Source From Unconventional Places
Create a free store
Dropshipping is a business model primarily used by e-commerce retailers that do not stock To balance inventory, prices, and promotions, retail businesses throw clearance sales. It is a promotional strategy to attract price-conscious consumers and an effective inventory management tool. Retail store clearances can be a great source of inventory for eCommerce sellers.
Facebook is an online marketplace where you can find a lot of deals on wholesale products. Facebook marketplaces consist of local buy and sell groups that are ideal to source inventory for your FastCommerce online store. You can search your neighborhood and local areas for buy and sell trade or garage sales. Look for items that you know about or are interested in reselling on your eBay store.
You can negotiate with sellers on the Facebook marketplace. The more often you source inventory from sellers on the Facebook marketplace, you will be building better relationships with them and can get better deals and offers.
The global handicrafts and Do-It-Yourself market were valued at an estimate of $647 billion in the year 2020. The global handicrafts market comprises solo artisans, jewelry makers, weavers, carpenters, and so on.
If you are someone who makes your products for sale, you do not have to look elsewhere to source your inventory. Another innovative inventory to sell on your FastCommerce store is DIY kits and supplies. Customers enjoy making crafts of their own using kits sold in the market.
Selling DIY products means that you can have complete control over your product design, quality, and inventory. Handicrafts and DIY products are in a class by themselves and there is a growing market for unique collections amidst the mass-production economy.
Thrift stores sell pre-owned and upcycled or thrifted clothes, accessories, and other goods. These stores sell gently used products at reduced prices. It is a great way to purchase sustainable goods to resell in your store.
Many Goodwill stores have online shops where goods are sold at auction. Some Goodwills have their shops up on eBay. Others have their own sites like Goodwill Southern California.
If you want to source your inventory from thrift stores, research the internet and social media for them. Be specific about your keywords if you have a particular item of interest that you’d like to source for your store. Make sure to source thrifted products from authentic stores. This will help ensure that you receive goods in a good condition that you can resell for a decent profit margin.
Live auction items are sold by established, well known auction houses. Each auction house is an independent seller, curating their own items and events.
There are many auction sites such as
Whatnot is a social marketplace where people host live shows to sell things. It started as a place to sell Funko Pop items but is now popular for much more like vintage and thrifted items.
People buy items by bidding on them as part of a live auction. Once on the platform, you can follow categories and sellers that you like. You can often preview what’s going to be sold on a show and sometimes even purchase it at a set price beforehand.
Many resellers have been sourcing on Whatnot in the past year or so. Prices start low because of the auction setup. Items tend to sell for less than they do on other platforms, meaning it’s cheaper for you to source there.
While bidding, it’s good to have a maximum price for each item in mind so that you don’t get carried away bidding.
Have you ever seen the show Storage Wars? People bid on unpaid storage units and resell whatever they find of value inside.
You usually aren’t able to see what’s inside because most bidding is done online nowadays. You only see what's in the pictures but might spot something of interest and can look up the resale cost right away.
Some storage unit auction sites are storageauctions.com and storagetreasures.com. You may have access to private storage companies in your area.
Pawn shops receive their goods from people looking for loans. People put up their items of value in exchange for the loan. If they don’t pay back the loan on time, the pawn shop keeps the item and sells it.
You won’t find clothes at pawn shops, but you can find other items like jewelry, luxury brand purses, and electronics. Be careful about purchasing jewelry online unless you’re knowledgeable about jewelry, it’s been authenticated, or you see markings indicating the quality of the piece (e.g., 18k stamp on the inside of a ring).
Don’t forget that you can get an even better deal by negotiating price and paying in cash.
Some people source heavily from estate sales and garage or yard sales. The best thing about these is that you can negotiate prices.
Most people are looking to recoup whatever money they can while getting rid of things they don’t want anymore. They’re willing to work with you on price because they want their goods gone.
Liquidated items are those that were initially sold at traditional retailers like Macys and JCPenney in their stores online. These are often items that went unsold, customer returns, and overstocked items.
Seasons and styles change and companies need to move these unsellable products for new stock. Companies sell them off in bulk at deep discounts to liquidation companies to get rid of them. These liquidation companies pass on their goods to you at a low cost.
There are many liquidation companies out there and seemingly new ones popping up each day. These are a few that are popular with resellers:
Some sellers go-to source is discount retail stores like Nordstrom Rack, TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Last Call, Ross, etc. These stores are known for selling new items for a fraction of retail.
Where do the stores get these items? They may be last season’s items, leftovers, and returned items from full-price retail stores.
Some stores like TJ Maxx contract with brands to make goods to sell only at those discount stores. The goods might be a little lower quality or slightly different in style but still have the brand name that people want to wear.
The clearance rack is a great place to start. Go during certain times of the year like during the Clear the Racks sales at Nordstrom Rack and you’ll find the items discounted even more.
Consignment shops are similar to curated second-hand shops. An employee inspects items that people bring in and selects only those likely to resell.
The consignment store displays the item for a certain length of time like 1-3 months. If it sells, the shop takes part of the sale as commission. Fifty percent commission is normal. If it doesn’t, they may lower the price of the item or return it to the original owner.
Because items are all closely inspected and chosen for their ability to resell, you’ll come across better quality items and brands than you would at a thrift store.
Curated second-hand shops exist in many cities and towns. You might be familiar with some like Crossroads, Buffalo Exchange, and Plato’s Closet. People bring their clothing to these stores to sell in exchange for cash or store credit.
Employees inspect each item and accept only the ones they think will sell. Because these stores curate what they sell and are for-profit, their prices are higher than you’d find at thrift stores.