Shelf Pull Apparel Buying to Sell on Ebay

I get tons of  questions about selling closeout apparel on Ebay, more specifically shelf pull apparel from 5 Star Department Stores. Everyone wants to sell this clothing on Ebay. I have to admit most of the people inquiring about selling closeout apparel on Ebay are stay at home Mom’s looking for a way to bring in some extra income without a lot of money to invest.

I know a lot of successful sellers on Ebay who have turned a part-time side business into a full fledged income selling shelf pull apparel (NWT – “New With Tags” -Popular Ebay Apparel acronym). What separates the successful sellers from the hundreds of thousands who start off with great intentions, but stop soon after throwing in the towel?

Research. Research and Planning. Research, planning and resilience. Today I want to talk specifically about buying from Brokers vs buying direct.

The big name brands sell on Ebay – Ralph Lauren/ Polo, Tommy Hilfiger, Elie Tahara, Theory, BCBG and others. Buying shelf pull apparel from a liquidator is like walking into an actual department store and buying the entire liquidation rack. It is a big jumbled mixture of brands, sizes and styles. I know for myself when I am shopping for clothing and stumble upon a clearance rack typically the selection is limited in styles and sizing. If the apparel does not sell on the clearance rack at a drastically reduced price in the store…Guess what? You end up buying it in a wholesale closeout lot or pallet to sell on Ebay or your discount store.

If you are not buying your apparel direct from the direct source be careful as some brokers can be misleading when they describe a lot or pallet you intend to buy. It is only logical to infer your broker has no clue as to particular sizing, brands or damages to expect. If your broker has not inspected the load… how then can he accurately describe the merchandise to you? He cannot. Not all brokers are misleading, more on this tomorrow.

If buying from a liquidator who actually buys large truckloads from the source and then breaks the clothing down into smaller lots you must be careful as well. Some liquidators will mix accessories into their apparel lots or pallets to lower their actual cost per unit. This practice benefits the liquidator…not you. If you are dealing with a liquidator who adds accessories into their pallets find another company to buy from.

Whether buying Direct or through a Broker/Liquidator remember not to expect all big name brands. Pallets are a big assortment of brand names

If you are not buying direct from the source “Buyer Beware”. If a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is.