I’ve said this many times before, reselling liquidation merchandise is unlike any other business in that you must diversify how, and who, you resell merchandise to based upon item values and reselling markets. Yes, I’ll explain further.
A well thought out business plan might show intent to build a strong online eBay or Amazon reselling company, however, some of the inventory you source though the liquidation industry might not sell on these two selling platforms. What do you do with items you cannot sell on eBay or Amazon, how do you, yourself, liquidate unsellable items? This is what I refer to as the “liquidation juggle”, as you must find ways to recoup otherwise lost dollars from unsellable items within your chosen reselling channel. No fear, it’s time to plan for reselling diversification!
Let’s take the example of purchasing a pallet of customer returned shoes and boots; inevitably, you’ll receive some shoes that will prove to be impossible to resell on eBay or Amazon.com, such as less valuable flip-flops. It doesn’t matter what type of merchandise you decide to specialize in, each pallet or truckload of customer returns will offer a bit of a resell challenge with some items.
Keep in mind that you can liquidate unsellable items in one of the following ways, each of which I’ve utilized within my years of liquidation experience:
Craigslist – Who hasn’t heard of Craigslist? If I’m talking about you, go right now to Craigslist.com and review local “For Sale” items. Posting here is easy and FREE. Take advantage of Craigs powerful online classified service to move unsellable liquidation items, especially those that might be big and bulky! You will be surprised at the quick responses you’ll receive; someone out there will want what you have!
Yard or garage sales (tag sales) – Stockpile items that prove to be a resell challenge and hold a garage sale every few months. Make sure to advertise within your local newspaper and place lots of signs around your neighborhood just before the day of sale. People love to spends Saturdays and Sunday driving around buying things they do not need. You can sure their addiction and, in the meantime, move unsellable eBay and Amazon merchandise!
Friends or co-workers – Maintain a list of items to liquidate and pass it around to your friends and coworkers. You’ll be surprised at the interest you will generate.
Liquidation through donation – Use this method as a last resort for the possibility of tax advantages.
While you may plan on a specific type of retail business to resell liquidation merchandise, inevitably, you will have to have other options for moving merchandise. Get good at the liquidation juggle and you will never be stuck with unsellable items!
This is one of our many Liquidation Boot Camp posts where we talk about the basics of liquidation product sourcing. If you’re new to the idea of purchasing liquidations, please review more Liquidation Boot Camp Posts here.
