Are you looking for a great way to get into the retail space as a small business owner? One often overlooked strategy is to take advantage of the low prices of Amazon liquidation sales, and “flip” the items that you receive to make a profit. Here’s what you should know about starting a retail shop at home with liquidation pallets from Amazon.
Why buy liquidated?
Flipping is no secret in the world of small businesses, as the age-old adage of “buy low, sell high” applies to many realms of business. But you may not have considered purchasing your wares online rather than at local flea markets. In fact, sourcing materials from Amazon liquidation pallets can offer a variety of benefits for your business.
From cutting down on time looking for new wares from distributors to lowering the cost of your products and diversifying your inventory, buying liquidated returns is a great choice for any small or mid-sized business owner.
What is liquidated merchandise?
The first thing you might be wondering before you purchase an entire pallet of liquidated merchandise is what exactly you’re buying. You may have heard of other businesses liquidating all their assets due to stores closing. Since Amazon isn’t going out of business, what constitutes liquidated merchandise in Amazon’s eyes? Put simply, most liquidated Amazon merchandise is comprised of customer returns from Amazon’s online sales that they’re unable to sell again.
But just because Amazon can’t resell them, it doesn’t mean that you can’t. Keep in mind that out of the millions of Amazon returns that happen each year, not all of them are returned because the item is defective or damaged. For example, think about receiving a pair of pants from Amazon that are more snug than you’d expected. Chances are, you’d return those pants and buy another pair.
When Amazon gets your returned pair of pants, they may not resell them, but how often have you bought gently used clothing from a vintage store? Perhaps you even run a thrift store specializing in clothing and are looking for new clothes to round out your clothing racks. While some categorizes of liquidated merchandise are less likely to fit this type of return, many returns are as innocuous as this example. This means that Amazon pallets are ripe for the picking when it comes to turning a profit on returned purchases.
How do you get the pallets?
The process of getting pallets from Amazon is actually one of the easiest parts of sourcing your products from them. Amazon liquidations can be found online in auctions from all sorts of companies. Some even offer coupons on your purchases from time to time. Another benefit of sourcing your merchandise from these online auction sites is that they can give some context to the pallet that you’re bidding on.
Say, for example, that you run a bicycle shop. You could search for lots that correspond with some of Amazon’s product categories, and select the “cycling” option to make sure that your “sports” pallet only contains products you’re likely to find a use for. Rather than searching blindly and hoping to strike gold, you can use categories and simple online interfaces to make your purchases and fill out your store’s stock.
Purchasing pallets of liquidated returns can be an excellent way to get new merchandise for your store for a low cost with high profit margins. While there’s a stigma against customer returns, it’s important for you to recognize that not every purchase gets returned because it arrived to the customer’s home damaged.
With a savvy approach and careful consideration, you can flip liquidated merchandise from a variety of popular marketplaces. Amazon’s business is booming, and yours can be too!