posted on April 1, 2002 04:10:34 PM
I'm new to selling on auction sites, and after selling all of our old clothing from our house, I was wondering if it would be worth it to go to garage sales and purchase name brand clothing for resale, or to purchase small lots (name brand clothing) from wholesale distributors? Can anybody share any success (or not so successful) stories of having done this?
posted on April 1, 2002 06:15:58 PM
This is one of those things you probably need to spend a good deal of time "researching". Find some high FB sellers in your category and see what they are selling and for how much and check their closed auctions to see the final price they were able to get.
If you think you can locate the item, pay for it up front, store it, list it and still be competitive and make a profit, then go for it!
I am a big believer in studying the competition and trying to decide what might work and what obviously doesn't! I learned the hard way about a year ago. I found a supplier and their prices looked great to me and limits low. I didn't spend enough time researching the category I would be selling in before jumping in with both feet. I soon learned that there were probably 1/2 dozen of us buying from the same supplier and NONE of us could compete with the manufacturer who started selling their own overstocks and discontinued goods which, as it turns out, is what the supplier was selling too!
I have come to the conclusion (and could be 110% wrong) that "wholesale" prices are not usually low enough to allow you to be competitive and profitable on eBay unless you can find something that nobody else is listing!
Good luck!
edited to put the PROFIT factor in since that is verrrrrry important!!!
[ edited by sulyn1950 on Apr 1, 2002 06:21 PM ]
posted on April 1, 2002 10:15:22 PM
Hi Sulyn1950, and thank you for all of your advise!! I really do appreciate it! I think I will take your advise and hold off on buying the wholesale stuff until I do a little more research. Thanks again!!
posted on April 2, 2002 12:04:53 AM
If you have not already - you might want to read this thread:
http://www.auctionwatch.com/mesg/read.html?num=2&thread=457526
Seems like she thought she got a good deal on some overstock clothing turned out she got 600 pieces some underwear included. Now she is selling them at her cost of $5 each. A NWT suit for $9.99....doesn't even cover her cost when you take into concideration ebay fees and AW fees etc.
I used to sell used clothing and then found a way to buy NEW clothing at lower then used clothing prices.
My suggestion is that if you can not see or select the items you are taking a real chance.
posted on April 2, 2002 05:56:39 AM
Hi! Just thought I'd put my two cents in since it was my thread they linked you to. You REALLY have to watch what you buy wholesale. In a large lot you may only get a few things that sell very well, then a lot of junk and off-colors. and yes, by the time I'm done I probably will be lucky to break even. And it takes a lot of work. Ironing the clothes because they come jammed in a box, getting pictures that show the true colors is difficult. Even with overstock clothes I found stains and snags in some of them. They did have pictures of the lot, but of course they put the nicer items on top. When I bought them they advertised the "includes Tommy jeans, DKNY...etc". Which I looked and all sold well, but then you get the "name brands" that people aren't familiar with. I did it because I got sick of garage sales and goodwill. I went to clothes because it seemed that there were a lot of threads in the message board that said womens clothes do well. I work full time also and thought "instant inventory that I don't have to hunt for" sounded wonderful. But it comes with a price. I don't want to discourage anyone, because I'm not ready to give up yet. If I were to offer a piece of advise I would say if there's a "below wholesale" supplier that has an warehouse in your area go and look at the items first if they let you, and make sure they also don't sell on ebay since then you're going to get the bottom of the barrel. I avoided all companies that take paypal - it sent a red flag. I would also buy a small lot (as small as you can) to see what type of clothing they are going to send you. If it sells well then order a larger lot. But obviously I'm not a clothing expert
posted on April 2, 2002 07:42:57 AM
I posted this in the other thread too, but any opinions on a lot of womens' clothes/shoes/purses that are vintage to recent, from an estate? Seems like selling it to people who want it might be better than taking it to the rescue mission, but I don't know if it's worth the time to list... mostly pants and tops, a lot of 1970's type stuff that I don't know if there's a market for. Biggest problem is I will have to guess at size because shirts anyhow all seem to have the tags removed, but they seem to be in the 12-14 range. Some of it is, let's face it ugly, but then again the kids at the clubs are wearing things I thought would have died a lingering death in a closet by now, so...
Do your research so you know exactly what to buy. We've been doing this for several years and you will end up with a huge amount of stuff that doesn't sell if you aren't careful.
Garage sales IMO are not an option. People think that their "designer" clothing are worth more than you can possibly get for them. Deals are few and you spend a lot of time for nothing. I also have not found a viable wholesale source.
Thrift store shopping works but it is very hard to find bargains and the majority of their clothing is damaged in some way so you need to be very careful. The competition is also fierce so good items at reasonable prices don't last. There are other ways to do it though and you can do ok if you do your homework..
[ edited by sulyn1950 on Apr 1, 2002 06:21 PM ]