Liquidation & Closeout Wholesale
Buy liquidated and closeout merchandise in bulk and resell wholesale to discount retailers, flea markets, and liquidation buyers
Overview
Liquidation wholesalers purchase closeout, overstock, and liquidated merchandise from retailers and manufacturers - buying inventory at deep discounts and reselling wholesale to discount stores, flea markets, and secondary market buyers.
Liquidation margins vary widely 50-200%+ on purchase cost.
Trading $300K-$2M in annual liquidation generates $150,000-$1M+ gross profit with 15-35% net margins.
Target customers include discount retailers, flea market vendors, dollar stores, liquidation stores, online resellers and Amazon sellers, and international buyers.
Services include liquidation purchasing and sourcing, manifested and unmanifested lots, wholesale truckloads and pallets, product grading and inspection, warehouse pickup or shipping, and potentially online liquidation marketplace.
Success requires liquidation sourcing relationships, understanding product categories and resale values, warehouse for processing inventory, ability to move large quantities quickly, risk tolerance for product conditions, and building buyer network in secondary markets.
Required Skills
- Liquidation Sourcing
- Product Evaluation
- Secondary Markets
- Inventory Turnover
- Risk Management
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Deep discounts on liquidation purchases
- High margins on successful lots
- Fast inventory turnover possible
- Growing liquidation market
- Can start with smaller lots
Cons
- Product condition and quality risks
- Unmanifested lots are blind purchases
- Need warehouse for processing
- Requires capital for inventory purchases
- Market knowledge critical for profitability
How to Get Started
- Learn liquidation market and sourcing
- Build relationships with liquidators
- Start with smaller manifested lots
- Develop product evaluation skills
- Find warehouse for inventory processing
- Build buyer network for resale
- Scale through volume and experience
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