How to Resell Retail Liquidation and Turn A Profit

By Christopher Traylor
quantum commodities

Consumers are used to seeing sales and retail clearance in stores, but what interests aspiring resellers like you is where the inventory goes afterward! Private liquidation sales and clearance stock auctions are the most common ways retailers offload marked-down goods. Buying inventory in bulk and reselling it closer to the RRP (recommended retail price) is another way that business owners and sole traders can profit from retail clearance.

Since you now know what retail clearance, or clearance stock, is, you will probably wonder how you can get that stock, in what condition it might be, and then how you can resell clearance and make a profit. Let’s get started.

What are the benefits of reselling retail liquidation?

Several factors may be at play when an item is marked down for clearance, including seasonality, over-purchasing and discontinued lines, as well as obsolete and out-of-date items. Customer returns may also be a factor. Returns may be marked down in stores, or retailers may opt to offload them via clearance stock auctions rather than inspecting and repackaging returned goods.

Having ordered three shirts, two in different colors and one in the next size up, and kept only one, Amazon returns can be in near-perfect condition. There are lots of reasons to resell retail clearance!

Organize your inventory and secure it

Throughout this article, we’ll discuss where you can find retail clearance inventory and how to buy it in bulk.

Find out where to look

Store discounts – Some retailers choose to offer store discounts on clearance goods before they are auctioned off. Usually, these items are located in a designated clearance section of the store. If you are a reseller sourcing individual pieces of inventory, this is the best method for you. However, it can be incredibly time-consuming. If you want a more efficient, bulk solution, you have better chances online.

LiquidationMap – If you’re looking for reputable companies which offer retailers pallets and truckloads of liquidation inventory quickly and online, use liquidationmap.com which vets liquidators and lists only registered businesses.. In other words, inventory is coming directly from the retailer, rather than from a jobber or other liquidator. You can see other bids on the same inventory when you set up an auction. There are no closed-door deals, therefore additional markups won’t be incurred.

Documentation should be prepared

If you are doing business in the UK or elsewhere in Europe, you will need to provide a valid VAT identification number. It lets you purchase job lots tax-free, but you must charge the VAT to your customers after the sale. VAT stands for value-added tax.

Having a good formula to generate profits is essential

Make sure you research how much you are prepared to pay, what that particular product is selling for on the secondary market, and how much shipping will cost. It is possible to see detailed information about item descriptions, quantity, RRP, and more in a manifest if one is available. You can figure out what your profits will be when you know how much you can spend on retail clearance and resell it for. Otherwise, you may not be able to break even on your purchase.

The best way to resell retail liquidation

Be aware of any restrictions on sales

Brand-conscious retailers will not want their clearance stock to be resold with their name attached. As a result, resellers may have to de-label their merchandise. When dealing with boxed items, you can simply trace a line through the UPC code on the box or remove the item from its packaging. Depending on the clothing piece, it may be necessary to remove sale tags and labels or to cut through the label inside.Alternatively, there are instances where the retailer will have to export and sell clearance goods in a different country in order for clearance goods not to compete with their primary markets.

Sell through different channels

If one marketplace isn’t giving you the profits you want, try another! Make sure you do your research and find out what secondary channels might work for your inventory type. Users who understand the value of an item are far more likely to pay top dollar than those who may not. Apparel-focused sites like Depop and Vinted are great places to sell designer apparel and handbags. Consumer electronics and mobile devices, on the other hand, are more likely to sell on eBay where buyers can find similar items.

Make your website easy to use by providing reviews

Reliable resellers stress the importance of maintaining a good reputation and responding to any negative feedback. That’s especially important online. Nine in ten consumers said they would check online reviews before buying from a specific business, according to Statista. This is why it is so important to leave a positive impression with your customers.It can begin with a detailed description of the product (to avoid any surprises) and end with a coupon for returning. Asking for feedback is also a good practice. In this way, you can acknowledge concerns and make improvements. If you don’t value the experience of your customers when purchasing from you, you don’t want the word to get The worst case scenario is that reviewers say you intentionally misled shoppers about the quality of products or where they came from.

Start with the right inventory from Quantum Commodities

For a reselling business to be successful, you have to secure the best inventory. There is no shortage of clearance goods on Quantum Commodities, which are bulk and discounted items sold by retailers.