Mystery parcel shop opens in Cork as customers hunt iPhones and tech bargains
Ray Nash and Alicia Healy opening the first packages. Picture: Noel Sweeney
Cork customers were out in force on Tuesday morning in the hope of finding iPhones, tablets, and designer goods for bargain prices — though some instead found themselves unwrapping tablecloths and phone cases.
That’s the gamble in store at the county’s first pop-up mystery package shop in Douglas Court shopping centre. French start-up firm King Colis opened at 10am to an awaiting queue that snaked through the centre.
At the top of the line was Raymond Nash and Alicia Healy, who hoped to be among the lucky customers to find high-quality tech goods.
“I hope I find an iPhone or an iPad, that wouldn’t be too bad,” Alicia told the When asked what she would do if she unwrapped something else, she said she would “just have to suck it up, I guess, it’s the luck of the draw.”
Another hopeful customer was open-minded and happy to share some of her purchases with her family if they weren’t right for her. Sarah from Carrigaline said she didn’t have any particular items in mind to rummage for.
“Anything really, just stuff that I hopefully might use or pass on to a family member, something that doesn’t waste all my money basically,” she said, adding she was queuing more for the excitement than to find something in particular.
Packages are sold by weight, with standard packages priced at €2.29 per 100g and €2.99 per 100g for a premium package. Shoppers have 10 minutes to select all the packages they want, but they are not allowed to open them before purchasing. It seems cheap, but those kilos add up quickly in the frenzy to find a bargain.
As the first customers made their way through the selection, blindly choosing and hoping to strike gold, the atmosphere was electric, with groups of friends giggling over their buys.
The first person through the tills spent €106 on his items, which included an eight-inch television screen and a phone cover. Ray and Alicia were through soon after with a receipt for €266 and a bag full of surprises. While she didn’t find that elusive iPhone, Alicia instead had items like tablecloths, an Android system for a car, and Christmas lights.
“It’s a gamble. If you’re lucky you can get something good, or you can have things you don’t have a use for,” said Theophane Mericskay, director of the Cork pop-up. He said his advice for customers is to choose one standard package and one premium one to get the best possible item.
“Premium packages are only from e-commerce platforms like Amazon, Rakuten, things like that. In standard packages, you can find everything, all brands: you can find some e-commerce platforms, but also private sendings, like if you order online from a store like Zara or Shein.”
columnist Caitríona Redmond has previously written about these types of shops and advises caution when introducing children to what she describes as a form of gambling.
With both adults and children making purchases on Tuesday morning, Mericskay was asked if a child could potentially buy a box that contains something adult-related. While Mericskay hasn’t seen it happen, he said it is a situation parents should be prepared for.
“I think it’s possible. All these lost parcels are coming from all over Europe so [inside them is] what you can imagine from an average European consumer. I’ve been doing this for six months and I haven’t seen one yet so I think it’s rare. If it happens, that’s bad for sure.”
King Colis will be in Douglas until Sunday, March 1, from 10am to 8pm each day. Entry to the shop is free but fast passes are available for €15 on king-colis.com.
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