Used items are a major commodity. Even returned items, which don’t always have much wear, can be a useful source of income. Amazon return auctions are a great way to acquire barely used items. Starting a company that profits from these items requires more than simply buying the pallets and selling the contents, however. Here are some things to keep in mind when starting a returns resale company.
A little research can go a long way when entering a new market. A useful pallet of returned merchandise isn’t always easy to find. Often, such pallets will be sorted in general categories and sold at auction without the products being specified. For this reason, you should do your best to know what you’re bidding on as best you can before you bid on it. The best way to do this is to do some research on the liquidation company that you’re buying your pallet from. Merchandise that exists in this market is sometimes returned for a serious reason, and some businesses don’t intend to sell you a good product. Accounting for the variable nature of the merchandise, you should also try to have an idea of what the market you will be selling to looks like. Doing the appropriate market research to figure this out may not be straightforward, but methods to do so include conducting surveys, consulting focus groups, and paying for top quality academic writing on the subject. Knowing what you’re selling and how to sell it is as important as the actual selling of the product.
It takes a fair amount of effort to make sure that selling the product is viable. If a business could not buy returned products in bulk at a low enough price, that company’s business model would be unsustainable. In addition to inspecting the returned items to make sure they’re worth selling, they must be packaged, listed, shipped, and successfully sold. This increases their price substantially for the end user. Any given sale that you make should also be profitable, of course, so make sure to stay on top of the minute details in this area. Calculating markup based on how much the item is worth and charging a reasonable shipping fee where one is needed are important details that you should keep track of because they directly affect your company’s bottom line.
You have a few other ways to make money off liquidated goods as well. Many popular places to sell items at discounted prices include flea markets and thrift stores. Clothing in particular seems to be a popular item at thrift stores. Another less standard development worth paying attention to is the recent rise in pallet “unboxing” videos on YouTube. These videos are valuable consumer feedback that can be used when deciding which liquidation companies to buy your pallets from. While the unboxing videos themselves might be lucrative for a small few, the profits from such ventures tend to be unreliable for most. It may be worth making a video or two, but unless you get extremely lucky, a YouTube career should be a side venture at most.
Making a profit using returned products from things like Amazon pallets can be unpredictable at times, but it can be rewarding if done well. Selling used or returned items is as intricate a business as any other, so you shouldn’t underestimate its apparent simplicity. Business ventures of any sort are a gamble, but as long as you take only calculated risks you’ll be better off in the long term.
