Where to Buy Wholesale Clothing for Less?

2020-11-03

Whether a resale business stays afloat or thrives depends on several factors, including proper budgeting, reading the market trends, and stocking up at low prices. This is especially important for small businesses, which may have a tough time making it through the first couple of years.

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In fact, the U.S. Bureau of Labor notes that 75 percent of new businesses make it through the first year, some 69 percent survive the first two years, while only half of new businesses make it to five years and beyond. This is why many business owners ask the question: where can I buy merchandise for less? Especially if you are in the business of selling clothing, where should you buy your stock? Let’s find out.

Options for Buying Wholesale Clothing

One of the options available is to use the traditional route and buy from a wholesale supplier. This gives you several advantages: you will buy quality clothing, brand new merchandise, and you are buying in bulk. However, the prices will not leave much room for a markup on resale, and with these prices, you will be facing fierce competition, especially in the online marketplaces.

The online marketplaces have become so competitive that some units are selling at almost wholesale prices already. And with the COVID-19 pandemic, online sales will only grow. With people being urged to stay at home as much as possible, many more have turned to buying online. With demand rising, sellers have become creative with their offers, bringing their prices down in order to gain an edge on the competition.

So how do you cope with that downward pressure on prices? Well, you have several options. You can build a base of multiple wholesale suppliers you can buy from. This will allow you to pick the best option at any given time, whether it is the best deal or the quickest delivery, for example.

Additionally, having a longstanding relationship with a wholesale supplier can benefit you. Suppliers are usually more open to loyal customers. You can use this to renegotiate your contracts, ask for better terms, payment options, delivery, anything that would bring your investment down, and widen the profit margin.

If this still is not enough, you have other options. One of the best is buying liquidated merchandise. Nowadays, you can buy liquidated merchandise sourced from major retailers and at prices well below typical wholesalers. This type of merchandise includes customer returned products, but also products that are basically brand new.

If you are looking for clothing, let’s look at some options and why you should consider buying liquidated merchandise. This could be the source of affordable wholesale clothing you’ve been looking for all along.

Why Should I Consider Buying Liquidated Clothing?

The straight answer is the price. Liquidated clothes are priced well below what you’re paying traditional wholesalers. Buying liquidated clothing is also convenient. You can buy merchandise sourced from giant retailers like Walmart or Target at Direct Liquidation’s liquidation marketplace without having to leave the comfort and safety of your home.

Why do Retailers Liquidate Clothing?

Retailers liquidate clothing for the same reason retailers liquidate many other items. Liquidated merchandise consists to a large extent of products that were returned by customers. This can happen for a variety of reasons: the product is the wrong size or color, for example, or simply due to buyer’s remorse. Other liquidated items are stock from stores that have been closed (closeouts), or that has been over-ordered or is now out of season (overstock). These items are brand new.

Seasonality is a particularly important factor when it comes to clothing. Retailers will look to stock up with new collections for each new season. At the turn of the season, a lot of stock gets pulled from the shelves, and instead of sitting in the warehouse to be sold next year, it may be liquidated. Retailers are keen to get value from these products and so resell them in large volumes to companies that can handle it, Direct Liquidation being one of those companies.

We can purchase large volumes of liquidated merchandise from retailers, which is why many choose to work with us. We then process the merchandise into smaller lots, which we then resell by the pallet or truckload to smaller businesses like yours.

Do Customer Returns Mean Used Clothing?

The answer to this question will vary, depending on the reasons the products were returned in the first place. Some of the customer returned products will be used, but a large portion will be unworn. This includes clothing returned because it was the wrong size or color or simply because the customer changed their mind. Customers nowadays use the generous return policies to their advantage. A large portion, 67 percent of buyers, will first check the returns page before purchasing.

When buying from us, you can go through the manifest provided with most pallets and check the exact content of each pallet and in what condition the merchandise is. However, most clothing pallets sold through Direct Liquidation are actually brand new, but the merchandise is de-labeled.

We can’t stress enough the importance of reading all the details in each listing. Some items may have been returned due to damage or at the end of the free return period offered by the retailer. In those cases, an item might have been used during that free return period and shipped back to the retailer, either for a new item or a refund. If you are interested in brand new clothing only, make sure you are buying brand new clothing. The best way to make sure this is the case is to consult the manifest.

What Is De-Labelled Clothing?

When retailers deal with customer returns, they often choose to liquidate it instead of putting it back on the shelves, even when an item has been returned in brand new condition, in unopened original packaging, due to the cost of processing these returns. De-labelling, or defacing merchandise is basically removing or marking/damaging the tags, labels, and UPC codes. This ensures that once the product is sold again in the secondary market, a customer doesn’t come in and ask for a refund from the retailer because that was already done when the item was returned the first time.

Labels also get removed if the product is sold through a factory outlet store. This is so that the inventory in the outlet store and the retail store does not overlap and that, again, an item can’t be returned to the retail store.

What has to be stressed here is that de-labeling or defacing the clothing items is a logistical matter and does not damage their condition. The product is still brand new.

How Do I Buy Liquidated Clothing From Target or Walmart?

The purchasing process is pretty straightforward, like in other online marketplaces. You can browse our listings freely, and then you just need to register for a free account to order or bid. Once you have found the pallet that interests you, you can go through the details of the listing, including its manifest. We offer multiple payment options. You have the option of either bidding for items or buying them right away on some listings.

Once you are satisfied with the details and decide to buy a pallet of wholesale liquidated clothing, you just need to place your bid and wait for the auction to end. If, on the other hand, you choose to buy right away, you just need to sort out payment, and the lot is yours.

The next step is shipping. You have several options here. You can arrange the shipping yourself through a third-party courier. Alternatively, you can check the shipping calculator provided with every listing. You only need to enter your zip code, and the shipping calculator will provide you with an estimate of how much delivery will cost you if you choose to let us take care of it for you.

Another option is to pick up the merchandise yourself if you live near one of our distribution centers. Direct Liquidation has a network of distribution centers all over the United States, and buying from the closest one from you may save you money on shipping costs. You need to ensure you have a suitable vehicle.

Tips to Add Extra Value

While we understand that some of our buyers prefer to buy brand new items, it is important to add value to every item.

Make sure you inspect every item. If you’re selling online, provide as much detail about it in your listing as possible. Invest a bit of time and effort into photographing all the items. Do some research on how to photograph clothing items and present them in the best way possible, be creative with it.

Clothing also sells well locally because it is a product that is always in demand. Flea market stalls, for example, are a popular avenue for selling discount clothing inexpensively.

Engage with your customers. Building a relationship with your customers can go a long way. It adds to your reputation while improving the experience of your customers. A happy customer is a returning customer and may provide you with positive reviews and free word-of-mouth advertising.

And last but not least, if you are only buying merchandise for resale, you should contact your local authorities about obtaining a resale certificate. This allows you to avoid paying sales taxes for items you are buying strictly for resale.

Following these tips may not guarantee you’ll become an overnight success. But they will help you become more competitive in the market, attract more clients, and boost your profit potential.