Liquidation Suppliers: Can they help you build your business?

Liquidation suppliers are suppliers who source their stock from multiple avenues and resell it directly to retailers. Liquidation suppliers specialize in buying factory seconds, slow to move retail stock, or items from stores that are going out of business.

Liquidators are a fantastic source of a variety of items as they rarely stock the same items regularly. What’s more, they offer rock-bottom prices, every time. The main downside of using a liquidator is that they are not the most reliable source of stock. While at times they will have an abundance of items to offer you, there may also be times when they have very little in stock.

Another downside is that most liquidation suppliers only sell by the pallet load and have a ‘take it, or leave it” policy. This means you could buy an entire pallet of stock that is barely sellable, due to damage or faults. This means that it can be a bit of a gamble buying from them. While you could end up with some great items that will sell like hotcakes, some will barely be looked at by buyers.

Another reason that many retailers avoid using liquidation suppliers is because they can require a large single order which can cost anywhere up to $5000, which isn’t exactly possible if you are a new seller who is just starting out.

Where you can find liquidation suppliers

By doing a Google search: While this isn’t the most recommend method, it can produce many options for you to choose from. However, if you are a little overwhelmed by the number of results Google comes up with, you can easily narrow it down by searching for a specific product. For example, if you are looking at selling computer monitors, you could Google the keywords “liquidation suppliers + computer monitor”.

While Google is free, fast and easy to use, it’s not a recommended for retailers who are inexperienced in dealing with suppliers. This is because you can easily led yourself directly to a site owned by a scammer who is ready and waiting to take your money, and run off into cyber space!

A much more reliable option is to use a supplier directory. By far, this is the most popular method of finding new suppliers. The great things about supplier directories is that the good ones actually verify all the suppliers they list in their directory, so you never have to worry about being scammed by them.

A word of warning though, do not use free directories. In all my years of product sourcing, I have never come across even one that lists legitimate suppliers. In fact whenever I have used them, I have always been taken to either scam sites, supplier sites that require me to pay them to sign up, or I just end up going nowhere because the link is broken.

Another option is using a local supplier that you can find in your own town or city. If you live in a large city, it can be easy to find liquidation suppliers. The main benefits of this option is that you can visit the warehouse and see that they are a real operating business. You can also see all the stock up front. Another great benefit is low or no shipping costs. If you can hire a U-Haul for a few hours, or even fit your stock into your own vehicle, this really gives you an advantage over your competitors.

The only down side is, you probably won’t be able to find a huge selection of liquidation suppliers locally, even if you live in a large city.