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

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.

Have you heard of the acronym “NWTS”? This stands for “new with tags” or simply put…having the original retail price tags still attached. If you are an eBay seller or own a clothing store you can buy this apparel at rock-bottom liquidation pricing. How easy would it be to resale an item for $20 that still had the original retail tags still attached reading $134? How do you make a profit selling an item at $20? Buy that item in a liquidation pallet for $2-$2.50! Sometimes even lower!

Did you know that you can buy apparel in mixed assorted pallets filled with jeans, T-Shirts, blouses, dresses, evening dresses, sweaters, slacks, business wear, casual pants, skirts, cardigans, pajamas, camisoles, sweaters, sheer sweaters, jackets, coats and more way below the original wholesale pricing!

I am talking about big name brands like Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren, Union Bay, Mudd Jeans, Levis, Liz Claiborne, Columbia, L.E.I, BCBG, XOXO, Charter Club, My Michelle, Alfred Dunner, AGB, Say What, Guess and hundreds of other well-known brands.

You can buy this liquidation apparel, also known as shelf pulls, from wholesale liquidators. A liquidator is a company that buys truckloads of merchandise and resells in smaller lots and/or pallets to eBay sellers, flea market vendors and retail store owners.

Here are a few Liquidators who sell this apparel in small lots:

Amlinc.com Allprimeproducts.com Dlmoffprice.com