The number one unclaimed parcel company in France, Colis Colis, landed in Lisbon just over a week ago, in one of the country’s largest shopping centers , and the success was immediate, with huge queues forming near the entrance.
Can you imagine paying almost €25 for a kilo of these parcels and getting a cell phone, a smartwatch, a portable console (we got it, we’ll tell you about it below) or some headphones? Just to name a few of the products that can be “hidden” – and unfortunate – inside each package.
Well, to make your life easier, we asked the owners of this store what their top tips are for choosing the best packages for unclaimed parcels. They gave us six, which we’ll tell you about below!
What are unclaimed parcels?
You know all those packages that are forever lost in post offices or warehouses, or in other dispatch areas of the various delivery companies?
These parcels, which never reach their recipients (for various reasons), can have another owner: you!
The sale of this type of “forgotten” package is a current trend that the French company Colis Colis has decided to take advantage of to create a lucrative business that is very exciting for its customers.
After all, who doesn’t like receiving parcels at home? And better still, who doesn’t like opening mysterious “presents”?
We went to the opening and got a bit of everything, buying just one kilo of packages, or parcels, as they say more commonly.
The first store in Lisbon
The first, and so far only, place to sell unclaimed parcels opened on December 6, next to the CTT store on Floor 0 of the UBBO Shopping Resort in Amadora.
This is an innovative concept that allows you to buy parcels by the kilo, without knowing what’s inside them, turning each purchase into a unique experience full of surprises, a kind of hidden treasure hunt.
This store buys products (unclaimed parcels) from all over Europe that have been forgotten or not picked up by their recipients.
All you have to do is go to the store, pick out the packages you want (you can feel them, but you should never tear them open to see what’s inside) and go to the checkout, where there is a scale, and pay.
This service is a real roulette wheel of emotions, a kind of “scratch card”, but here you always win something.
Our experience
Visiting the new Colis Colis store in UBBO was like entering a kind of “fair of the unexpected”.
We were among the first to enter the large space with a Christmas tree in the center. Along the walls, there were several wooden crates full of these unclaimed parcels.
The atmosphere was lively and in the queue that formed at the door, you could feel the anxiety of someone who is about to open a Christmas present and doesn’t know what they’re going to get.
Here, one sense does almost all the “work”: touch. Everyone picks up the packages, shakes them, feels them and then decides whether to keep them or look for another more attractive package… you can only open the packages once you’ve paid for them.
The exchange of ideas between couples or friends about what each package might contain is contagious.
Everyone tries to guess what’s in each box. Clothes are easy to spot because they’re fluffy, but as for the harder boxes, shaking and feeling the weight can be the best clues.
But let’s get to the tips given to us by the store owners themselves.
We picked up several packages, felt them and wondered what was inside, with that childish feeling, and headed for the checkout, where we paid just over €20.
Then it was just time to get to the car to open all the boxes, we were anxious to find out what we had won in the raffle.
We opened the first one: a “spy” pen, the kind with a built-in recorder. We moved on to the second: a youth kit of K-Pop accessories(stickers, key rings, ribbons, etc.).
We quickly moved on to the third object, a longer box, where we discovered a shower head (just in case, since the one at home is broken).
And then the last pack. It had to be here: the small box contained one of those white label mini portable consoles that look like Nintendo’s Gameboy and come loaded with games. We checked the price in the store: 67€. In other words, it was well worth buying. We were happy, of course!
Colis Colis is not just a store, it ‘s an experience where every purchase is filled with emotion and mystery.
I left wanting to go back and take another chance. After all, who knows what the next surprise will be?
Only this time, maybe I’ll try ordering online, as the store has several promotions on:
- 5kg for 85€, instead of 124.95€
- 10kg for 170€, instead of 249,99€
- 20kg for 340€, instead of 499,80€
- 30kg for 510€, instead of 749,70€
Tips for finding the best packages
There’s no doubt that going to this store to try your luck was the subject of many conversations and emotions, especially on social media, where some proudly showed that they came out with a profit, and others not so much, but that they still had a lot of fun on this “treasure hunt”.
We spoke to the owners of Colis Colis again a week later to ask them if there were any hidden secrets to finding the best orders, or what tips they could give us to make our choices more certain, i.e. what we should do to find the products that meet our expectations.
It goes without saying that electronic equipment, such as cell phones, smart watches and other technological paraphernalia, are among the main preferences of those who buy these types of “secret packages”, but the truth is that behind a more “cuddly” package can be a product worth hundreds of euros.
So follow the store owners’ tips and good luck:
- Don’t think too much. If you do, you’ll get lost not knowing what to choose, and unclaimed parcels will soon be taken by other Colis Colis customers;
- Shake the packages. This is important if you want to guess what’s inside each package. A “noisy” package is not a bad package, contrary to what many customers think: it could be a phone charger or some technological accessory;
- Don’t focus on the boxes. People are looking for high-tech items, but that’s not all that’s inside;
- Look for “bouncy” items. It could be a protective cover that hides a technological object;
- Take advantage of soft packaging. Branded clothes can be found in softer packages;
- Follow your instinct. Many customers guess what’s inside each package they choose to buy.
The story of a highly sustainable business
This sustainable business model not only offers an opportunity to reuse products that might otherwise be discarded, but also provides shoppers with a fun and unpredictable experience.
The store will operate during normal shopping center hours and is already attracting curious and adventurous shoppers willing to take a chance.
Alexis and Marc, the creators of Colis Colis, the leader in unclaimed parcels in France since 2024, are childhood friends, and have always dreamed of creating a project together.
After learning about the millions of unclaimed parcels stored in warehouses, the idea was born and they developed a service to resell these parcels that nobody wants, at affordable prices.
We sell unclaimed parcels to both resellers and consumers! We’ve expanded all over France, at fairs and shopping centers!”
Address: Avenida Cruzeiro Seixas (Shopping Resort UBBO, in Amadora)
Opening hours: every day from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Order prices: on the website