posted on May 31, 2002 09:37:07 PM
Not wanting to cut into anyone's business but just curious about this. I see lots of sellers with page after page after page of new clothing and wonder where in the world (and HOW in the world) they come across these. Can someone clue me in? I realize as I type this that I probably won't get any answers because the sellers who are making their living this way don't, of course, want to give their 'secret' away but I thought I would give it shot anyway.
posted on June 1, 2002 01:10:15 AM
I don't buy or sell clothes on eBay, so I will tell you where many sellers get their new clothes to sell.
The outlet malls.
Outlet malls have different owners, so in any given region one outlet mall is not like another and the shops will be different. Thus, the clothing outlet stores will differ from outlet mall to outlet mall within a region, and differ even more widely from region to region.
The eBay sellers know which stores at which malls will have their super sales that are 75% or more of already discounted prices. The eBay sellers wait in line for the stores' openings on those specific sales days, stampede in and buy up as much as they can.
They list the clothing on eBay and buyers from other regions of the country see the name brands at fabulous prices comparative to the store prices in their area and bid up a storm. It is because outlet stores for those brands are not in their area; when the buyers see the brands for sale on eBay the buyers don't realize that the clothing was scooped up on the big discount day at an outlet mall on the other side of the country.
posted on June 1, 2002 06:11:07 AM
i think some of them are brick and mortar stores .
i have seen one based in nyc which always have designer brand clothes.
they will tell you in their me page or in item description.
posted on June 1, 2002 07:33:59 AM
Many of these sellers buy directly from large department stores, Bloomingdales etc... The clothes are closeouts, things that didn't sell on the floor or extras that the store can't sell.
posted on June 1, 2002 09:01:17 AM
Goodwill Retail stores sell some new clothing at great prices .. at least the one near me does Need to go in often since selection is real big
Also .. Marshalls is a real good place but again need to go often to find the great stuff !!
posted on June 1, 2002 11:57:01 AM
Sellers buy pallet's of clothes but this usually ranges in about $1000.00 investment and they say the pallets are worth quite a bit more. I live where I can buy name brand briefs and panties and I do well on them, so everyplace in the good old USA has bargins you just have to look.
posted on June 1, 2002 12:10:06 PM
I buy many of my personal clothing from a friend in China and most likely soon will be buying clothing to sell on eBay. It is dirt cheap if you know the right people. Gortex jackets are like $50, Name brand jeans $10, shirts $5.
All of the prices are cheap when you order through China because that is where it is made.
It is very hard to import from China however. You either need a friend there and he ship sit to you via pallets or you need to go yourself and you can only bring around $1500 back. But $1500 buys alot.
posted on June 1, 2002 12:24:29 PM
i used to work next to a shop that sewed together Eccobay sweaters for big dept stores. They would go for $20-30 then. We used to buy a stack of 25 tied up with a strip of the material they were made from for $10.
posted on June 1, 2002 08:01:02 PM
Outlet Mall clothes from Abercrombie & Fitch, American Eagle, GAP, Lands End and Old Navy have tags that have been cut or been "red lined" (have a red Sharpie marker line through them) to prevent you from trying to return them to the regular store for full price.
The A&F outlet my teenage daughter frequents has $10 NWT shirts, but it may be last seasons merchandise or less than perfect items (screen print isn't centered, etc).
I would guess the NWT items are either red lined from outlets, being sold by a store employee who gets a big discount, or bought in bulk as store/catalog/website returns.
I would imagine Abercrombie has a returns warehouse somewhere and pallets of the stuff is being peddled on ebay.
Take a look at the Pottery Barn or QVC auctions on ebay. Sellers will tell you they buy pallets of returns from them for pennies on the dollar and turn around and ebay them for a profit.
posted on June 2, 2002 06:48:19 AM
I sell clothing exclusively and buy from liquidators. One that I have been very happy with is American Merchandise Liquidators at http://www.amlinc.com. Just do a search in Yahoo for liquidation or distressed merchandise.
posted on June 2, 2002 06:51:40 AM
i always wandered this and i am talking about this season brand spanking new with tags attached....i have come to the conclusion alot of these items have to be hot!.
posted on June 2, 2002 03:51:54 PM
We get new clothes, the same way we get other new products, just like a brick and mortar store (which we also have) does, from wholesale firms.... in two months we will be going to the largest convention of wholesales in the country, not just clothes but everything imaginable ….. buying low, buying wholesale is the only way to keep continual quality products for our customers at a good price.
Actually, clothes are a new line for us, we have basically sold home furnishings, and unique collectibles, but my husband recently decided to expand into women’s clothing to test that market.
Regarding buying pallet close outs, that is a major gamble, and normally are items someone else couldn't sell, I personally wouldn't touch such with a ten foot pole.
I want the newest, incoming lines at the lowest possible prices to use on line. Realize when buying from a "TRUE" wholesaler you will have to buy in bulk, you can't buy one of this or two of this and 3 of that, in most cases a "TRUE" wholesalers require a copy of your State Retail Sales License, and/or a major minimum purchase. This keeps individuals from by passing "Wal-Mart," and buying a few items for themselves.
In fact there are many companies which call them selves "wholesalers" which are no where near wholesale, and allow any and everyone to buy from them - these are not true wholesalers.....most of the wholesalers we deal with require a minimum opening purchase (at least $300 - $500 opening order), and a minimum reorder. Some require case purchases.....
Over the years we have found that dealing with oriental or middle eastern wholesalers, we get the best prices, as they are open to “dealing.” The more you buy from them the lower the cost….
posted on June 2, 2002 09:50:14 PM
A year ago last fall a National department store had a big closeout on men's clothing here, mostly name brand designer stuff that I would never buy at retail. You know, $75 for a plain white shirt? All with tags, but marked down.
At 75 percent off retail I went through and bought a whole lot of stuff, probably $400 worth, all at my size. Some of it I decided I didn't need and decided to sell it on ebay.
Well, the next week they went to 87 1/2 percent off retail, and I decided this was my opportunity to buy for resale. I stuck strictly to national brands and tried to buy my size mostly. At that price, I made a good profit. My best purchases were at the big and tall mens shop. While I could not wear any of that, I was able to sell it all at around 50% of retail, which was a pretty good markup. I sold it all fast enough that I could return it to the store if i did not sell, but only returned a few things. I made enough to pay for all the clothes I kept, and about $300- $400. The one thing I leaned wa, only buy name brands to maximize your profits.
posted on June 4, 2002 10:34:40 AMBugler is right ... you can often get the very best deals at upscale department stores. They have to turn merchandise quickly because they're expected to keep up with trends (moreso than Sears) and they don't like to devote a lot of floor space to sale racks. So they mark it down and move it out - and often offer "extra" discounts or coupons that can get the price down to 90 percent off retail. The outfit I'm wearing today - headband to shoes - would have cost more than $400 originally. I know I didn't pay more than $50 for everything.
On the other hand, I have to partially disagree with hotcupoftea. If you can find a real outlet, then you could potentially find decent deals. But there aren't many "real" outlets around there any more....and the ones in the outlet malls certainly don't qualify. Often, the best you can do is 50 percent off retail, which strikes me as amusing but hardly tempting. I frequently visit Orlando, which is known as Outlet Mall Heaven, and I can tell you I've NEVER seen anything in the outlets that I thought would be worth putting on eBay. I rarely even buy anything for myself there.
On palletts, I used to work with a group of sellers. I didn't deal with the buying end of it, but I do remember that the quality and condition of the merchandise varied widely. The group made a great deal of money on the first pallett and barely broke even on the second. I'd suspect that a lot of the sellers are buying large assorted lots of new (not shelf pulls) clothing from China or India.
posted on June 4, 2002 11:37:49 AM
I sell big & tall men's and plus size women's clothing all new with tags. I sell a lot of Ralph Lauren items and have begun selling Emme, and other designers.
I have suppliers (real wholesalers). I buy when buying is good and they know when to call me and what price I will pay. I have already placed my winter orders. I have confirmation on some of them. My order for Polo Ralph Lauren sweater vest will arrive in August. My Emme coordinating suits will also arrive here in August.
I place my order and I know the business enough to know what the best price I can get it for. 2 of my suppliers I tell them what I will pay, they tell me yes or no. They will call me if they have stuff that they want out of the warehouse or if someone did not complete their order so they are willing to sell the order site unseen dirt cheap. They know the quality I want and know when to make me the offer.
I purchased over 100 pairs of Ralph Lauren shorts at about 98% off retail.
Of course, I will not tell you my suppliers but I have researched the ones on the net and they do not come close to what I can get the stuff at.
I might add NONE of the stuff I sell is "HOT".
I sell about 100-125 items Monday -Thursday and would sell more if I did not waste my time reading this boards.
posted on June 5, 2002 01:37:57 PM
Many times if you see a seller that sells one brand exclusively, and often has this season's new items below retail, they work for the company, and buy the items with their employee discount.
As “RichieRich” says, I won’t give away sources, we have spent too much time over the years and money procuring top wholesalers, and their shows to simply give such away. Sorry..
I will tell you they are listed on the internet, but that is all the assistance I can offer. Honestly, I am glad to know they aren't that easy to find, although I would doubt the average seller is going to spend a couple of grand to attend (presuming most do not live near the city where it is held).
Where there is a will – you will find a way.
[ edited by JWPC on Jun 6, 2002 10:09 AM ]
posted on June 6, 2002 01:59:18 PM
the new york intl gift show held twice each year in nyc is the largest gift show in the country,i believe they are in july and april,you can look up internet and find out more,not sure they have clothes,but fashion show is also held in the same place.i think it could be a separate show.
atlanta trade show is also big and getting bigger,if you want good asian contact,try the ones in san francisco and los angelos.
china has a show for all exported merchandise from granite to arts to ???held in kwonntung,china (the old canton),it can be expensive as western hotels need to be reserved in advance.
if you are ever in hk,cross the border into the free trade zone by bus or train and you can find all you want -ralph loren,comforters,carvings and more.
posted on June 7, 2002 08:17:09 PM
msincognito is correct - if you can find a REAL factory outlet, you MAY be able to find some bargains. But... first you have to find them. If you live in or near an area with significant garment manufacturing activity, look for the sewing factories. They probably won't be very big, especially if the garment manufacturer out-sources the production. And they may be sweatshops - small, usually temporary, often illegal and exploitative, and not easy to identify, let alone penetrate. Sometimes the sewing shops have an overrun, or unclaimed orders, or an accumulation of minor "seconds". Availability of goods is sporadic at best, and usually very temporary. The illegal shops will never have an on-site sale but they may have their own "outlet" at a separate location or at a flea market. The legal sewing shops sometimes have sales, but usually they are advertised by word-of-mouth or a small sign in the window. When I lived in San Francisco there were dozens of small, presumably legal sewing factories south of Market St. and we shopped them frequently, looking for little hand-lettered signs or even just an open door. (They've probably moved elsewhere since SOMA has gone upscale.) So look around your city, espcially in those areas where you normally wouldn't go - you may find what you are looking for.
Need to go in often since selection is real big