The Bag Man

Without a shadow of of doubt, this had to be the messiest store I have ever shopped at! But I’m sad it closed. This is where I would get my wallets, backpacks, & carry-​on luggage. I haven’t found a store similar in Manhattan yet. Right at this minute I’m carrying around a busted wallet because I don’t want to pay more than $ 5 for a wallet. I haven’t found another place in Manhattan where I can get a cheap wallet with a lot of compartments. If I find one I will share.

Does anyone know if they’re moving to a new location?

This place is a hot mess. It is terribly dirty and there are some questionable characters lurking on the ground floor. HOWEVER it is great for little doodads to decorate your apartment or give as a little gift. I bought a really nice fluffy pillows for only $ 5. I also found a sowing kit for $ 1.25. It is worth stopping by if you are strapped for cash but want to pick up some household items. I will say though that the sales woman on the top floor would not let me go to the bottom floor without paying (which is weird because no one else was made to pay upstairs only) then when I got to the basement floor, the sales associate was pretty pushy and I felt as if she was watching me. She followed me for a while and made it pretty obvious. It was weird. It made me feel uncomfortable, especially because I already bought a whole bag of stuff upstairs. Sketchy bunch of people shopping and working here, but again, they have what you need at a great price. Prepare yourself.

Amazing. Bought last minute duffle bags for our trip back home and SO happy we found this place. Not the most luxurious, but definitely took it easy on the wallets.

You would think «Bag Man» sold nothing but bags but this is a huge discount store with tons of crap, I mean stuff you’d actually find useful at really decent pricing. I was really surprised to find they actually had items I’d actually want to buy. My only complaint is that they pack so much merchandise into the store that the aisles fit only one person making it literally impossible to pass by someone especially if they are large.
Otherwise knock yourself out and give it a go if you’re looking for some knickknack household item or even a bag. The store even has a pretty nice window display for those window shoppers, that’s actually what drew me in.

I got exactly what I wanted for $ 20. A backpack similar to the $ 40 one that needed to be replaced. Not the greatest looking store, but they had what I wanted!

Oh Bag Man, I have a love/​hate relationship with you. I love all the sweet deals I get like $ 2 fashion scarves, cheap socks, and this year a cute knit head wrap. In fact I later saw an almost identical one at another shop for $ 15 and I only paid $ 2.99!!! Oh yeah that feels good! But I hate how crowded this place gets, having to push my way through people just to get out, and that I always end up waiting outside for half an hour while my shopaholic mother finishes looking at ALL the stuff you have!

Bagman is in my price range, they have nice scarves for $ 2.99. be careful… l because one was in the$ 1.99 bin and the lady said it was$ 2.99 but I didn’t want it and she got mad. yeah i’m crazy as you… don’t try to overcharge me. some stuff is pretty good, unless you are a name brand diva in which case you won’t come here or read this review. if you are looking for nice scarves, come here.
don’t buy the boots, they are knock offs and hard as he**…I tried one just to be nice to see what the $ 29.99 was about, no thanks, I will save up for another pair of Steve Maddens, which I can afford if I keep coming here for scarves and sleepwear!

This store hasn’t changed much since the early 90s. Same intercom guy announcing sales «everything must go go go!» store looks the same on the inside too. There are a lot of inventory, toys, clothes, bathroom products, etc. One thing that’s kind of annoying are the floor associates that follow customers around these days asking, «what are you looking for???» Sheesh can’t I just look! The clothes are not all regular sizes (pants etc), so you have to go up 2 sometimes 3 sizes depending on what you are purchasing.

I came in here today looking for a man’s belt for me. They didn’t have the two sided black and brown belts so I got one black belt and one brown belt. Since each was only $ 1.99, it was a steal. I also got some tube sox.

Truly I wouldn’t buy most of the shit in here because it looks like garbage (plastic leather belts, cheap purses, etc.), but I have found one thing this place is great for: cheap mens’ dress socks, at $ 2.99 for a pack of three.
At these prices, I don’t even bother washing them anymore; I simply wear them a couple times and throw them away. One note is that if you find a color you like, you should buy as many as you’ll ever want at that moment, as these Pakistani socks might not be available in your favorite color the next time you come in.
This place has one annoying feature, however. There is a recording of a Hispanic man literally yelling into a microphone, «Abajo! Abajo! Abajo! TODOS los zapatos! All are on sale on the lower level! What are you even doing looking on the upper level! Abajo! Abajo! Abajo! TODOS los zapatos!» I have no idea how the employees tolerate it for hours a day.

This is my second time for a biz trip near or in NYC. Bagman was a fun place in 2008, and I swear it hasn’t changed.
Cheap stuff, I mean über cheap. Purses are 5.99. Tote bags, 3.99. Acrylic cashmere scarves, 3.00 $. These things are marked «cashmere 100% acrylic.» Sure beats $ 30 cashmere scarves. These make the best gifts ever. (Dumb me, I didn’t think about that the other day… this warrants a second trip into the city before I leave New Jersey, which s perfectly fine with me.)
This is the place for extra luggage if you need it. I bought a New York City tote bag to put my bags from the stores in so I wouldn’t be carrying 6 plastic bags at once. Tons of bags and scarves.
But there’s lots of crap at Bagman. Probably one of my favorites cause of all the cheap stuff. I haven’t looked at their shoes, and I would never wear cheap sunglasses. But they have both. Cheap cheap cheap, that’s Bagman.

Everything is dirt cheap, and sometimes dirty. Lots of shouting in the store. But still worth a visit. Got a piece of luggage on wheels for $ 24.99 (and if you want luggage with multi-​directional wheels, you can get one for just over $ 30). They sell cheap makeup that’s not really worth buying because there’s no distinguishable expiry date, and scarves, pouches and shit like that, and in the basement they were having a shoe sale. The shoes weren’t the best quality and included off-​season stuff. I was very happy with my bag, anyway.

Yes, there are great prices, but you are going to be followed by the associates until you buy something.
Note: If you try to leave without buying, they try to lower the price of what you last looked at. They are really desperate!

My coworker introduced me to this store — «what? You don’t know the Bag Man? Oh girl, we are going.» Although shopping here can be disorganized, crowded and overwhelming, you have the opportunity to get some great deals. I completely agree with Angel G’s «low budget flea market» comparison. They carry a line of funky nail polish I really like, and a full size bottle is only $ 1.48. You can also find clothing, housewares, a bit of everything. If you’re a fan of places like Jack’s and Conway, give Bag Man a try.

3.5 stars…
Turns out the Bag Man isn’t just a bag store. It’s like a dirtier, more cramped version of Conway and if you’ve ever been to Conway you know that’s pretty dirty too so that makes Bag Man one filthy store. This block has more burnouts that most other blocks of the city so any store you go to where you can get baseball caps for $ 2 and individual flatware for mere cents you know the shoppers will be a little… well questionable. They have three floors, the basement is mostly shoes and toys, the ground level is a combination of clothes, house wares, and miscellaneous items, and the second floor is mostly bedding. Everything is new but the quality is about as low as you can get. Some of the isles are so cramped that if someone is standing in one you have to wait or go around if you need to get past them. If you’re looking for random dirt cheap stuff and have already tried Jack’s and Conway this would be your next logical place to check out.

Bag Man to the rescue!
The strap broke on my shoe, and it was about to fall off my foot. My umbrella had turned into a flopping wreck.
At Bag Man, I got new (and even comfy) footwear for under $ 20, and an umbrella for $ 2.99. And I (just barely) wasn’t even late for my meeting at work.

I needed a new backpack and found one there for $ 8 plus tax that didn’t scream «STUDENT!» I found one that holds my Acer Aspire One notebook and the charger, notebooks, a change of clothing that’s black, sleek, business-​like and can fit under the seat on an airplane. Brilliant.

Cheap cheap Chinese bags, plus an old-​timey Jewish huckster/​salesman! Awesome!
I got a backpack and a small duffle bag, $ 7 each and perfect for what I need. Also an attractive $ 2 clock. I wish I’d known about this place when I was moving into my dorm and buying everything at UWS yuppie places…
This block includes Conway and a few shoe stores, plus K-​Mart across the street. A paradise for cheap crap!

This place is awesome! If you’re a cheap person or have streaks of cheapness like me, then this truly a place to behold.
For example, I got a nice white porcelain dish set (4 big plates, 4 small plates, 4 bowls, 4 mugs) that’s pretty stylish I guess, for only $ 13.99. If you need to outfit your apartment or if you have to bring something home and you wanna go cheap on some things, then this is really the place to go. Or if you just like browsing discount stores full of all kinds of stuff from hair ties and picture frames to grocery carts and bed sheets, then put this place on the list.
It’s close to (on top of) Penn Station so it’s not too hard to reach, and then the only challenge is carrying all the stuff back. Drawbacks are the guy with the corny sales pitches on the PA system and the crowds can be a hassle.
Also close by (next door?) to Conway’s, which is worth a peak if you’re trying to be cheap on clothes.