Buying low and selling high is the basic rule of thumb for any retail business. You need reliable wholesale suppliers for new inventory, and liquidation pallets can be an excellent source. Liquidated merchandise is basically anything being sold by a closing business. Items are sold at a discount, and they can be extremely profitable for resellers. Liquidation pallets are basically just pallets of containers filled with products sold in liquidation. You could buy these directly from the business being liquidated, or you can buy them from other businesses. For example, you could purchase Lowes liquidation pallets from a reseller like Direct Liquidation, and these could contain products like small appliances, home decor, electronics, or even large appliances like washer, dryers, and refrigerators.
Ext. retail costs for liquidation items are generally much lower than non-liquidated merchandise, and it doesn’t always come from closing businesses. Sometimes liquidated merchandise comes from customer returns, and it’s frequently unopened merchandise. Whether you’re interested in finding occasional pallets or in running a liquidation business, here are some best practices to follow for positive experiences.
Research Reputable Suppliers
While you can buy directly from companies that are liquidating their assets, and you may even find some great deals that way, you’ll usually be buying from a distributor who sends out truckloads of pallets. It’s important to know who you’re buying from and to do everything you can to ensure they’re a reputable source in advance. There are several ways to find a distributor that range from buying directly from manufacturers to searching for resellers on sites like eBay and Amazon. Large wholesale suppliers for general merchandise may have prices similar to retail, but it’s worth looking into what services they can offer your business. If they can point you toward auctions or other ways to find cheaper merchandise, they may be worth working with.
Know What You’re Buying
Naturally, you’ll also want to make sure the products you’re buying are good quality, and there are some things you can check to increase your confidence level. Stay away from unmanifested merchandise in general. These might as well be mystery boxes, and it’s unlikely the gamble will be worthwhile. Each pallet should come with a detailed manifest including product descriptions, quantity, salvage costs, and other information to help you set the ext. retail price for the merchandise. It’s also a good idea to inspect each pallet space for dents or other damages to ensure merchandise hasn’t been damaged in transit.
Take Location Into Account
You’ll generally want to work with suppliers nearby to save on freight costs. Even if the supplier agrees to pay shipping, you’ll still be paying to have truckloads delivered to your location. Buying from Silicon Valley companies may not be such a good idea if you’re running a store in North Carolina. It’s also a good idea to make connections with other liquidation buyers and sellers in your local area. This is the best way to make sure you’ll have a way to get rid of merchandise that isn’t selling. You can see if a local auctioneer wants it, or you can cut your losses and donate it to a charity.
Track OKRs
As with any business, it’s best to set detailed goals when selling liquidated merchandise. Using the objectives and key results framework is a great way to do this. OKRs let you clearly communicate company goals to your management team and other employees, and you can easily measure progress toward those goals by following best practices for OKR tracking.
If one of your objectives is to increase profits by 10% this quarter compared to last quarter, OKRs can make sure all team members are aware of this and are working together to achieve it. The sales team can use more aggressive strategies while the IT department installs new software to make sales and customer service easier. You can search for cheaper options for merchandise, and everyone can have weekly check-ins to report progress. With the ability to effectively set goals and easily track your progress, your business should see significant growth.