, France, Poland or Italy," she comments. the products to make a profit.

Ronaldo assures that the packages are not tampered with beforehand. "It's a matter of luck. You might get a cell phone, an iPad, or a designer handbag." This message has resonated with customers, because a young Italian woman comments that rumors have it that among today's packages you might get some. airpods. Her mother says they came "out of curiosity." "My daughter had heard about the place online, and we wanted to check it out," she explains. FacebookAlthough he came to browse, he likes the store's location—in the heart of the Gothic Quarter—as he thinks it's a good way for tourists to spend money. Ronaldo agrees, saying he sold "many boxes" today.