The Definitive Guide To Buying And Selling Overstock Inventory

For resellers, one of the best types of wholesale merchandise to add to their inventories is overstock. Overstock is available to buy for low prices from Direct Liquidation all year round and can be sold through multiple online and offline channels. Heading into 2021, there’s never been a better time for resellers to buy top-quality brand-new overstock bought at knock-down prices as retailers sit on vast quantities of products they cannot sell thanks to the effects of the global pandemic.

The Advantages Of Buying And Selling Overstock Inventory

• Pretty much all overstock is brand new merchandise, which means it’s retail ready to sell to customers after purchase.
• Overstock sourced from Direct Liquidation costs a fraction of its Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) value, and can be sold for an attractive price that keeps customers happy and profits high.
• Overstock comes from major US retailers for extra peace of mind.
• A huge range of overstock is available to buy from Direct Liquidation, satisfying the inventory requirements of most resellers.
• Enjoy big discounts on bulk purchases and affordable shipping when sourcing overstock from Direct Liquidation.
• Currently, a huge quantity of overstock is available to buy at low prices due to the global pandemic.
• Multiple sources both online and offline to sell overstock to maximize profits.

What Is Overstock?

In a nutshell, ‘overstock’ is the term applied to surplus merchandise retailers no longer need, merchandise that has been over-ordered and so-called ‘dead merchandise’ that has still failed to sell despite being marked down. Another term for overstock is ‘shelf-pulls’. Shelf pulls is the term usually applied to stock that retailers have put out for sale that has failed to sell. It’s pulled from sale and considered excess inventory alongside other types of overstock.

Overstock is a global problem. In 2015 it was costing retailers around the world a whopping $1.1 trillion dollars a year in lost revenue. Throw in a worldwide pandemic and the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals estimates retailers are sitting on $8 trillion worth of unsold stock thanks to a massive downturn in global retail sales. Indeed, the problem has become so bad that some retailers have made the drastic decision to burn excess inventory. Thankfully, there’s been an upturn in retail sales in 2021 as vaccination programs roll out and lockdowns are wound down, but that still means there’s a huge quantity of overstock in the system, and it all has to go somewhere.

Even in years without a pandemic exacerbating the issue, the problem of excessive amounts of overstock was always there. Retail is not an exact science, and so the over-ordering of stock was – and always will be – an issue for retailers. Trying to judge how many units of any given product to order is all but impossible unless you’ve got a worldwide phenomenon such as the Nintendo Switch on your hands, and this means retailers are always going to be left with large amounts of stock they simply can’t sell.

A classic example of this is seasonal stock. Every year, retailers from clothing companies to food stores order in large quantities of season-specific merchandise to meet consumer demand in the run up to seasonal events such as Christmas, Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving etc. Once that season comes to an end, retailers will either try to sell the stock that’s left at a heavily marked-down price, or they’ll look to offload it as quickly as possible to high volume wholesalers and liquidators, usually for a fraction of its value.

This same principle applies not only to seasonal stock, but also to pretty much any kind of overstock you can think of. Retailers only have a certain amount of space in their warehouses and this is space they wish to fill up with newer products and products for upcoming seasons, meaning they need to liquidate any stock that’s surplus to requirements. That’s where companies like Direct Liquidation step in, buying up this overstock and selling it in bulk to their business customers who in turn sell the stock to customers both online and offline.

In pretty much all cases, overstock is brand new, unopened stock. This makes it very attractive to resellers who have to do nothing with the merchandise other than set a price for it and add it to the various retail channels through which they sell to the public.

What Is Direct Liquidation?

Direct Liquidation is an online liquidation marketplace through which resellers can buy boxloads, pallets and truckloads of customer returns, overstock, closeouts, new and refurbished merchandise via live auctions or for a fixed or negotiated price for a vastly reduced price. 

The majority of the overstock we sell comes from some of the biggest names in US retail. This means resellers can acquire inventory they know has been sourced from trusted companies. We sell overstock from some of the world’s biggest and most-trusted manufacturers across a large number of categories that will satisfy the needs of most resellers.

Those manufacturers include Samsung, BOSCH, Fruit of the Loom, Disney, Fisher Price, Apple, Microsoft, DeWalt, Mattel, Sony and many more. We also sell trusted own brand overstock such as Walmart’s ever-popular Blackweb Electronics and Mainstays homeware ranges, so there really is something for every type of reseller on our online liquidation marketplace.

Buying Overstock From Direct Liquidation

Buying overstock from Direct Liquidation couldn’t be easier. We sell boxloads, pallets and truckloads of overstock, while offering customers the chance to build their own pallets of merchandise, should they so desire.

The majority of the overstock we sell is sold via live auctions which take place on a daily basis on our site. If you’re interested in buying a boxload, pallet or truckload of overstock from us, the process works in the same way as eBay.

First, find the merchandise you’re looking for either via our search bar, via the categories menu or via our dedicated vendor pages and then enter bids on that merchandise while the lot you’re interested in is auctioned live on our site. Once the auction is over, you’ll be notified if you’re the winner and if you are, all that remains for you to do is pay for your winning lot and arrange shipping.

Of course, not all our customers have the time or inclination to bid for wholesale merchandise, and we’ve catered for those customers, too. Many of the boxloads, pallets and truckloads of overstock we sell can also be bought for a fixed price. If a lot has a ‘Buy it Now’ button, simply click on that and you’ll be taken straight through to payment. Don’t worry – you’ll still pay way below the merchandise’s suggested retail price, leaving you plenty of room to make a profit on the goods you source from Direct Liquidation.

Finally, you can also approach us with a cash offer for a boxload, pallet or truckload of overstock. If we like the sound of your offer, that’s the price you’ll pay. You might just save yourself even more money this way.

Whichever way you choose to buy overstock from Direct Liquidation, you’ll need to sign up for a free account. This is quick and easy and can be done here.

Save Money Shipping With Direct Liquidation

We’re in the business of saving our customers as much money as possible by selling wholesale overstock for well below its retail value, but that’s not the only way to save when sourcing from us. If you live near one of our distribution centers located throughout the United States and Canada, we invite you to come and pick up your orders in person, cutting down on shipping costs and thus saving you money.

If you don’t live close to one of our facilities – no sweat! We also offer very competitive shipping rates that are oftentimes cheaper than opting for a third-party courier. To see if you can save money on shipping, check out the handy shipping calculator visible on each listing – simply add in your zip code for an instant quote. You might just find it’s cheaper and easier to let Direct Liquidation handle your shipping, saving your business even more money.

Selling Overstock Inventory Online And Offline

Of course, acquiring top-quality overstock merchandise at the lowest possible price is just half the battle. Where to sell overstock to get the most bang for your buck is just as important. Thankfully, for modern resellers, there are multiple channels through which to sell overstock both online and offline, meaning you’ll be able to reach a huge number of customers on many different budgets eager to buy new products at discounted prices.

Selling Overstock Online

Amazon And eBay

The two major online marketplaces for selling overstock are, of course, Amazon and eBay. Together, Amazon and eBay have around 290 million unique visitors each month from the United States alone, with Amazon being by far the biggest online retailer in the world. eBay, meanwhile, is a simpler site to sell through and has a more international market.

Both marketplaces offer subscription models that allow resellers to set up online stores, either charging an upfront fee in the case of Amazon or a sliding scale of after sales charges in the case of eBay. In Amazon’s case, sellers can even choose to have pretty much every aspect of their business taken care of from storage to customer service to packaging and shipping taken out of their hands via the Fulfilment by Amazon service.

Whatever level of financial involvement you choose to have with these services, it’s important to remember that there are millions of sellers on these sites, so you need to do everything you can to stand out from the crowd. This includes providing excellent customer service, easy refunds, fast fulfilment turnaround times, offering warranties to give customers extra peace of mind, and charging attractive and competitive prices.

Succeeding as a seller on Amazon and eBay is all about becoming a Top Seller or winning the coveted Buy Box. The most successful resellers put a lot of time and effort into their stores to make sure that when customers are looking for products, their companies appear near the top of listings to ensure sales month after month.

If you’re just starting out, this can be an uphill struggle. But for established sellers on these platforms with high ratings and an established customer base, both Amazon and eBay are excellent sales channels, especially when selling brand new overstock merchandise at discounted prices.

For more on selling on Amazon, check out our Ultimate Guide.

E-Commerce Sites

Of course, Amazon and eBay aren’t the only marketplaces out there through which to sell overstock. There are now plenty of smaller eCommerce store hosts with smaller, more discerning customer bases resellers will also want to reach. Sites such as BigCommerce, Wix and Magento allow resellers to open up stores on their sites for a small monthly fee and sell to a growing number of customers not just in the United States, but around the world.

Best of all, most of the smaller store hosts offer time-limited free trials, meaning you won’t have to spend any money while trying them out to see if they’re a good fit for your business.

Through Your Own Website

There are also ample opportunities to sell overstock through your own website. Selling through your own website means you’re in complete control of every aspect of the sales process from marketing, payment processing and shipping through to customer service and refund policy.

Having your own website means you can offer your customers deals such as flash sales, vouchers, 2-4-1 offers and pretty much anything else you can think of to bring in sales, and, crucially, you keep 100% of the profits you make. This is not the case when selling through third party sites like eBay and Amazon.

Your website can also be integrated into other sales channels such as eCommerce sites and social media, allowing you to take a multi-channel approach through which customers can reach you through more than just one source.

Via Social Media

No longer a place just to share pictures of cats and elderly relatives, social media is a powerful tool for resellers to reach even more customers, many of whom are younger people who shy away from traditional sales channels. If you have a way with words or can take a good picture, Twitter and Instagram are great ways for connecting with potential customers. Facebook, meanwhile, has its own marketplace through which you can sell overstock to customers on the site, or direct them to your own website and sell to them there.

Ignoring social media as a reseller in this day and age is a definite no-no, so be sure to set up your social media accounts and integrate them into your other online sales channels such as your own website as part of a multi-level online sales approach to reach the maximum number of customers.

Through Online Classifieds

Finally, you can also advertise the overstock you source from Direct Liquidation on online classified sites such as Craigslist and OfferUp. Listings are free and customers generally tend to pick up directly from you, cutting out the cost of packaging and shipping and thus saving you even more money.

Selling Overstock Offline

Via Your Own Store

Selling overstock in your own store can be very rewarding, but only if the numbers add up. There are a lot of factors to take into consideration when running your own store such as bills, wages, rent, sales taxes etc. But if there’s still a profit to be made after taking all these factors into account, running your own store is a great way of connecting with people in your local area who still prefer to buy products face-to-face as opposed to online.

Via Local Classifieds

Similar to online classifieds, advertising in local classifieds such as in newspapers can bring in customers. Advertising in local classifieds is usually very cheap, and just like with online classifieds, most customers will come to you, cutting out the cost of packing and shipping.

Sell Through Flea Markets

Finally, you should also consider renting out a stall at your local flea market. Renting a stall is relatively cheap and flea markets are a great way of connecting with customers on tighter budgets as well as bargain hunters who are looking for new products, but don’t want to pay full price for them. Thanks to the low prices you’ll pay for overstock from Direct Liquidation, you’ll be able to charge attractive prices that will keep customers coming back for more time and time again.

Thanks to retailers sitting on even more surplus merchandise than usual, there’s never been a better time to invest in overstock and there have never been more ways to sell it to customers both online and offline. Of course, you’ll want to source that overstock at the lowest price possible. For that, you should look no further than Direct Liquidation for all your overstock inventory needs. We’re looking forward to doing business with you.

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