Part 3/7:
When an item is returned, it does not merely bounce back to the shelf for resale. Instead, it embarks on a convoluted journey often leading to liquidators or, more distressingly, directly to landfills. Estimates indicate that 10% to 25% of all returns, particularly in the apparel sector, do not make it back to store shelves and face destruction. Retailers have taken to selling these unwanted goods to bulk item liquidators for pennies on the dollar, a process that has given rise to a burgeoning market for discounted "mystery boxes" filled with returned items.