A Buyer’s Experience: Resale Market

The Shelf Pull Resale Market By: Michelle Anderson

Shelf-pulled merchandise could be a home run provided it’s being sold in a different market and the item could be sold locally.

As resellers of liquidated merchandise, we are taking advantages of weaknesses in the market. A manufacturer or store chain will often send the same amount to each store and what sells well in one market may not sell in another market, and some stores are great at distribution and logistics, while others are not.

EXAMPLE: Stores all over the country sell pool chemicals, but in Minnesota, people only use their pools from May/June to August/September, but in Arizona, people use their pools almost all year-round. In September in Minnesota, pool chemicals are put on clearance and possibly liquidated, while stores in Arizona still need them.

Super basic principle, but it’s why it works to resell online as you aren’t dependent on foot traffic. Additionally, a brick and mortar store in Minnesota may not have a way to transport the chemicals to a store in Arizona, so liquidation may be more cost-effective just to liquidate.

If you’re buying from the seller “Sourced from Amazon Liquidations”, you know those items were once for sale, but didn’t for whatever reason, so you need to evaluate where you plan on selling the items to determine if they are right for your business. Other sellers on Liquidation.com may have merchandise from different stores, and you may or may not be able to determine where they came from. If you sell locally and know that everyone in your area is looking for orange shirts because it’s the color of the local high school, you might want to pick up that lot of 86 orange t-shirts, whereas other resellers might pass.

TIP: Do not send “Sourced from Amazon Liquidations” merchandise back to Amazon for listing. You will be banned.