Sometimes we get caught up in this idea that we must sit in front of our computer and search the internet for hours looking for wholesale closeouts. This is not the case, in fact, I will guarantee that in most cases, you will have hundreds if not thousands of contacts within a 50 mile radius of your home! Yes, I am talking about a field trip where you become a sleuth of sorts, trying to track down new sources of inventory for your business.
Here is how it works: You will need to assemble a product hinting kit, which will include a small pocket-sized note pad and a pen. That’s it!
With your product souring tools in hand, head out for any store that might have products closely matching your niche area of business. For example, if you resell toys, head out to Toys R Us, or perhaps the toy aisle of your local Target, or Walmart.
Once you have found a product you are interested in, turn the product over/around, and look for contact information for the manufacturer or the products distributor- write this information down. The more the better! Look for the address, phone numbers, and web site address. Move on to the next product, and do the same. Once you have a list of contacts (10-15), it’s time to go home and sort through the list.
At home, organize your list into a spreadsheet where you can document each products description, price, distributor, and contact information. This will become your coveted list of contacts!
Each contact you have obtained now becomes a potential source for closeouts because each and every manufacturer and distributor will have closeouts to liquidate either presently, or in the near future. It’s up to you to make the phone call and find out who to talk to about the potential for a large closeout purchase!
Fear not, because every distributor must liquidate product lines from time to time. In fact, most manufacturing and distribution companies will employ people who’s only job is to liquidate slow moving, or store “take backs”. The term take backs refers to that portion of inventory that was removed fro ma retailers shelf, also know as shelf pulls…cha ching!
Be patient as you work through your list, it can be difficult tracking down the individual responsible for inventory liquidation, but the effort is well worth it! I have found hundreds of new sources for inventory using this method! And besides, it’s kinda fun playing detective.
