Get in on Liquidation Action to Make Extra Money

If you’ve ever attended a traditional liquidation sale, you know that they are usually held by a struggling retailer as a last-ditch effort to make money. Often, these sales are the final step in the company’s bankruptcy and/or closing proceedings. But what about online liquidations? Have you ever heard of sites that sell entire lots of items at very low prices in order for buyers to turn around and sell the individual pieces at a higher price? If you’re willing to work hard, do your research and remain patient throughout the entire buying process, online liquidation sites can provide you with immense opportunity to make some serious cash.

How to Make Money on an Online Liquidation Site

If you’re looking to cash in on liquidation sites, you first need to understand how the site operates. Most often, the site will auction off a palette or lot of similar items at a fraction of the items’ typical prices. It’s not uncommon to find items selling for less than 30% of their normal retail price. Before you jump in and begin making bids and offers, consider the following tips to ensure you’re making a good financial choice:

1. Research the item. Do everything you can to research the item before making an purchases. Fully understand what the current retail price of the item is and make sure you’re not buying something that’s already part of a saturated market filled with competing re-sale companies (electronics fall into this category).
2. Check the condition of the items. In may cases, the items being offered at the lowest prices on the liquidation sites will be categorized as “used,” “refurbished,” “shelf pulls,” or “salvage.” Do your best to avoid any of these descriptions as the items will most likely not be candidates for re-sale. Keep searching until you find new items listed as they will give you your best chance at a great return on your investment.
3. Understand the terms of the site. Before purchasing anything, make sure you understand all of the terms the site or company requires for your purchase. Does the site charge a service fee? Are there high shipping costs? Do they give you exact numbers rather than estimates on the various fees you’ll have to pay? Don’t forget about sales taxes, too!
4. Review the manifest. If you do decide to make a purchase, do a detailed review of the shipping manifest. Do not leave the site or sign off on the delivery until every single item has been checked and accounted for.

Online Liquidation Websites

If you’re ready to start buying liquidated stock, check out these sites below for options to get started. Remember the tips above to ensure you’re not overpaying or being ripped off!

Liquidation.com

This site is a very well-known online merchant that specializes in online liquidation sales of all sorts. Liquidation.com works directly with the buyers and sellers, so you do have some level of protection in case something goes wrong with your order. That being said, the site has been criticized for extremely high shipping charges. One way around this is to pick up the merchandise directly at one of the company’s warehouses.

PalletBid.com

PalletBid.com operates the same way as Liquidation.com does but it is a smaller company. If you’re looking to pick up merchandise direct from the warehouse to avoid shipping charges, your only option is at their Alabama-based corporate location. However, what PalletBid.com  lacks in size it more than makes up for in consumer education. The site is filled with great tips, including a separate blog and a free eBook dedicated to teaching people how to make money using liquidation sales.

 

Good luck, Penny Hoarders!