Where Can I Bulk Buy Tools and Hardware for Less?
Are you looking for tools and hardware at a lower price? Are you looking to resell them or simply use them within your own business or project? There are multiple ways of sourcing tools and hardware. You can buy them in bulk at reduced rates from the manufacturers. However, this option is usually only open to the largest companies. You can purchase the items from a typical wholesaler, or you could buy liquidated tools and hardware from a liquidation marketplace. In this article, we will explain the last two options and find out which one is the best for you.
- Traditional retailers can provide quality merchandise, although the margins for profit are limited;
- Liquidated products offer a new revenue stream for pennies on the dollar;
- Buying from a liquidation marketplace is easy and efficient;
- Liquidation companies provide merchandise at affordable prices;
- The value of liquidation merchandise you buy can be increased through various means.
Options for Buying Hardware for Less
The typical way of buying merchandise is to buy from a retailer or to go to a traditional wholesaler and buy what you need at a wholesale price. However, if you need these items in bulk or are buying them to resell, you are looking to buy at the lowest price possible. Let’s take a look at these options.
Wholesale Suppliers
These companies will provide you with brand new merchandise, for the most part. However, these prices are often just below MSRP. This doesn’t give much of a discount for your tools, and, for a resale business, this does not leave room for much price management.Â
There are ways you can lower the prices of the merchandise you buy from a wholesaler. The first thing you can do is work with multiple wholesale suppliers, as this will allow you to pick and choose the best offers from multiple sources. Additionally, it gives you access to a larger sourcing pool and limits the risk of running out of stock.
There is also the potential for renegotiation. If you have a long-standing relationship with a wholesaler, you may ask for better prices, delivery terms, or any other cuts your deal may include. With multiple sources, you have the leverage to always go for the best offer, but wholesalers do not shy away from negotiating and offering favorable terms to their loyal customers.
Liquidation Companies
Liquidations companies are capable of supplying you with a greater range of merchandise at lower prices. Here at Direct Liquidation, we have built our reputation by providing quality service and offering you the tools and opportunities to capitalize on purchasing and reselling liquidated merchandise. This is why we are now a Better-Business-Bureau accredited organization. At Direct Liquidation, we work with the largest names in retail, giants like Walmart, Lowe’s, and Target. The likes of Walmart and Lowe’s should get you interested as these companies offer a lot of tools and hardware for sale from top brands.
Buying Tools and Hardware From Direct Liquidation
The purchase process is fairly simple. Anybody is free to browse all of our listings. You can head straight for the home improvement section, where you will find tools and hardware listings. If you find a lot you are interested in you, you just need to set up a free account at Direct Liquidation.
Most listings come with a manifest. This is a packing list providing you with all the details on the merchandise: a list and number of products, their condition, and the UPC#.
The Importance of the Details
When buying pallets of liquidation merchandise, you need to understand what that merchandise is and how it is sold. This is often merchandise returned by customers to the retailer, and that’s why you may find pallets of customer returns.
Merchandise gets returned all the time for several reasons. In fact, some 30 percent of online purchases get returned. The reasons for this vary, from wrong products being shipped to packaging or the product itself being damaged during transport. Some 20 percent of items ordered online are returned due to damage. That’s why it is important to use all the information available to plan what you are going to do with each item.
However, some products are returned in their original packaging, unopened. This means they are as-new. Retailers such as Walmart and Lowe’s choose to liquidate much of this merchandise rather than test the items themselves or resell untested products.
The liquidation process also includes shelf-pulls and overstock merchandise. These products are particularly appealing because they were never sold and are in brand new condition, making them prime products for resale.
So what details should you look for? The manifest will provide you with information on merchandise condition. This can range from ‘Brand New’ to ‘Untested Customer Returns.’
If you are looking for merchandise that you don’t have to spend much time sorting or preparing yourself, then look for brand new items. Brand new, overstock, and ‘As new’ merchandise come at the highest price point but may also have the highest resale value.
However, if you don’t mind repairing certain products, ‘Untested Customer Returns’ could be the way to go, as these products start at the lowest price point. We estimate that customer returned electronics have a 75 percent plug-and-play success rate. It is possible to find one or two brand new products in one of these lots that will recover your investment on their own.
Moreover, there are ways to add to the value of the merchandise you buy and also cut on the purchase costs if you follow certain steps:
- When it comes to buying tools and hardware, you should be mindful of your budget. When purchasing you have the option to buy now or take part in a bidding process, where you may buy the lot at an even lower cost. You will also need to consider the costs associated with shipping and taxation.
- There are several shipping options available to you. You can arrange third-party shipping yourself. Alternatively, we can provide all the shipping for you, and, to help with this, we have included a shipping calculator on every listing. Finally, you can pick up lots yourself, provided that you meet any stipulations on the lot description page.
- Also, you are buying these products for resale, you can save more money by getting a resale certificate from your local authority. This will allow you to avoid paying taxes on these purchases if you are only buying the merchandise to resell it.
Adding Value to Liquidated Tools and Hardware
This depends on how willing you are to put in additional work. Untested customer returns come at the lowest price point but also come with the highest level of risk – You don’t know exactly what you are getting, what is working, and what isn’t. But if you don’t mind polishing up blemishes, fixing up certain units yourself, you may extract additional value from each product. You can often use one or several items as parts donors to fix multiple other products.
You’ll have to accept that some items you won’t be able to fix – though you may be able to sell spare parts from them. Some items may be missing, such as battery packs (which can be easily replaced).
For selling the items, also make sure that you clean up or replace the packaging as well as possible. Remember that if you’re reselling used items, even if they have been repaired, they aren’t new – don’t pretend that they are, and price accordingly. One of the benefits of buying liquidated stock is that you can keep your resale prices lower than those for new items.
Consider loss-leaders if you’re selling through physical retail space. This means making a small loss on some items can be a good way to sell inexpensive merchandise and bring customers through the door to see your other wares.
If you’re selling online, make sure you provide as much information as possible and make the presentation as good as possible. Take quality photos and give accurate descriptions. A happy customer is a returning customer. If they work as contractors or builders, don’t be surprised when they bring new customers along, especially if they regularly need hardware.
There are multiple sources for tools and hardware out there. But some will help you succeed in a highly competitive market. So why wait? Check out the tools and hardware we have today.