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Returns and Overstock

There are many online companies that make it easy for a retailer looking for very good prices on almost any kind of merchandise. A reseller can shop for merchandise and place orders for items returned by nearly any retail chain store. Some companies serve as brokers and pass orders along to wholesalers who then ship the merchandise to the buyer. Others purchase merchandise themselves and then resell it again to retailers either in pallet loads or as a drop shipper.

Nearly all returns wholesalers ship only orders of some size but some will act as a drop shipper and send an online retailer’s customer their order directly. Most overstock wholesalers sell to businesses that keep inventory on hand such as retail boutiques and flea market merchants. In these cases the smallest quantities available will be large cases or whole pallets. Occasionally orders are for whole truckloads only. However there are cases available as small as 25 sweaters. All but the very smallest of retailers should be able to find their kind of products at very good prices.

The array of merchandise available from overstock and return suppliers is terrific. Almost any type of general merchandise from apparel to automotive accessories to household items can be found. Some are very specifically defined; one pallet available was of French Connection shirts alone.

A retailer can never pick many of the details of the items they order but enough information is usually available to be sure the merchant is getting what they want. (One supplier does invite customers to visit the warehouse and select their own pallets.) For example, one returns wholesaler is offering cases of Abercrombie jeans by either a 60-unit order for $840 or a 120-unit for $1620. The buyer can’t pick the sizes and they come in one of three styles. In this case the buyer knows they have 60 pairs of a highly desirable jeans brand at only $14 each but could possibly get some in a size unlikely to sell quickly.

On the surface it would seem that brokers would be cheaper than companies that had the added costs of warehouses and inventory but this isn’t really the case. For whatever reason, the prices on both varieties of sites are about equal. A preference might be given to companies that actually own what they sell and whose buildings and employees discourage disappearance over night.

Some of these companies are allowed to name the original source of the returns and some are not. Knowing the source of the return of course gives the buyer important information about the likely quality and desirability of the merchandise. The overstock wholesalers prevented from using the original retailers name often circumvent the problem by misspelling the retailers name or replacing letters with symbols. Using the @ sign to replace the letter “a” is a common example.

The overwhelming majority of companies using this device to sell their products are doing so legitimately but nothing prevents a few of them from using it to mislead the buyer. It is difficult to guess what the original supplier might make of it.

A good returns supplier will have daily updates of what they have available and even what they expect to have soon. They will also offer live customer service on the phone and a merchant should be careful of suppliers who do not.

A retailer should call before placing an order and ask at least two important questions. The first is are the items being sold are overstock or damaged returns. Damaged returns are obviously not as desirable as overstock returns. The other question to ask is does the wholesaler pick over returns that arrive or sell them just as they come in. If they pick over the return what do they do with the less acceptable product. You want to make sure they aren’t selling it to you.