You tried selling your own products on Amazon, but things didn't work out as planned. The production was a hard slog and cost a fortune. Someone told you reselling is more efficient, so you gave it a shot. The workload shrunk big time, but the overall cost didn't change.
Looking for something cheaper, you came across arbitrage. You were surprised to know that you could buy products from eBay or Alibaba for less and sell them on Amazon for more. Finally, you found the online business model that matches your preference.
You did well during the first few months. But then, you realized that product sourcing was a Herculean task and required subscribing to advanced tools. You dug deeper into the world of arbitrage to find a solution and stumbled upon something that brought your entrepreneurial spirit back to life—LIQUIDATION.
What is liquidation?
Liquidation is when you sell products for cheap because they've been returned, overstocked, or discontinued. These products may come from manufacturers, suppliers, or resellers that are closing or getting rid of slow-moving products. Some are auctioned off by the government.
How is it different from standard retail arbitrage? In standard retail arbitrage, you buy products separately; in liquidation, you buy a box or pallet of various products. It's less costly than any other type of goods because the items in the box or pallet may or may not be in excellent condition. Remember, these products have been returned or discontinued for a reason.
Another difference is that liquidation products are auctioned off, not sold. You need to bid on boxes or pallets of products. Depending on how much you are willing to fork out, you may or may not obtain the products you like. Still, the overall cost is much smaller than the capital required for other business models.
Benefits of Flipping Liquidation Items on Amazon
Selling liquidation products has its fair share of advantages over other Amazon business models. Here are three of them:
- You can get high-quality, sometimes brand-new, products for at least a third of their original prices.
- Many of the products you can find in a liquidation store are trademarked, meaning you can compete with big brands and have more flexibility since your initial investment is too small.
- This is the perfect approach if you are looking to diversify your inventory.
What is Liquidation.com?
Where can you buy liquidation items? In auction marketplaces, of course. Liquidation.com is among the largest and most user-friendly of them. Selling assets from over 500 categories, from heavy equipment and biopharmaceutical to real estate and small appliances, this platform is a treasure trove of hidden gems flippers would kill for.
Signing up is free, and you only pay the final auction price, the buyer's premium, applicable taxes, and appropriate shipping fees. The website is also very easy to navigate—you can search for specific products and place your bid in a snap. Their products are listed with complete details to help buyers make informed choices. Liquidation.com also has a sister site that features government-auctioned assets.
How to Source Items from Liquidation.com
Liquidation.com is a perfect place to start your liquidation-selling journey. The good news is it's accessible to the public, and bidding on items is a breeze. Here's a quick guide for beginners.
Step 1: Create an account and sign in. You need to provide your personal and business information as well as answer a couple of questions that gauge your knowledge of liquidation.
Step 2: Search for the products you want to bid on. Remember that these products may come with other products since you're bidding on a box or pallet. Sometimes, it's a single product that comes in a set. You can filter your search by category, the product's condition (returned, used, salvaged, or pulled from the shelf), the seller's location, lot size, warehouse, number of bids, shipping mode, etc.
Step 3: Click the item to view its details. This will show you photos of each product included in the pallet, the name of each item, the bidding duration, the current bid, the minimum bid, and a manifesto. More details about the items, such as the seller's location, the product's condition, auction ID, quantity, and total weight, can be found below the page. You can place a bid by entering an amount on the tab and hitting "Place Bid." Always bid an amount higher than the minimum bid.
Step 4: Check the buyer's premium in the product description. This will be added to the total purchase cost and shipping fee.
Step 5: Scroll down to access the shipping details. This will be different for each buyer. There's an option there to get a quote. Click it, and you'll get a calculation of the costs if the products are shipped to your specific location. Pallets cost more to ship than packages.
Here's a tip: When checking the items in the pallet via the manifesto, ensure the retail prices align with the products. Check with Amazon or eBay to see if the prices fit, and if they don't, either contact the seller to negotiate or change the prices as you add the products to your inventory.
Step 6: After placing a bid, check its status on your account. This button is on the upper left-hand corner of the homepage. It will show you the items you bade on, the items on your watch list, and the bids you've won. If you want instant updates, sign up for a text alert. Liquidation.com will send you a text message whenever someone outbids you.
Step 7: On the right side of each of your winning bids, click "Winner" to pay. You can pay with a debit or credit card. After that, all you have to do is wait for your package or pallet to be shipped to the address you're using on your account. The item usually ships out the same day or the next.
Important: If you win an auction and refuse to pay, Liquidation.com will charge you $200 or 15% of the auction price, whichever is greater.
Can you ship your items to a 3PL prep center?
This will depend on your agreement with the prep center. After all, they are receiving products from an e-commerce platform in the same manner they are receiving them from a manufacturer or supplier. You can input the information from the manifesto and the product page into your shared database prior to shipment for your prep center's reference.
However, this isn't advisable if you want to double-check the accuracy and quality of your items. There may be pieces in there that you're not planning to add to your inventory. You don't want your prep center to bill you for them. Have the pallet sent to your home, and after inspecting your products, send it to the prep center.
Can you ship your items directly to an Amazon Fulfillment Center?
No, you can't. Liquidation.com doesn't prep products according to Amazon FBA guidelines, and you cannot ask them to. Plus, you're likely planning to sell the items in the pallet individually. Unless Liquidation.com agrees to pack your products in polybags and print the labels you'll send them, which is highly unlikely, Amazon won't accept your pallet.
In addition, as you may know, packages Amazon doesn't accept are either destroyed or returned to the local address registered under the sender's name. That's not a risk worth taking.
Source Your Products from Liquidation.com to Turn More Profits!
Liquidation.com may not be the only place where you can find liquidation products to sell for more on Amazon, but it's the most accessible. If you do arbitrage, this is the best place to source products. However, as with other business models, it comes with risks. For instance, you may come across fraudulent sellers.
And that's what makes Liquidation.com a much safer place to do your search and purchases, as it verifies its sellers. So, what are you waiting for? Go to the website and start exploring its features. Once you get the hang of the bidding process, finding supplies that can position your Amazon business for success will be easier.