How to Buy and Resell Job Lots on eBay

There are plenty of other reselling platforms out there, but there is a reason traders in Europe trust eBay. Well, a few reasons in fact. It’s been around since 1995, is easy to use, offers a huge range of categories, and has 183 million active buyers on the site. Whether you’re just looking to sell an item or two here and there, or you’re starting a full-time resale business, eBay makes the selling process easy.

We go over what job lots are, how you can buy them, and what makes eBay such a great reselling platform for traders.

What Are Job Lots?

Job lots are a grouping of items sold as a single lot. So, they are essentially an assortment of goods for sale as one quantity. These bundles are mixed, meaning there will be a range of products in varying conditions and categories.

Job lots are available for purchase at deep discounts that are far less than RRP (recommended retail price). So, you can get good returns on this inventory by buying it cheap and reselling it for higher!

When it comes to excess stock and customer-returned inventory, manufacturers and retailers have limited options. They can pay to dispose of it, let it take up precious warehouse space, or sell off these job lots by the pallet or truckload to traders like yourself. Retailers recoup revenue while making way for new inventory, and you get to resell job lots for a profit, that’s a win-win!

How to Buy Job Lots

Be a registered business

You must be registered as a business and provide a VAT identification number. VAT stands for value-added tax and lets you buy job lots tax-free, with the expectation that you charge this tax to your customers when an item sells. For VAT exemptions and more information, visit this site.

Source inventory from top categories

Like we said earlier, job lots can be mixed stock all packaged as one. But you can also find lots within a certain category or single item job lots. For example, a mixed lot in the apparel category could include watches, leggings, polo shirts, and more. Another example of a lot in the home and living category could include towels, sofa covers, bedding, and more.

Top categories in the EU include:

• Mixed lots
• Fashion
• Home and living
• Toys
• Consumer electronics

Online marketplaces

Find online job lot auctions available on B2B clearance marketplaces. Registered buyers can easily bid on bulk quantities of clearance stock, directly from top retailers, manufacturers, and trade-in companies. Conditions range from new to light use to salvage.

Here are a few marketplaces to check out:

• Amazon Liquidation Auctions Europe: You can find electronics, kitchen, home & garden, pet necessities, toys, children & baby essentials, pantry & grocery, books, music & games, apparel, sports & outdoors, automotive, beauty, drugstore, health & personal care; as well as mixed lots.
• Wayfair EU Liquidation Auctions: Find the best of kitchen & dining furniture, lighting, home office, bedroom & outdoor, rugs, mattresses, and more!
• Crazy Clearance Auctions: Whether you’re looking for apparel, footwear, furniture, small appliances, and more, Crazy Clearance has a good mix.
• B-Stock Supply Europe: Our very own B-Stock Supply Europe is an online auction marketplace where small businesses/resellers can source returned and overstock merchandise from other businesses. Shop across thousands of categories from hundreds of sellers, all in one place.

If you have questions on Brexit and marketplace bidding restrictions, read our announcement here.

Look for ways to save on shipping

Shipping costs are one of the biggest considerations when purchasing job lots. You don’t want shipping to unexpectedly eat up potential profits before you’ve even received your goods!

There are a few ways you can save on shipping:

• Find free shipping on Supply Europe: Many of the Supply Europe sellers offer free shipping. This is the perfect way to get smaller job lots and cheaper shipping on much of the same merchandise offered by our private retailer marketplaces.
• Consider consolidated shipping: Consolidated shipping combines multiple LTL shipments into one full truckload shipment. Consolidated shipping through SEKO Logistics is available in the EU and UK!
• Look for nearby warehouses: While some marketplaces only have a handful of distribution centres, others have multiple warehouses scattered across the UK and Europe. And, obviously, the closer you get to you, the cheaper it ships!

Why Should You Resell on eBay?

For just about anything you might want to sell, there’s probably a category already set up and active on eBay. We go more in-depth on eBay features and highlights in our Reseller Tools of the Trade Series: Sell on eBay. Here is a snippet of all that this auction-based site has to offer traders reselling job lots:

A Huge Buying Audience

As previously mentioned, eBay has been around for a long time and has a vast audience of active buyers on the site. This means your listing can reach a great number of buyers with little effort on your part.

Minimal Up-Front Cost

For many platforms, there’s a pretty significant cost to pay before you ever actually earn anything. Not so with eBay. The bulk of their fees aren’t even calculated until your listing sells.

Seller Protections

Unlike creating your own freestanding e-commerce store, when you sell on their platform, eBay has your back. They have a number of Seller Protections to help you out when buyers don’t behave ethically or something goes wrong in the selling process.

Tips for Reselling Job Lots on eBay

Get the most out of your efforts and follow these marketing tips for reselling job lots on eBay.

Be honest about what you’re reselling

Honesty is the best policy, particularly when reselling items online. It may be easy to fudge the description or use a flattering photo angle, but your customer will quickly learn the truth once receiving the item. Always be 100% upfront and transparent about any damages to the items that you are trying to resell.

Promote your listings

You can upgrade your eBay account if you want to promote your listings–which is a huge benefit. There are millions of listings on eBay, but promoting your post within the site allows you to stand out.

Source Inventory through B-Stock

Whether you’re trying to bulk buy inventory, or grow your inventory in a specific category, B-Stock can help. Small businesses and startups buying overstock inventory from Amazon Europe and Wayfair can benefit from huge savings. This includes clearance stock and returned items, too! Registered buyers can secure quality merchandise that people want – directly from the retailer or brand – and sell them for amazingly low prices.

Ready to get started on inventory sourcing for your new eBay venture? Job lot auctions from B-Stock are a great way to get a lot of inventory for an excellent price.