Online sales all over the world have been on a rise over the past decade. Almost everything you need can be delivered by ordering online and I don’t even have to get out of my house.
And it’s not just me, in just 2020 total online sales were about $545 billion and this is just in the US alone. It’s not just good for the consumers but even for businesses and for people looking to start something.
You will be surprised to know that about 30% of all items bought online are returned because of some kind of defects or simply due to consumer choice. This is made even easier when all of these online sellers provide free returns.
So, what happens when these items are returned? Large online stores sell off these items in large pallets to liquidators or reselling businesses. This is a great opportunity for anyone to start a good income source by sourcing and selling the items which come in such pallets. Let’s take a look at how you can source and sell these items.
Where To Buy Amazon Return Pallets?
In order to buy Amazon returns you need to go through a liquidation company. You can search through these companies websites and buy items in bulk. They are typically B2B and take merchandise sold on Amazon from the seller to liquidate surplus inventory. One of the most popular places to buy Amazon return pallets is B-stock.
If you want to learn more about Amazon return pallets, what they are, how to buy and even resell, keep reading…
What Are Amazon Return Pallets?
Online businesses are growing at a rapid pace and there is no reason why this growth will stop. But one of the main drawbacks of online business is that customers tend to return a lot more when compared to physically brought products. So what do you think these companies do when customer return these products?
If you think about it, there can be a lot of reasons for anyone to return their products. It can range from the product being broken or being faulty or just because the consumer didn’t like the product or if it turned out to be different than what they had imagined. So what should companies do now?
They can take the product back, see what’s the issue and decide which products they want to re-list or not. But this takes a lot of time and effort. For large multinational corporations, this all will take up a lot more time than just selling the products off to a third party.
And this is exactly what they do, Amazon tends to sell these returned products in large amazon pallets to liquidators or third-party sellers. A lot of people try to buy these pallets as they can sell of a lot of these products on eBay or other websites.
These days most of these pallets are sold through online marketplaces which makes it very easy to access these pallets. You can even source some branded products through these sales. This process has been going on even with physical market, a lot of companies used this method to clear out their overstock and seasonal products. The only difference is that now it has moved to online.
Why Should You Buy Amazon Pallets?
There can be a lot of reasons for buying amazon pallets. Some people just buy it so they can resell them on market places like eBay, flea markets, Poshmark, Offerup etc. This process is as easy as it can be for making a side income. The good news is that you don’t even have to start with a lot of capital to begin.
Some people only start with a few hundred dollars and then they move to bigger amounts. A lot of people also start with a line of credit, but I wouldn’t recommend that if you don’t have any experience with buying pallets before.
Another reason can also be for building inventory. Some businesses require a lot of inventory to begin with, this is a great place to source your inventory from. If a product has already been sold on the primary market, there should also be a demand for the product on the secondary market.
If you already have some contacts with resellers or discount stores, you can buy a lot of these pallets for bulk and sell them off quickly. This way most of these products will end up costing you a fraction of what they would have if you bought it from a regular source.
The amazon reselling business is one of the most popular avenues to make some extra money. With time and patience, you can even turn it into a full-time business.
How Should You Go About Buying Amazon Pallets?
Before we move ahead to the sources from which you can buy these amazon products, there are a few things which you need to take into account.
Some of these points may come forward as obvious but you won’t believe how often people make small mistakes which can bring your profit margin and morale crashing down.
What To Expect When Buying Amazon Pallets?
The first point is managing your expectations. There can be a variety of products in a pallet and they might come in different shapes. You so need to know which products will require some extra repairs before they can be sold, on the other hand some products might have no damages at all. You need to be careful while bidding for pallets by paying attention to the condition they are coming in.
If you don’t have a lot of time for repairs and refurbishing, they you should ideally bid for pallets that are in a better condition. But also keep in mind that the prices will be on the higher side.
Sometimes you might also have products which are irreparable, so what should you do here? The answer is simple, you have to see if there is still any value in the product. For example, a lot of repair shops are looking for scraps so they will be willing to buy broken electronics as well.
Finding A Reputable Seller
Don’t invest all of your money into just one seller and into just one pallet. Ask and research around who is considered a reputable and reliable seller and who is not.
You don’t want to be scammed by someone and get something which you didn’t even want. Keep this in mind especially if you are planning to make a big purchase.
Take Into Account Shipping Costs
One of the biggest mistakes I have seen people make is that they don’t take into account the shipping costs along with their pallets. Whenever you are going to be bidding for something, keep in mind that sometimes the shipping costs can be greater than the actual costs of the pallet.
If you can find a seller who is nearby you and you can just drive and pick it up, you will be saving a lot of money on the shipping costs. The entire profit margin can depend on how much you are paying for shipping.
If you are buying something in bulk, then hiring a truck to get it shipped all at once can reduce your per product shipping costs.
Where Can You Buy Amazon Return Pallets?
Before everything was done online, it would be really difficult for a small business owner to get legit and cheap inventory. But with the new online auction marketplace, things couldn’t be easier. But still, you need to conduct a lot of research into what place you want to buy the pallets from.
The first step which you need to take is to get registered as a reseller and register your business. After this you have two major options, either you can buy directly from the Amazon liquidation auctions or you can buy from a third-party auction place like B-stock.
The Amazon liquidation auctions are perfect if you are looking for a wide variety of products including clothing, electronics or home products. You can directly buy the liquidation pallets from Amazon. If you are based in the US, you can buy less than truckload (LTLs) of overstock products at a time, I am not really sure if this rule applies outside of the US or not.
All you need to do to be able to buy from Amazon is to get registered with them and start bidding.
The other option you have is through a company like B-stock. This is ideal if you are starting small and looking to create a robust inventory. This is a B2B platform and all of the resellers are verified so you don’t have to worry too much about getting scammed.
Other Options For Buying Amazon Return Pallets:
- BlueLots (U.S Based Only)
- 888 Lots
- Bulq
- Liquidation.com
- BoxFox
Tips For Reselling Products From Amazon Pallets
Once you have successfully bid and brought your first pallet, you need to make sure that your profits are maximized by upscaling the products you found inside it. Remember that the products you will get will be in a variety of conditions, therefore the first step should be sorting and bundling all of the products.
You will have to sort out the products based on their categories like separating the electronics from the clothes. Once this is done, you will need to sort them based on their condition. Keep one separate pile of products which can be sold directly without needing any work.
The next category should be the products which are completely useless and cannot be saved at all. This category of products should ideally go to repair shops or scrap shops. The other categories can be, ‘used’, ‘refurbished’, ‘factory sealed’ and ‘new open box’.
Once this is done, start repairing and refurbishing the products which need some work. You will also need to re-accessorize some of the products which is usually pretty cheap. For example, something might be missing a charger or earphones which you can source pretty easily.
Another tip is to never include an original warranty of the product as most of the times the consumer won’t be able to redeem it as the product is second hand. For refurbishing and repairing the products, it is your choice to either get it done yourself or through a third party.
The final step is to repackage the products in good condition boxes. A good packaging can really appreciate the value of your products and at the same time a poor package might make the product unsellable.
If you want to learn more about Amazon, check out these related posts to find out when does Amazon charge for pre-order and can I use an Amazon gift card at Whole Foods
Conclusion…
Buying and selling Amazon pallets can be a great business idea if you are looking for a good side income. But before everything, make sure you conduct your research about where and how much to buy for the first time.
Start with a proper plan and don’t just jump into it if you don’t have any experience. You can always start small to get an idea of what the business is all about. Best of luck!