Closeout Merchandise: A Great Way to Stock up Your Resale Business

Reselling merchandise online has become a great part-time or even a full-time business for many. Staying competitive in the market means finding new ways of sourcing high-quality merchandise at lower prices than the competition.

What could give you an advantage over the competition is closeout merchandise, that ends up being sold at below the wholesale price. With prices on platforms like eBay or Amazon nearing wholesale, ensuring a healthy profit margin is the key to making a profit on resale.

But to make sure you are taking advantage of the closeout merchandise, it is important to understand what it is, how you can exploit its positives, avoid its pitfalls and where to source top quality goods.

What is Closeout Merchandise?

You will find that when a store is closing it will be offering closeouts, selling merchandise at prices below wholesale, as mentioned before. But, the same is the case with seasonal goods, or when stores need room for new products and end up selling old products at reduced prices to get them out of the store rather quickly.

A typical example of replacing old with the new is the launch of a new iPhone model which significantly reduces the appeal of older models and, as a result, these get offered in a closeout.

The Pros and Cons of Closeouts

The main advantage that an online resale business owner is looking for is the price. Closeout merchandise is offered at prices below wholesale, but it does not compromise the quality of goods as you are getting unused, branded merchandise, which is another advantage.

However, you need to be careful. There is the risk of you making the mistake of buying from an unreliable source. This means that you might end up buying low-quality products. In addition, if you are looking for specific products, the availability might be limited – which leads up to you not being able to stock up enough to cover demand.

To avoid these issues, you must look for a reliable source that will guarantee you high-quality closeout merchandise at the best prices possible, ideally in larger quantities, allowing you a better overall profit.

Sourcing Closeout Merchandise

Punching in the words ‘closeout merchandise’ in a search engine and clicking on the first link that pops up might be a recipe for disaster. Sourcing goods online is great as it can be done anytime and anywhere. This can save you time and money you could otherwise use by going to closeout dealers, or liquidators, in search of the merchandise you want to buy and resell.

But not validating your source, not looking into the website’s history, references and other user experiences can be a grave mistake as it could lead you to bid on merchandise on a website that has been set up only to scam you. So, the first thing is to look for a reputable liquidator.

Make sure you look for the services the liquidator offers and also, browse the internet, various forums in search of user opinions and experiences with the website. Feedback from previous clients in an invaluable source of information on the liquidator you are considering working with.

Also, make sure you understand how a liquidation auction functions in order to get the best out of it. It is a mistake to dive head first into a liquidation auction without first doing your research and understanding how it all works.

Connecting all the dots, as in finding the right closeout merchandise on the website, bidding smartly, and having the merchandise delivered safely to your address will only enable you to maximize your profit. 

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Henley Johnson

Henley currently works as a sales representative for Direct Liquidation, assisting businesses with product sourcing of liquidated merchandise from the largest retailers in the world. Whether you are looking for a pallet or a truckload Henley is here to help you grow your business.

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