Shopping

A tour through Greenpoint’s hidden, kooky, lost-in-time discount district

The 90s: Buffy, OJ, Rollerblades, OS 9, and... Hair Wrapping parties! Hair Wrap Kit, $23.49 at Cheap Charlie's.

Greenpoint’s bustling Manhattan Avenue is a great place to score boatloads of ridiculously, disgustingly good deals on stuff for your body, home, school or pet. If you’ve lived in the area, you’ve likely found yourself checking out the latest trends at Payless or hanging with the critters at Petland Discounts at some point. But did you know this little avenue of awesomeness is also a great place to go exploring for fun, unexpected cheap finds? Packed within a three-block radius south of Calyer Street are numerous stores posing as discount outlets for pet goods, toys, fashions and electronics, but which really contain a bounty of treasures lost in time. We went on a Brokelyn scavenger hunt to dig up the goods, and here’s a list of our best finds – some useful, some quaint and some just straight-up hilarious.

Sidenote: If you happen to stop in to one of these establishments, be sure to actually make a purchase – the folks running these stores are super cool and appreciate the business, and they’ll always let you know!

I don’t know what this thing is. BUT, it comes with an EXCLUSIVE CommTech chip. Only $24.99 at Cheap Charlie’s (712 Manhattan Ave.):

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L’oreal Preference. Now in Alien Green. Only $9.95. Only at Cheap Charlie’s!

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The scientific term for when your dog eats his own turds is coprophagia. Now you know! Only $9.99 at Petland Discounts (846 Manhattan Ave.).

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“Tie’s.” $1.29 each at 99 Cent Bargains (799 Manhattan Ave.) Great in a pinch.

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It’z so EZ!! McDonald’s French Fry snack maker, $19.99 at Cheap Charlie’s. And in case you’re wondering, the french fries are made with toast! Brilliant.

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Eureka! It’s cordless! Only $29.99 at MTV Electronics (747 Manhattan Ave.)

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Winter’s around the corner – stock up on these cute, comfy socks and keep your tootsies toasty all season. Only $1.97 per pair at Big D (777 Manhattan Ave.).

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Photos by Lilly Frances. 

5 Comments

  1. Wow – these are really the examples you choose to make us want to check these places out? Half of the items are useless, the other half are OVER-priced, rather than discounted. (With the sole exception of the $1.29 boring ties). You’ve managed to guarantee that I will never ever set foot in any of the listed stores!

  2. I’ve had to rely on 99 cent stores to survive in Brooklyn at some points, but some of the items there are just plain “DUDE WTF!?” material! Oh, the things you can find at your local 99 cent store!

  3. Rachel Eve Stein

    Yo, my friend had one of those McDonald’s faux fries machines, and they were delicious…just sayin.

    Did they have any old-school corded phones?

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