Liquidation Inventory Buying

The liquidation marketplace, https://bstocksupply.com, has added a great new feature for buyers. Previously, you didn't really get any information on the site about the experiences other buyers were having with particular sellers.  They just launched "Seller Performance Stats" on each listing page.

The performance stats show several things, including:

• How long the seller has been on the site
• How many transactions they've completed
• The buyer dispute rate on those transactions, and perhaps best of all,
• The 'unresolved dispute rate'

I really like this last one because it shows buyers which sellers are making their buyers happy after an initial disappointment.  Mistakes happen with secondary market sales, there is no avoiding that. What matters is how a seller handles correcting the mistake.  Do they take care of the buyer or not. Now you can see that right on the page.

Here is a sample of what it looks like:

For some unique buyers, 'salvage' goods are just what they are looking for.  This is definitely not an area for the novice to play with.  To most people, salvage inventory is garbage.  For example, it can include left over parts after a lot of laptops is stripped of anything remotely valuable.  Usually, it is junk.

In some cases, however, there is gold to be mined from those lots of apparent garbage.  Sometimes, the products in a salvage lot are worth more to  a recyler or a scrap yard than to a potential reseller.

To those buyers who know how to recoup value out of salvage lots, these lots are a goldmine.  The great thing for them is that they sell at huge discounts off of retail value.  When you are able to buy low and sell 'not-so-low', you can build a business.

If you are interested in salvage truckloads, check out both BStockSupply.com and Essexb2b.com for frequent (and relatively high quality) truckloads of returns.  Just be careful and don't start bidding/buying until you have some experience with this type of merchandise.

This is an interesting liquidation lot available now from The Home Depot's Liquidation site. Starting bid on this lot is only $5,000.  That is only 1.3% of the original retail value!

280 Pallets of Dryer Vents, Almost all new in packaging! 58,850 Units, Original Retail $386,696, Plainfield, IN

Wow!  GameStop is moving an incredible number of iPhones.  They currently have millions of dollars worth of iPhone inventory listed in their liquidation marketplace.

These are iPhones traded-in to them in their stores by customers seeking store credit.

Be sure to read the manifests/descriptions carefully to understand the condition of each iPhone lot.  If you are looking for secondary market iPhones you have to check this out.

There are some really nice, refurbished Saeco Espresso machines being liquidated by Philips on B-Stock Supply right now.  The current lot closes on July 19th, but they have been listing lots for a while.

These are fantastic high end machines that sell for hundreds of dollars at retail. Opening bid on 25 units is $100!

Here are some specifics on the machines currently listed:

The Home Depot has started selling out of their Plainfield, IN distribution center on their liquidation auction site. The first batch of lots are live now and closing in a few days. If you are located on the East Coast or in the Midwest, this will reduce any shipping charges that you would have incurred buying from the Phoenix facility.

On a call with analysts yesterday the company announced their expectation of a substantial performance shortfall for Q3 vs. current expectations.  They sited weakness in the capital assets business, delayed program rollouts with new retail customers and softer consumer electronics volumes as primary drivers for the adjustment.

The company adjusted expected EPS down to 43-45 cents from 49 to 54 cents.  This reduction in Q3 expectations will also result in a downward adjustment in FY13 overall results.

Often, retailers will advertise a “special shipment sale” which may consist of merchandise not ordinarily sold in their store, or a surplus of items normally kept in stock but offered at a discount for a limited period of time. It may also consist of special seasonal items not in current demand. Chances are this was liquidation merchandise purchased in bulk from a liquidator at a significantly reduced cost. As a retailer, your business may benefit greatly by purchasing from a liquidation company or other retailer in liquidating excess or distressed inventory. While there are many liquidators out there, finding one you can trust can be challenging. A bit of homework on your part will pay off in finding reputable companies with which to conduct business. You can check the Better Business Bureau’s website (bbb.org) to see which ones are in good standing and those with complaints filed against them. Use the search engines to your advantage, such as Google, Bing, and others to locate the specific type of liquidator to suit your needs. However, the best thing to do is to bypass liquidators and buy directly from the retailer or manufacturer at the source. This has been a difficult thing to do in the past but is getting much easier with the spread of new auction systems being used by folks like Home Depot, Walmart, hh gregg, GameStop, and many others. One great resource for locating such auction sites is B-Stock Solutions. Join the B-Stock Sourcing Network and you can get free access to the largest network of such sites anywhere. The savings realized when purchasing liquidation merchandise directly from the source vs. through liquidators can be a significant boon. Whether your business is big or small, an online store or a brick/mortar, liquidation merchandise facilitates business promotion, generates a greater profit margin, and is a smart tactic to undercut the competition. Advertising liquidation merchandise attracts more traffic to your store, and the money customers save purchasing quality, lower priced liquidated items helps build a loyal customer base and keeps them returning to your company many times over .