Many consumers are starting to prefer shopping online. Although there are many ways to start an online business, Amazon return pallets are one that is simple, inexpensive, and has the potential to be profitable.
If you’re a business owner who actively seeks Amazon returns, learn how and where to look for Amazon pallet sales and determine whether or not this presents a chance to make money on the secondary market.
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What Are The Available Amazon Pallets?
There’s no doubt that Amazon’s free return policy is having an impact on the business of buying and selling Amazon return pallets. In some circumstances, the large retailer provides customers with free returns (e.g., damaged items, late arrival, etc.), which has led to an increase in the number of product returns.
Each item that is returned to Amazon is examined to see if it can be resold as new and, if so, is relisted for sale.
However, the expense of reopening, repackaging, restocking, and all related handling of those items is significant for many small businesses. The Amazon pallet sale is a great alternative to having the inventory removed or given back to the seller.
Where Exactly Do Amazon Returns Go?
Many Amazon third-party sellers claim that dealing with customers who take advantage of Amazon’s lenient return policy is just part of doing business.
Nearly 9% of items in brick-and-mortar stores are returned, and at least 30% of online orders are. Retailers provide customers with simple, convenient, and quick ways to return orders, which is a major contributing factor.
Compared to less than 10% in physical stores, online retailers frequently see more than 25% of the products purchased online returned. Sales are only increasing exponentially for online retailers, so you can only imagine how many items are being returned. When customers return items, online retailers frequently do not restock their virtual shelves with those items.
Amazon is the most popular online retailer in the United States, according to recent industry statistics.; the company’s 2020 sales hit $386 billion dollars. They have already exceeded $113 billion in just Q2 of 2021. There are a lot of Amazon liquidation items that can be sold if 25% of those billions return and a sizable portion of that does not go back into rotation. Buying these items that Amazon decides to liquidate represents significant business for resellers.
What To Anticipate From An Amazon Pallet Sale?
Customer return pallets are typically sold in bulk with a wide range of products, including apparel, electronics, women’s beauty products, games, watches, headphones, gadgets, video games, accessories, anything for home improvement, and anything else.
You receive 84 items with a suggested retail price of $2,168 for the example above, and the current high bid is $240.
Most often, there are only a few photos, which are frequently useless, so you can’t see the entire palette. However, some liquidation websites allow buyers to view a manifest consisting of a number of pages that lists every item in the pallet, so you can see all the items it contains there.
When Purchasing Returns From Amazon
How Items Are Sold
You can purchase Amazon liquidations in bulk, which can range from one to two pallets or ten to twelve pallets in an LTL (less than a truckload). The discount increases with order size. Both fixed-price sales and online auction marketplaces (like those run by B-Stock) are options for selling goods. We’ll concentrate on Amazon Liquidation Auctions, their online auction platform, for the purposes of this article.
Set Your Filters To The Inventory You Want
Make sure you are familiar with condition codes if you have never purchased customer returns or overstock. Depending on where you buy them, these can differ by market. You can search for specific conditions and product categories when browsing auctions on Amazon’s liquidation marketplace. You can decide to view overstock or dot com returns, for instance. Other criteria include like-new condition, cosmetic condition, whether or not the packaging is damaged, whether accessories are included, and whether they have undergone inspection.
Manifests Are Your Best Friend
Educated consumers make satisfied ones. Whenever an auction lot manifest is offered, you should always review it. It will provide you with a wealth of details such as the item number or UPC, retail price or MSRP, description, quantity, brand, model, category, subcategory, color, the reason for the return, etc. Use our interactive manifest tool or download the manifests, and always do your research before placing a bid!
When Selling Returns
There are a few things to be aware of whether you’re selling Amazon returns or other store returns. It is lucrative and is simple to do on the side or turn into a full-time job. The amount of time, money, and space you have will determine a lot. However, these are some general selling return tips that apply whether you’re operating out of a two-car garage, own a storage facility, or have your own warehouse.
Know Which Items Are Profitable
A category they are familiar with is where some resellers prefer to start. It depends on your line of work whether you prefer to target a broad range or not. You must keep your bottom line in mind, though, and that much is certain. Not all product categories are as lucrative as others. You should target those categories specifically if you want to generate higher returns. Because they are more expensive items, furniture and inventory for the home and garden can be very profitable for resellers. Depending on the market you’re on, they frequently arrive in decent condition.
However, unless you are selling designer or higher-end items, you probably won’t be looking at profit margins in the hundreds with a category like apparel. You should probably avoid starting with cosmetics and groceries. If they aren’t overstock, brand-new, and in their original, unopened packaging, they have “sell by” dates and aren’t allowed to be sold on most platforms (like Amazon, for instance).
Pay Attention To Gated Items
Some products are gated, which means that retailers may have limitations on where you can resell them. In some cases, inventory may only be sold outside of the US, or even require specific certifications like the R2 Standard in order to prevent pointless recycling and landfill dumping. If you have an interest in that market, you should be aware that this typically applies to consumer electronics and mobile.
You Can Always Start Small
Flipping less expensive or smaller items is a good strategy to take if you’re just getting started. Consider the books, toys, and used electronics you might have lying around your home. If you’re interested in starting small and growing, read our article on the easiest things to flip for profit and how to get started. Additionally, you can sample more sellers and find smaller lot sizes on B-Stock Supply.
Assembly & Simple Fixes Can Be Worth Your While
Don’t pass up the opportunity to boost profits by using your handyman skills if you enjoy fixing things up. You can make a great profit by performing a quick fix on products like lawnmowers or power tools that are being liquidated at a discount of 10% to 15%. You’d also be shocked at how frequently goods are returned because the customer didn’t want to put them together themselves! Customers can be won over with convenience when you buy those customer returns up (at a discount, of course) and go the extra mile assembling!
Pick Your Reselling Platforms
Keep the product’s category in mind. Vinted, Depop, and thredUP, for instance, are platforms you can use if you’re reselling shoes. These kinds of selling platforms are not likely to be used if you are reselling Kitchenaid mixers. The point is that some things perform better on specific media types.
Try Fulfillment By Amazon
The Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) program enables resellers to ship and store goods using Amazon’s own warehouse operations. Without worrying about storage or shipping, you can focus on making sales because Amazon will take care of it for you! There are costs associated with using this program, of course. Make sure you can still turn a profit between your product sales and FBA expenses.
How To Buy Amazon Liquidation Pallets
Due to returns and the hefty costs involved in placing products back on the market, sellers search for simpler and more cost-effective ways to sell them, such as liquidation.
For sale, Amazon gathers a large number of items that are either randomly arranged on Amazon Pallets or arranged according to predetermined categories. By purchasing Amazon return pallets, business owners have a fantastic chance to make money on the secondary market.
At liquidation platforms, you can find available customer return pallets rather than going through a middleman who buys and processes the goods before selling them to you at a profit (reducing your potential profit to cover the costs and profit of the middleman).
Some Pallets Detail Everything On Them
The catch here is that some of those items might be in subpar condition. Some liquidation sites list every item on the pallet. Some of the items you find might be able to be sold right away, but others might need some repairs or might only be salvageable for parts.
You may occasionally turn a healthy profit on the goods you purchase, depending on the pallet. However, you’ll need to have some cash on hand and the time necessary to sort through the pallet and determine the value of each item. An entrepreneur might find it to be a great side business, but you can’t just jump into it without putting some time and effort into it.
