In Metz,
The place is discreet, almost invisible in an alley of the Muse shopping center in Metz. No sign, just an A4 sheet stuck to the window. For a minimalist description: “The COLIS PERDUS store is open from Wednesday to Saturday. » This does not prevent customers from crowding in front. Not everyone can enter at the same time. Only six or seven are allowed to rummage in the two metal boxes installed in the middle of this room without the slightest decoration, almost gloomy.
“At the beginning, we put everything on the floor and people helped themselves. But we were asked to tidy up a bit, for safety and hygiene reasons. We also limit it because otherwise, it’s madness! On weekends, there can be a wait of up to an hour,” explains manager Brice Mus. This is not the first time that he has organized this type of pop-up sale. “We’ve already done it in Lille and we’re going back there soon,” he explains before returning to his scale.
Here, the principle is simple: everyone chooses their package(s) and will then pay by weight. The price is fixed: 19 euros per kilo, or 1.90 per hundred grams. “You can touch the packages, feel them, even put them near your feet if you think they are shoes! I only impose one rule on you: do not unpack anything,” Pierre, the friendly salesman-host, repeats over and over again.
“You have to take it like a game”
In front of him, people search, turn over, try to guess the contents of the packages. Like this forty-year-old who came with her two young daughters. Camille, 9 years old, dreams of “Lilo and Stitch toys” and ends up with two baggy pants that are way too big for her. “It will be for mom,” smiles the child who also inherits a phone case. “I’m keeping that!” »
Her big sister Auriane is holding a package and hopes to find “a cushion” there. Answer at home. “I had seen this principle on TV. It’s perhaps a little expensive sometimes for the result but you have to take it like a game,” summarizes the mother, not disappointed. Neither does Karim, even if the coat he has just discovered seems to be a gross counterfeit. “Gvess” replaced “Guess”… “My wife came by this morning and told me to come back because there were too many people. I took three packages for around fifty euros, for the adrenaline! »
“Generally, the people who come for fun are the ones who leave with the best things,” continues the demonstrator. “For example, one guy had a great camera with infrared vision and everything. A thing for hunting and what’s more, he was a hunter! » “Another won a gaming computer worth 4,500 euros,” continues his colleague. There really is anything and everything. In general, it’s clothes, multimedia, gadgets…”
Counterfeits, therefore, too, and some nuggets. Like this “hammer” of a gun still sitting on the entry table. “It was a customer who brought it to me. He was a police officer and told me it was forbidden, I reimbursed him,” explains Brice, again citing this package of “weed” or the many with… sex toys! “A couple in their seventies had come across something huge, it was too embarrassing! », laughs the manager again, who then takes back the goods.
Carriers sell them in batches
He manages tons of them per week, almost without any control. Where do all these packages come from? “From Poland and Eastern countries, where they are generally sent when they are not delivered, not collected at customs or simply lost,” answers Brice Mus. “After a month, they belong to the carriers (six months regarding La Poste) who can no longer incinerate them since January 1, 2022. So they resell them. »
“ For example, one guy had a great camera with infrared vision and everything. A thing for hunting and what’s more, he was a hunter! » »
With his family, “from Ukraine on the Russian side”, the entrepreneur buys this scrap in very large quantities. “In general, 33 pallets for 30 to 40,000 euros. We are DHL and Asendia, from the La Poste group in Switzerland. » Parcels come from all over Europe. Here from the Netherlands, there from Switzerland, Germany, Austria and even France.
Most of the time, the recipients’ names are still written, along with their addresses. Annoying for privacy, right? “We try to hide them with the marker,” explains the seller timidly, aware of not being able to keep up. Especially since at the other end of the chain, customers are demanding. “When do you recharge?” », asks Fabien at the entrance to the store.
The young worker already came to the opening this morning and is in line again. “I got a makeup thing and a water diffuser that makes colors. I’m going to resell them, it seems to be worth a lot,” he plans before going to get more in the newly full boxes thanks to the nearby truck. “It allows you to recycle and it’s fun. I take it like a game.”
Our file on purchasing power and inflation
Where some still win more often. “We regularly see parcel delivery people coming quite early and they take everything that is made of cardboard. Sometimes, they even look at the tracking number and can find out where the package has been… It’s quite a technique,” explains the manager, who continues the weighings. In twelve days of opening, he indicates having sold “for 40,000 euros by bank card”. “It’s a new business. »