Liquidation Secrets – Shelf Pull Clothing Facts

I received a phone call from an Ebay seller who was quick to explain how she lost $2,500.00 last week in a purchase of what she thought was Shelf Pull clothing. The clothing was grossly misrepresented by the Broker she purchased from. She was told the clothing was originally from a very famous 5 star department store, but upon delivery she realized that the apparel was actually from Sears. And, to make matters worse, the clothing was obviously customer returned.

We talked for about 45 minutes about how she had been successful at amassing used clothing from garage sales and wanted to start buying her inventory in bulk from a liquidation wholesaler. She had researched her first purchase as much as possible (so she thought) and finally went ahead and ordered. When the clothing arrived she knew after about ten minutes of sorting that she had been cheated by this Broker. Total fraud.

I hear sad stories like this all the time from people who scrimp and save to make a wholesale liquidation purchase only to be devastated when the clothing is not as expected or not as described.

The best way to avoid being cheated or lied to buy a Broker is to simply (1) buy the shelf pull clothing directly from the source or (2) make your wholesale purchases in person at the sellers warehouse.

Very few ebay sellers who are just starting out cannot make the minimum purchase required when buying direct from source. Most reclamation centers or Department store liquidation divisions require a minimum of 1 or 2 pallets per purchase.

If you are new to buying shelf pull apparel, my recommendation would be to try and find a liquidator close to your home. Even if you have to travel a few hours or even hundreds of miles, at least you will have the advantage of looking at the merchandise prior to buying. Touching and feeling prior to making a purchase an save hundreds, if not thousands of dollars.

Shelf pull apparel should not have more then 8-10% damages and most damages should be either light soiling from handling or loose buttons/seams. Shelf pull apparel should come with original retail sales tags attached, often referred to as “NWTS”.

Always remember that shelf pull apparel should be a big mixed assortment of brands. Any brands found in the original retail department store. Never trust a liquidator or broker who tells you that you can expect a certain percentage of high end brands.