What is the Internet, but sharing? The full purpose of this blog, or any blog for that matter, is simply sharing knowledge and perspective. I share my experience in the area of wholesale liquidation merchandise. Where to find it, how to sell it and sometimes I just share my personal experiences.
Blogs are great because at the end of every post you can submit your “say” in the form of a comment. This is really how sharing works. A few days ago I started exchanging emails with a guy named Mark. Mark had purchased one of our guides and since then we have been emailing back and forth. Mark asks a question…and I try to answer. I really enjoy talking to members of this blog community.
Anyway, Mark explained that he would be willing to share some of his experience buying and selling wholesale liquidation merchandise. I took him up on the offer and asked a few questions:
Mark is an Ebay Power seller and has just recently opened a discount store in his hometown selling liquidation merchandise!
How much experience do you have buying liquidation merchandise?
I’m going on 2 years of buying experience with liquidation merchandise. In the beginning I was really having a hard time finding products to sell and keeping a decent inventory. When I came across the idea of selling liquidation, overstock and customer returns I was stunned. I never really thought about it until that point. I was very skeptical to begin with. To anyone that is interested in selling such items I recommend that you take your time and research first. I recommend your first purchase to be in the general merchandise category. This way you get a little bit of it all and you can get a feel of how this merchandise comes. To me its like a new treasure hunt each and every pallet that I do get.
How did you learn about buying surplus - excess merchandise?
I actually stumbled upon it. The town that I live in use to have a goodwill store. They were getting a liquidation pallet each week from a major dept store. I would buy from them each and every visit. I found out when the pallet would come in, so I would be there waiting. After giving it some thought I said why I can’t just do this myself. I then began to research on getting my own wholesale pallets shipped to me.
Who have you bought from and what was the experience like?
My main source lately has been Via Trading. They have a HUGE Selection of Merchandise. My only main downfall with them is that they are on the west coast and I’m on the east. Freight charges are what kill my profits. I’m in search for something closer to home at the moment. I would love to have an outfit like they have nearby so that I could actually inspect the pallet I want and pick it up myself.
How do you sell your liquidation merchandise? Ebay or ???
We recently opened a Discount Store in the town that I live in. I love having this store as I get to meet new people everyday. All of my customers enjoy having our store come to town. They get a good selection of products at half the price in a retail store. With this economy who wouldn’t like to see a discount. Our store is definitely the economical way to buy. As for online, I’ve been selling off and on for about 8 years. It is definitely a hobby of mine.
What is your ebay sellers ID?
If you search for the eBay ID of 8kmo0, you will find me there. Check it out and shoot me a message through eBay if you are interested in some of my products.
If you have a store: How large/What do you sell/What is your geographic population?
Our store is located in a 1300 sq ft shopping plaza. The plaza we are located in is currently filled with 6 other businesses. We sell an array of items such as electronics, baby items, tools, home décor, kitchen aids, and bedding. The population in my town is rough 40,000.
What advice would you offer to someone who is just getting started with purchasing liquidation merchandise?
My first and utmost advice is to take your time. Do not rush into a purchase without first researching. Each and every company I have ever bought from, I have always checked them on the BBB website. That way I can see if they have negative feedback or if they are worth dealing with. I researched a good year before I ever made my first purchase.
If you have purchased returned merchandise..how have you dealt with the damaged and/or broken items received?
Luckily I have not had too much of this issue. I recently did have an issue with one company I tried out, and will not ever buy from them again. As for Via Trading, everything I have got from them has been pretty much resalable. Id say about 97% was. For items that were not resalable, they usually had a lower dollar value, so it was not a big loss.
Have you experienced a bad load of merchandise…a purchase that went sour?
Actually I did about 2 months ago. I wanted to try out a new source that was closer. I spoke with the sales rep several times. He was very friendly and very informative. Once I got the shipment however, it was a disaster. The resale value was actually a little less than what I had to pay for it. On top of that , the freight carrier service was horrible. I was promised to get it 3 days after I ordered and it shipped. Well that did not happen. I called and they said it would take about 7-8 days after 2 days of waiting. Total it would have taken 10 days instead of 3. I ended up going to the freight terminal (80 miles from home) to pick it up. So this resulted in cost of gas for me on top of the cost I already paid for the freight. I will never buy from them again. To be specific it was suppose to be an electronics pallet. Well it had other items that should not have been on it. The electronics that had higher value were in horrible shape and did not work. Id say only about 40% on that pallet was resalable.
What are your most profitable items or items that are in demand?
I have had really good luck with general merchandise pallets, they provide a balanced mix of merchandise.
How do you come up with a markup when buying customer returns, factoring in damage or waste?
My current methods vary depending on how I purchase the pallets/inventory. With the General Merchandise I usually get a piece count of what I have that is resalable. This way I can kind of get an idea of what I have in each piece plus see what I can do on the percentage to mark it up. Bigger items that have more value I try to focus on the markup on those. These are usually the most profitable and in demand. If they stay on the shelf for a period of time, I can have a sale at that point. I always mark my items at a certain percentage knowing that if it does not sell I can offer a deep discount sale to bring in customers.
Any other advice you can offer to other ebayers, flea market vendors etc?
I definitely cannot say it enough. Do not rush your decision on purchases. Take time to research before you buy. It will definitely make up for it in the end.
Are you thinking of opening a liquidation apparel store? How do you compete with larger chain department stores who seem to have the biggest market share? You must capitalize on one of the most basic marketing principles most recognized by Ray Croc, founder of McDonald’s fast food chain. Ray believed that success could be earned by selling a quality product at rock-bottom pricing. It was his strategy from the beginning to lower pricing and thereby increase sales volume. I do not think anyone would disagree that Ray’s model for success propelled McDonalds into a multi-billion dollar, worldwide franchise. Working on a lower profit margin can really work to your benefit as consumers will spend more at your store. Retail shoppers today are looking to stretch dollars as far as they will go.
Susie’s Deals operates 90 locations throughout AZ, CA, NV and UT. The stores, offering apparel for the entire family, including junior, misses, plus sizes, men’s and children’s apparel, all priced at $5.99 or less, occupy spaces of 5,000 sq.ft. to 6,000 sq.ft.
than $3.00 per unit delivered. Finding clothing overstocks, shelf pulls and customer returns below $3.00 is not hard to do, In fact there are many sources to choose from. You can purchase pallets and truckloads of below wholesale clothing direct from several department stores starting at a dollar per item! Most of the apparel in this low price category will in the form of customer returns and will require some work to make “retail ready”.
