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?

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.

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

1. End of season model/style
2. Initially purchased too much of an item and therefor have excess unsold stock
3. Product no longer being manufactured or distributed
4. 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.