Where Will Your Business Fit In The Customer Returns Wholesale Lifecycle?

Customer returns and retail overstocks are excellent product sources for online stores, eBay businesses, and discount stores. As long as you understand what to expect while purchasing returns and where your business will fit in the wholesale lifecycle, you can run your business smoothly and profitably.

Customer returns inventory is usually mixed in nature, including TV, furniture, home décor, garden supplies and outdoor supplies. The customers might have returned them for any reason, like they have minor defects, cosmetic blemishes or damaged exterior packaging or out of box goods. The stores do not want to re-shelf them. You can buy them at discounted prices and make a reasonable profit.

How to Buy Customer Returns Wholesale?

Large retailers and department stores have excess inventories, which include overstock items and customer returns. Some companies operate their own liquidation marketplace that allows you to buy from them directly. The only condition is that you need to have a US shipping address and a resale certificate.

There are lots of middlemen out there claiming to be genuine ones. However, finding legitimate suppliers of wholesale customer reruns is not an easy task. The best resource to find authentic suppliers is trade shows. You can make a connection with the suppliers in the trade shows and get all the essential information from them. If you want to buy wholesale customer returns from manufacturers or wholesalers abroad, it is worth to use search engines like Google to find a reliable supplier.

Consider some important things before choosing them.

1. Ensure whether they have an office in the U.S. Getting stateside support can help make your initial experience hassle free.

2. Search engines supported by advertisements can allow anyone to list products there. Scammers and bogus merchandise may also be available alongside genuine ones. The engines have gold suppliers that have checked out thoroughly. It is worth to buy from those who have obtained that stamp of approval.

3. Check whether you need to buy a pallet or can purchase just what you need. Some wholesale suppliers do not allow you to choose particular items in the pallet, as the items are already pre-packed and ready to ship. However, they sell smaller cases of merchandise too. You can buy either one or two boxes or a full truckload according to your budget and market potential.

Tips to Fit Your Business in the Customer Returns Wholesale Lifecycle

Understand What to Expect

Customer returns wholesale suppliers offer an assorted range of goods, from toy cars to snow boots to fashion accessories. You may also find damaged goods among a truckload’s wares. A part of these items might have been returned, as they have some damages. In spite of the damages, there are sellers who feel that they can make profits.

Consider the Pros and Cons of Customer Returns and Overstocks

Before selling their unwanted goods to a return wholesaler, department stores and retailers usually sort them into two categories- overstocks and customer returns. While buying these items, it is crucial to consider the pros and cons of each category.

Overstocks

Overstocks are goods that sit on a retailer’s shelf for a long period of time. The advantage of overstocks is that they are new, clean and may be in their original package. You are more likely to find less damaged goods in an overstock pallet. The disadvantage of overstock is that the products usually do not have demand.

Customer Returns

Customers’ returns items were bought by customers, taken home and brought back. As they were opened, it is not possible to re-shelf them. The advantage of customer returns is they are latest products that are in demand. Most of them are still in good condition and they might have been returned because the size, color or model was not right.

The downside is the products may have cosmetic damage or some parts may be missing. Weighing your options and considering the positive and negative aspects of customer returns and overstocks can help you choose the one that will be more suitable for you and will help you make good money.

Types of Suppliers

There are many types of wholesale customer returns suppliers. The supplier you choose determines where your business will fit in the customer returns lifecycle.

Manufacturers

Some manufacturers will sell their customer returns products at discounted prices directly to the small businesses, retail stores, flea market vendors and eBay sellers. If you want to sell a particular product only, you can contact the manufacturer and ask them whether they sell customer returns directly to small businesses.

Distributors

Wholesale distributors usually sell a wide range of customer return products. As they also want to make a profit, their prices may be slightly higher than the prices of the manufacturer. Some distributors offer free shipping on orders above a certain limit. Some others offer 10 to 20% discount on bulk purchases.

Importers

Globalization has made it easier to buy customer returns wholesale products from a foreign company. Before choosing a foreign supplier, do some research and understand all the aspects of paperwork, product life cycle, shipping time and expenses involved.

Auctions

You can find many bargains in online auction sites. You simply need to browse through the wholesale lots category and choose from the tons of merchandise.

Know When to Buy Customer Return Items

The best time to buy customer returns products in wholesale is after the holidays when the departmental stores and retailers get a surge of customer returns. If you are buying the items from anyone other than the direct source, you need to be very careful.

Mix Your Channels

When buying customer returns items, it is worth choosing more than one channel for reselling them. Limiting yourself to only online store or the discount store will not help you make more money. You can even consider throwing pallet parties to sell the contents o your pallets. If you know how to combine various channels, you can find more customers for your goods.

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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.

View Henley’s Bio on YouTube.