If you love a but of mystery and intrigue, this one’s for you.

A new and unique shopping experience is coming to Cork for the first time this month. From Tuesday, February 24th to Sunday, March 1st, visitors to Douglas Court Shopping Centre will have the opportunity to experience the ‘Lost Packages’ pop-up store.

The French start-up firm, King Colis, is planning to sell 10 tonnes of lost packages with mystery contents to shoppers in Cork over the week from 10am to 8pm daily.

After great success of its first edition in Dublin, King Colis has decided to bring its experiential pop-up store to Leeside shoppers.

How does it work?

Every year, millions of online orders get lost for various reasons, most often due to incorrect delivery information. After customers receive a refund, such undelivered packages were previously destroyed. Since 2023, King Colis has been purchasing these lost packages and giving them a second life.

Visitors to the pop-up will be able to take part in a real-life treasure hunt and, with a little luck, become the new owners of high-tech devices, designer clothes and shoes, watches, beauty and household appliances, or collectibles items.

Packages are sold by weight and shoppers will have 10 minutes to select all the packages they want but they are not allowed to open them before purchase. Then comes the weighing to find out the total price and finally, the most exciting part: unboxing the surprises.

“It’s always exciting because you never know what you’ll get.” says co-founder of King Colis, Killian Denis.

“Sometimes there are real treasures hidden inside the boxes. For example, in France one customer discovered a small collectible gold bar, while in Italy someone found an ultra-rare Pokémon Card valued at €3,000. Of course, luck plays a big role in what you find in your packages, but one thing is certain, the experience is unforgettable.”