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New trend involves people buying unopened packages off the street

A store in the Bronx has gone viral for selling unopened packages for $4 a piece.

Shakti Denis

May 6, 2025, 6:04 PM

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Gideon Issa said he was walking down Wyckoff Avenue in Bushwick when he spotted a pile of unopened packages stacked on the curb being sold for $5 each.

“I thought it would be fun,” he said.

At first glance, the packages looked like they could have been stolen, but many had “return to sender” labels.

“It was like a fake plant. Kind of a letdown," he said. "I thought it'd be something better, but I gave it to a homeless guy and then went about my day.”

Buying mystery packages is becoming a growing trend.

A store in the Bronx has gone viral for selling them for $4 a piece.

The owner, Luis Almonte, says he buys the packages in bulk for $600 from a company.

“A lot of people are coming here to see what’s in the packages,” he said.

He has recently started blacking out names and addresses after privacy concerns were raised.

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