Does the idea of buying items for pennies on the dollar, not knowing whether they're intact and working interest you? Can you overlook being certain of quality for a good bargain? If so, you might want to take a look at buying returned pallets.
It's a gamble with the prospect of being a bargain. Why not give it a shot?
What Are Return Pallets?
Returned pallets allow people to get their hands on a pallet of goods, with the caveat that you don't know why the items got sent back in the first place. They could be damaged beyond repair or perfectly fine, and you'll only know for sure once you unpack and see for yourself. You could save a fortune and enjoy an awesome bargain, or live to regret the purchase.
If the air of mystery and prospect of a good deal appeal to you, let's look at some of the best places to buy pallets of merchandise and help your curiosity.
1. Liquidation.com
Liquidation.com lets you buy consumer product goods and commercial surplus inventory. It offers various deals on items from Amazon and other companies, and you can buy by the box, pallet, or truckload. The sale is typically made via auction, so you bid on what you want, and the highest bid gets it.
You can find pallets with goods under categories like apparel, electronics, houseware, and much more. Naturally, that doesn't mean every item you get will match the primary category.
For example, if you buy an electronics pallet, some houseware and apparel items might end up with you, too, and vice versa. That tends to apply to every place that deals with selling off pallets. So, no matter where you buy pallets of merchandise, you're likely to deal with the same thing.
2. BULQ
BULQ is a liquidation center that has stuff from Amazon and other companies available, and the items sell either via a set price or a 48-hour auction.
The website is super convenient to use as you can browse according to what you want. There's a section that lets you go through items by category and another for condition—new, like new, uninspected returns, used and working, or salvage.
There's also a newly added section that lets you pick between pallets and cases. You're provided with an estimated retail price, a few pictures that usually only hint at what's in the container, and a thorough manifest you can download and inspect.
Again, though, you don't know if everything is in tip-top shape and working. That's the gamble.
3. DirectLiquidation
DirectLiquidation offers surplus inventory made up of overstock, shelf pulls, customer returns, and salvage and refurbished merchandise. You can buy goods by the box, pallet or truckload. Items tend to get sold via auction, and you can pay by bank wire, credit card, and even a line of credit.
You can shop by department, and there are also separate sections for buyers and sellers. The platform's featured liquidators include major names like Walmart, Lenovo, and Lowe's. And the list of featured manufacturers has even bigger names like Mattel, Nintendo, Apple, Samsung, and Fisher-Price.
4. 888 Lots
888 Lots offers an easy to navigate website, where everything is divided into self-explanatory categories. You can find fixed-price items and go through goods by package size—small, medium, and large.
If you have your eye on getting an Amazon pallet, before deciding to go through with the purchase, you get access to a ton of helpful information. 888 Lots lets you see some product images and the Amazon sales rank, the condition of the items and their description, and a few other things, too.
You also get the estimated price for the goods, and there's still room for negotiation with individual sellers. The platform doesn't do auctions in favor of fixed prices, and it's up to you to decide which selling strategy is the better one.
5. BlueLots
BlueLots is a business-to-business marketplace that lets you buy bulk liquidation inventory. You can connect with wholesale and closeout suppliers and purchase the excess inventory they're offering. Purchasing is done via auction.
If you decide you like one of the things on auction, you can check out the information it comes with and ensure it works for you. The platform shows the original retail price of the items, the number of units you'll be getting, and their condition, along with an Inventory Manifest detailing what's in the box.
You can also see how many parcels you'll be getting, so you can figure out shipping. Because even though the best shipping is undoubtedly the free one, it's a rarity to get free shipping when online shopping.
6. B-Stock
B-stock runs liquidation auctions and offers you thorough information on what you agree to buy. As soon as you choose an auction to participate in, you can see the quantity and quality of the items you're bidding on, which are detailed in a manifest. You can get goods from a slew of marketplaces, like Amazon, Target, Walmart, Costco, and more.
B-Stock lets you get your hands on boxes, pallets, or truckloads of items. The website is user-friendly and easy to navigate. There's a specific section that focuses on explaining how the process works. The gist of it is that you browse, bid, and get your stuff upon winning the auction. It's as easy as pie.
7. BoxFox
The BoxFox marketplace offers only items that are brand new. That means you don't buy returned items but overstock.
Each pallet comes with a fixed price, and during the auction, you decide whether to match it or go lower or higher, depending on how much you want it. When deciding whether to get into a bidding war, you can see product images, market values and ratings, among other data, ensuring you can make an informed decision.
The platform aims to assure you get a positive experience out of using it, so if you get the wrong items than the ones you expected, you get a refund. That's easily done since your money is held in escrow until you receive your order and can verify everything is as it should be.
Is It Worth the Risk to Buy These Pallets?
There are many reasons why buying goods in bulk makes sense—it's cheaper, and it's faster. You manage to stock up on inventory in one fell swoop and maintain a large profit margin. But does the same apply if you're not aiming to fill shelves?
If you're someone who's not looking to fill a store, is it worth turning to liquidation, wholesale, and return pallets? Well, yes. You don't have to get the biggest pallet available or the most expensive one, of course. If YouTubers are to be believed, that's a fun experience that can uncover plenty of gems in the process.
Or, if you don't quite fancy taking a risk on return pallets, there are plenty of sites for you to find used items for sale and save some cash.