New Iowa Store Draws Huge Opening Day Crowd
A new store opened its doors in western Iowa Saturday morning and drew a massive opening day crowd. Why? I believe for two reasons. Curiosity and the hope of a great deal. The store is called "It's $5." Everything in the store is five dollars, and just what you'll find is anyone's guess, including the owner's.
All of the merchandise at It's $5 comes from "overstocked goods purchased from online retail suppliers, (and) items that have been returned and did not have the proper packaging to be resold," according to owner Ryan Wager via the Daily Nonpareil.
Wager told Fox 42 he purchases thousands of random items every week and everything is purchased in bulk. They don't know even know what they have until it arrives to be sorted.
We're buying them basically by the pound, we're able to sell them all in this type of model.
Hundreds of people were waiting for doors to open Saturday morning and the hefty crowd continued throughout the day. What did those customers find? One shopper told KETV,
So far I've found a scrabble game, Deadpool, and a really nice backpack.
Another thrilled customer said,
... this thing (stainless steel cereal containers), it's probably 40 to 50 bucks by itself. The gel-filled pillows, probably 60 to 70 bucks by itself. I mean you can't beat it.
This caught my attention because It's $5 in Council Bluffs is in a former JCPenney store at Mall of the Bluffs. The recently closed Sears store in Cedar Rapids came to mind for me immediately, perhaps best fitting since the Younkers stores were both multi-level. Unfortunately, there are plenty of other options in the corridor.
It's $5 leased the former JCPenney store in Council Bluffs for the holiday season to test out the idea. If yesterday is any indication, it just could work. Wager says if the Council Bluffs store sticks, he foresees locations in Des Moines and Harlan. Perhaps eastern Iowa would come next.
There's one more, very important thing to note. Items actually get cheaper at It's $5 as the week goes along. Saturday and Sunday, every product is $5. Monday, it's 2 for $5. Tuesday: 3 for $5. Wednesday: 5 for $5. Thursday: 10 for $5. They're closed each Friday to restock for Saturday's opening. It seems to me a very well-conceived way to get repeat customers and clear inventory, both of which are obviously a must.
It's $5 is based in Kansas City, Missouri, where there are two stores. There's also one in both Claycomo and Belton, Missouri.