If you are an eBay seller, store owner, flea market vendor or even an exporter, yous should be on the look out for new sources for inventory. I am certain that you spend countless hours searching the net looking for new suppliers to buy from.
Have you tried wholesale trade magazines or better know as trade publications? I subscribe to several full color magazines which are mailed to my office once a month, free of charge.
Most of the magazines not only offer tons of new wholesale sources, but also current marketing and retail advice. One magazine in particular, WebWholesaler, is by far the best trade publication out there. Each issue is packed with a variety of wholesale sources for clothing, accessories, jewelry, general merchandise, tools, electronics and more!
I would personally recommend you sign up for a FREE subscription to WebWholesaler. There is no obligation what so ever. Fill out a simple form and you should receive the next issue hot off the press!
General merchandise pallets will consist of various non category items from a particular retail store chain. If you are new to buying liquidated merchandise you should know that most stores separate merchandise into a few different categories of customer returned pallets:
Electronics: As you would assume TV’s , stereos, telephones, iPods, video games consoles etc. In the case of salvage electronics from Sears, you should note that electronics comes in two different loads…N and Y. The designation of “N” stands for national brands like JVC, Sony, Toshiba, Pioneer and the “Y” stands for store brands only. Y loads are heavy in vacuum cleaners, sewing machines and microwaves.
Apparel: Most large retail department stores mix apparel and sell as one category, while the Federated chain of departments stores will actually separate shelf pulls and customer returns in gender specific lots. Sold as Womens, Mens or Children’s you can chose which niche area to purchase.
Sport / Toys: Often loads are filled with exercise equipment, outdoor merchandise, large game tables (pool tables / air hockey etc) and toys. Also found in this category will be infant furniture and/or children’s merchandise (strollers, highchairs and carseats).
Domestics: Comforters, blankets, rugs, towels, pillows and small gift ware. Pallets are usually large and bulky, but typically contain a small number of items. On average 30-50 items per pallet
Furniture: Big box retailers sell a ton of whats called “knock down” furniture. This is the cheap particle board book cases, entertainment centers etc. Pallets and truckloads from this category is very inexpensive as you should expect a high rate of damages. Think about it…many people struggle with putting this furniture together once at home. Pieces crack and break very easily and because of this a lot of this furniture makes its way back to the retailer as a customer return. Tip: if you are going to buy this load makes sure to buy a truckload that way you can mix and match broken pieces.
Housewares: Pots, pans, small appliances, silverware, dishes, knives etc. Anything found in the kitchen can be found in this load
General Merchandise: What does not fit in above will go into this category. Mix will vary, but you can expect to receive hardware, home décor, automotive, garden, office supplies, small giftware etc in this category
Video profile of Kole Imports, direct importer and wholesaler of dollar store merchandise
Over the last ten years I have purchased hundreds of customer returned pallets and at least 60-70 truckloads of wholesale liquidation merchandise. It all started was back when my wife and I started a small business at home selling on eBay. Selling from our kitchen table we were able to turn a part time income into a large successful retail business!
The first small loads of wholesale merchandise we purchased were 100-300 piece Shelf pull apparel lots. Often known or referred to as New With Tags. I have to admit that clothing was not my first choice, but my wife had a passion for clothing and this is where we started.
Our first purchase was a 110 piece lot of Macy’s womens apparel and we bought it from a liquidator here in California. Being new at that time we really did not know what to expect. We paid for the lot and it was to be shipped by UPS. A few days later my wife called me at work to advise the shipment had arrived. She was excited to say the least.
By the time I got home that night she had already sorted all the apparel looking for damages and even photographed a few of the items to prepare for eBay listing. Within two to three days she had all of the clothing listed on eBay and low and behold we were off on a great adventure from there.
I think if I recall we ended up selling 42 of the 100 pieces on the first go round of auctions and then re-listed the remaining. After about a week and a half we had enough money in our Paypal account to re-purchase another load of clothing. This time we purchased fro ma different liquidator and must say that when this apparel arrived we were not very happy as roughly 20-25% of the load was damaged.
I placed a call to the company we bought from and no one would return my call. Message after message was left, but it seemed as though this particular company did not care to make us a repeat customer. After days of researching the company we bought from and researching shelf pull apparel in general I came to the conclusion that each and every load would probably be different. Kind of a “craps” shoot, if you will.
Back in that first year of getting our feet wet we ended up trying 4-5 different sources for shelf pull apparel and found two reliable suppliers that consistently provided excellent service and loads which were reasonably priced.
How did you get started buying and selling shelf pull apparel?
I am sharing a secret today, a closeout deal I found over the weekend. It will involve a little web research on your part, but if you are looking for boots on a wholesale liquidation level I believe I found a gem. Go to Google and type in the following “Magnum Mirage” or “Magnum Mirage Desert Boots”.
The boots are retailing online between $35 and $40 per pair and with a quick check on eBay I noticed the same boots at a similar price being auctioned.
I found a small inventory of this particular boot being liquidated by a closeout company called NBC (Name Brand Closeouts). Take a look at the link, which has a few pictures and breakdown of sizes available. It would not surprise me if you could negotiate better pricing on a “Take all Deal”.
Give NBC a call at 512-452-8815. Ask for Stan, Pete or Cody. Remember, with liquidations you must act fast as once this inventory is gone…it is gone for good!
Just what is liquidation merchandise anyway?
When I use the term liquidation merchandise I am referring to one of the following categories or descriptions wholesale merchandise:
Retail Returns
Just as the name implies, retail returns are items that have been purchased by an end user and then returned to the original store for refund or exchange. Returned items usually will have some issues ranging from damage to missing pieces. Incidentally, some items are returned to the original store after an impulse purchases and/or a “changed mind”. In the liquidation industry a returned item that shows little to no damage is considered a “Cherry”. This is where the phrase “Cherry Picked” comes from.
Closeouts
This category of merchandise is comprised of items that are being “closed” out and no longer sold. Can also represent items which are no longer be produced and/or manufactured therefor remaining stock is sold just above cost or in some cases below cost to make room for new inventory.
Salvage Merchandise
Refers to merchandise that is in a form of distress. Salvage merchandise can refer to items that have been damaged in transit, such as an overturned truck or possibly been exposed to flood or suffered smoke damage. Often salvage merchandise is liquidated by insurance companies who are trying to recoup dollars from an insurance claim that has been settled.
Canceled Orders
Large chain stores will set specific requirements for vendors who supply merchandise. For example, a large big box chain store might cancel an order from a particular vendor who cannot meet contract delivery deadlines. Rather than warehouse a large canceled order, a manufacturer might liquidate stock to recover costs.
Overstock
Items which are being liquidated due to a surplus quantity, which cannot be sold or moved quick enough. Retailers will liquidate overstock to make room for new merchandise.
The above categories of merchandise can be purchased well below wholesale pricing and represent an excellent way for store owners, flea market vendors and eBay auction sellers to stock name brand items. They key to success in purchasing liquidation merchandise is finding reliables sources.
If you can buy below wholesale you will be able to offer name brand merchandise at competitive pricing. Liquidation merchandise can prove to be very profitable for anyone engaged in retailing.
I was reading the latest copy of Cover magazine and I stumbled upon a wholesale company called Trademarkcommerce.com. This wholesale company has an interesting marketing pitch as they show you what the products they distribute sell for on eBay and Amazon.com.
I was intrigued to say the least, so I thought I would complete my own research and see if I could come up with the same final selling prices (on eBay) for some of the products they are wholesaling. The products I will be researching today are found on the flyer they are advertising.
You can research an items’ profitability on eBay!
Lets get started……
First of all, if you do not know how to research an item on eBay make sure you take some notes on the following steps:
- Obviously, you will need to go to http://ebay.com
- In the search field enter the item you are interested in researching, press search
- Once the following page loads look to the right of the ’search” button for the link “Advanced”
- Once you have clicked the Advanced link you will be taken to a page where if you scroll down you will notice criteria stating ‘Search Including” – Check this box
- Scroll down and click “Search”
- Results that are displayed in GREEN closed with a winning bid
- You can take those results and average the totals to get a good idea about whether the item in question will sell and how much you can expect to receive as a auction seller
The first product I researched on eBay was the Black iRobot. The advertised wholesale price from Trade Mark Commerce is $101.33. They advertise this product selling on eBay for $179.99.
When I searched eBay I found one iRobot had sold on eBay in the last two weeks and the final auction price was $149.99 with FREE Shipping. I would imagine that the seller paid at least $10 to ship this to the winning bidder, so profit looks to be $149.99 – $10 (Shipping) – $101.33 (Cost) = $38.66 before eBay listing and final value fees.
The second product I researched was the Advent GPS. The advertised wholesale price from Trade Mark Commerce is $99.99. They advertise this product selling on eBay for $229.99.
When I searched eBay I found one Advent GPS unit that had sold on eBay in the last two weeks and the final auction price was $140.24 with FREE Shipping. I would imagine that the seller paid at least $8 to ship this to the winning bidder, so profit looks to be $140.24 – $8 (Shipping) – $99.99 (Cost) = $32.25 before eBay listing and final value fees.
I should mention that while the above two items did sell on eBay, there were dozens of the same item that did not close with a winning bid. Using the ‘Completed” auction search feature on eBay is a great way to evaluate the profitability of an item you are thinking of reselling.
In my opinion, TradeMark Commerce might be a viable option for inventory. They certainly have a diverse product selection. You will need to sign up as a registered buyer before you will be able to view their entire online catalog. Once you are registered you can then check their pricing with the “Completed” item search feature found on eBay.
I would love to hear from anyone who has purchased from this company…any thoughts?
What the heck is Shelf Pull merchandise? Just as it sounds, shelf pulls are retail products that have been on display in a retail store and then subsequently “Pulled” from the shelf for various reasons. Big Box retailers will pull items from the sales floor for several reasons, including:
- End of season model/style
- Initially purchased too much of an item and therefor have excess unsold stock
- Product no longer being manufactured or distributed
- Product being recalled due to a safety hazard
Most of the time, retailers simply pull items from their retail sales floor to bring in newer items. Think about it, most stores rotate stock to keep their inventory looking fresh and new. Due to this reason, there is an abundance of merchandise which can be purchased on a wholesale level and resold for a great profit. There is no better way to “tap” into major name brands on a wholesale level. The great thing about buying shelf pulled merchandise is simply cost. often, shelf pull merchandise can be purchased for “pennies” on the original wholesale dollar!
Are you looking for name brand merchandise to resell on eBay or through your ecommerce store? Shelf pull merchandise can also be sold through your store front and exported throughout the world!
Ok, I have convinced you…I can tell. Where do you find Shelf Pull merchandise?
Shelf pull merchandise can be purchased through Wholesale Liquidators or buying directly from each department store. Some department stores have their own liquidation department where they sell pallets and truckloads of shelf pull and customer returned merchandise. Most big box retailers will contract a ‘Third Party” liquidation company to move excess or unwanted merchandise. In this case, dealing with this third party is considered buying direct.
There is this nasty little rumor going around that says importing small quantities of merchandise is something that is very difficult to do. But the truth is that you can get virtually anything and everything you want. If you want 10 sets of authentic Chinese medicine balls directly from China, you can get 10 sets of authentic Chinese medicine balls directly from China. Perhaps that is all your store needs and no one should tell you, “No, you can’t order that few although you don’t need very many.”
The main difference here is cost. Yes, it is more expensive to ship more items, but the bargain is greater the more you get. And yes, you get a better deal if you order more, but you shouldn’t order more than what you need or you are going to find yourself with an excess of Chinese medicine balls. This actually results in a greater loss for you than having to pay more in wholesale cost because you ordered less. You don’t want to find yourself with an excess of the item and not be able to sell it.
But what happens if a company says they have a minimum order?
How do you conquer that?
Well, even if a company says that they have a minimum order of 25 items and you only need 10, you can order what is called a “sample order.” A sample order is a way in which you can see how the item performs in your store. If it performs well, then you can order more later on. It is important to keep in mind that these companies doing the exporting will not turn down money. They are not going to say, “No, you can’t have this because you don’t need 25 of them.” Letting you order 10 is going to provide them with money they wouldn’t have otherwise. No good business is going to turn down the very cash that makes them grow. That would be counterproductive, don’t you think?
With a sample order you will pay more per piece, but you have the benefit of “testing the waters” before you order in large quantities. So don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t run the store the way you want to run it with the merchandise that you want to sell. Better yet, don’t let them tell you how much of your merchandise you can buy and sell. That is just right out wrong. If you want to order 10, go for it. If you want to order 5, don’t let anyone push you around. You’re the boss, so let them know that.
Most manufacturers realize that a small sample order can quickly turn into a larger order and then, of course, an ongoing trade relationship. A great resource to get started in importing is a site called Alibaba.com where there are plenty of worldwide manufacturers ready to ship in small quantities.
Many of the readers who come here are looking for wholesale items to resell on eBay. But, did you stop to think that maybe you can find wholesale merchandise right on eBay? No…. I am not crazy, you actually can purchase large quantities of merchandise through eBay and turn around and retail each item one by one. I know of several successful eBay powers sellers who know how to spot a great deal on eBay and then “flip it” one item at a time right back on eBay!
Some of the more popular items which can easily be flipped on eBay include:
Large lots of apparel – Look for gently used or shelf pull apparel. Shelf pull apparel is simply clothing that was unsold in the original department store for various reasons. Often, this shelf pull apparel will have the original retail tags attached…a real bonus for selling on ebay. You can find gently used clothing lots on ebay that will offer a great source for “single” sales. Look for wholesale lots containing high end name brands. There are a few categories of clothing that sell very well on eBay including maternity, children clothing and plus sizes.
Jewelry lots – You can find great deals on bulk jewelry lots on eBay. There several manufacturers who are selling rings, necklaces, bracelets and body jewelry which can be purchased and resold on eBay. They key to reselling jewelry on eBay is producing quality digital photos for your auctions.
There are hundreds of other bulk lots which can be purchased and resold, they trick is to spend enough time on eBay searching. In addition you want to make sure that when you bid on a lot of merchandise that you factor your shipping cost into you cost per piece. For example, if you buy a 100 pieces of used apparel for $49 and shipping to your doors costs $30, your landed cost per piece is .79 each!
We should take this time to also let you know that once you become an eBay Power Seller you will have access to the Resellers Marketplace – An exclusive “members only” marketplace for those who qualify as an eBay Power Seller. As a Power seller you will gain access to excess inventory directly from many manufacturers, liquidators, and wholesalers.
