I wanted to offer a little advice to those of you who are new to the pallet flipping business. Here are some points to consider before making your first purchase.
To become successful at pallet flipping keep in mind:
START SMALL Never spend money you can’t afford to lose. This is a risky business. Sometimes you strike it rich, sometimes you fail miserably. Until you’ve been doing it for a while and find your groove be cautious! Before you venture into pallet flipping start with a smaller box lot of liquidation merchandise.
EDUCATE YOURSELF Don’t depend on a liquidators words, do your own research. Understand the difference between a broker, and product owner. Figure out acronyms like LTL, FOB, MSRP, etc… take responsibility for your own business. Don’t expect anybody to tell you what you need to know.
This is a RELATIONAL BUSINESS The better relationship you build with your sources, the more likely you are to get good deals. Stop asking if they “cherry pick” loads. No one will tell you if they do, you will never know if they do, and it’s offensive. Sides, often is the case customers are asking me to do the cherry-picking for them.
KNOW YOUR SOURCE ask good questions. Be a good detective. Make sure you do good research on who you’re buying from.
DON’T HYPE your ability to buy The quickest way to turn off your source is to lie. Don’t brag about how much you can buy and then never purchase a thing. If you can only buy a pallet, don’t say you can buy three truckloads. Most people are way to busy to fool with nonsense. Honesty is the best policy.
BE REASONABLE Not every pallet is going to be a homerun. You can’t expect to buy something cheaply so that you can make a million dollars. Liquidators/wholesalers have to pay for the product you purchase. Sometimes prices are higher, sometimes lower, sometimes your margins are lower. That’s OK, this is a marathon not a sprint. Be in this for the long-haul not the quick dollar, pallet flipping can be profitable once you overcome the learning curve.
HAVE FUN This is a business, but it’s also very fun. If you can’t enjoy what you do, don’t do it. There are a lot of hurdles to overcome in purchasing wholesale pallets/truckloads, but this business has a great upside. You get to be your own boss, and don’t have to work for anybody else.
MISTAKES HAPPEN No perfect company exists. Even the best companies screw up from time to time. Good companies are known by how they address mistakes, not being mistake free. We have made mistakes, and I am certain we will make a few in the future. Be patient and think the best of people not the worst. Working it out is easier and less expensive than suing or being sued for slander. If you can’t work it out in a reasonable time… well… then take a more aggressive approach.
