How to Make Money in Your Spare Time

It is not unusual for people to look for additional streams of income outside their regular line of work. However, is there a right and a wrong way of going about this? There are many schemes promising you to get rich almost overnight, while there are some more reasonable offers floating around the internet. One of the better ideas is buying wholesale merchandise to resell on platforms such as eBay or Amazon. There are several points to consider when attempting to start such a business, from the supply, storage space as well as a point many neglect: asking yourself whether this is really something you should do.

Browsing the internet, you will find stories of people making it big through purchasing wholesale merchandise very quickly. However, such stories are far from the actual truth. There is a lot of hard work and commitment behind that result.

If you are interested in starting an online resale business, do read through our Ultimate Guide to Selling on Amazon, which will lead you through the process of setting up a hopefully successful business step-by-step.

The guide will show you the way. However, the decision to start such a venture is strictly yours. And first question you should ask yourself is: is buying wholesale merchandise to resell online really the right business for you?

Do You Understand the Market?

If you are following the hype, jumping into the business of purchasing wholesale merchandise to resell online is the logical choice for a work from home business. But things are not as straightforward as that.

Firstly, ask yourself if you really have any affinity towards the sales business. Would you be comfortable spending hours and days searching for deals on merchandise to buy and sell with a markup? If the answer is yes, then a long way is ahead of you.

Understanding the market is a major factor in setting up a successful resale business. Jumping into a market segment on a hunch or a personal preference could be the first step to disaster.

For example, jumping into the electronics market to sell merchandise like smartphones could be a logical decision since the demand for these electronic gadgets is constantly high. However, the truth is that this is the most competitive market online, and without the right source that can supply you with quality merchandise to sell, you will be doomed from the start because, if you look closely, the majority of sellers offer products at prices very close to wholesale.

This means that you will also have to buy wholesale, and buying wholesale means buying larger quantities. Wholesale suppliers or liquidators offer such an option. Liquidators are an especially attractive option since they offer wholesale merchandise at prices way below wholesale. As a result, your profit margins will be significantly higher and you will be able to stay competitive in any market. However, both wholesalers and liquidators sell merchandise by the pallet. This raises the next question: do you have the space to store the merchandise?

Storing the Purchased Wholesale Merchandise

No matter what market segment you chose, whether it is buying and reselling clothing or tools or maybe refurbished laptops, you will have to have space to store the merchandise from the point it gets delivered to the point you send it out the door to your customer.

This is very important since you will be receiving a pallet of merchandise and it has to be stored somewhere. If you are not looking to make this a full-time job, and want to keep it as a work from home operation you will run in your spare time, you will probably keep the merchandise at home. Depending on the size of the place where you live, you may be able to clear one room and use it as a storage space, but in case you live in an already crowded space, storing a pallet of winter jackets or 10 patio grills becomes an issue.

In case you have the space to store the merchandise, there is another potential issue you should look into: the quality of wholesale merchandise.

Working with Quality Wholesale Merchandise

Manufacturers and retailers build their reputation through quality merchandise and quality service. Satisfied customers bring positive reviews and positive reviews bring in new customers. The same goes for wholesale suppliers and liquidators. Those with positive customer returns will probably be your best choice for cooperation.

However, a potential obstacle is the fact that the majority of liquidated merchandise is either overstock, refurbished products or customer returns. This raises the question of merchandise quality.

Again, jumping into the venture without really doing any research could lead to negative results. Sometimes, wholesalers and liquidators looking to scam their customers completely misrepresent their merchandise by labeling it as being of higher quality than it really is. One way of verifying the merchandise condition is to look for a manifest. Reputable wholesalers and liquidators will provide a manifest that shows you the type, quantity and condition of the merchandise within a pallet. If your potential source is withholding information or completely declining to provide you the manifest, it is time to leave that pallet and the supplier behind.

Working with reputable suppliers will solve your quality issue because the majority of top liquidators will have certain requirements when it comes to the quality of merchandise they list on their websites or sell from their warehouses. In addition, you will always be provided with detailed information on the merchandise you are interested in, leaving the choice to purchase or pass only to you.

Only after you go through all the potential issues and find that the answer to these questions is positive and you have a market you could work in, a place to store the merchandise and a reputable supplier to deliver you quality merchandise at great prices, only then you should try your hand at buying and reselling wholesale merchandise. If done right, this can be a lucrative and rewarding business. There are no “get rich easy” shortcuts, but with hard work and dedication, you can make your spare time business a lucrative one.

Share on social networks

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.

View Henley’s Bio on YouTube.