How to Buy Liquidation Electronics

Looking for a product category to specialize in for your resale business? Electronics are easily one of the best products for online reselling, but also come with their own set of challenges. We’ll break down both the pros and cons of buying and reselling liquidation electronics.

What Makes Reselling Electronics Worthwhile?

Consumer electronics are a big part of our daily lives—this makes them lucrative, in-demand inventory for reselling. The fact that there are so many smartwatches or activity trackers (for example) available, show the popularity of the product. Since a lot of people are purchasing these items, this allows resellers to move inventory fairly quickly.

Historically, video games, gaming consoles, and Apple products are also sought-after items that generate higher pricing. Since electronics tend to make for larger profits than other products, you’re right to think this is a good vertical for your resale business to tap into.

“Electronics” is the most popular category for both purchases and sales on Amazon. Amazon Prime Day 2020 data shows that 32% of U.S. Amazon Prime buyers purchased Amazon-branded electronics during the sales event—now imagine the demand for other big-name brands!

Sourcing liquidation electronics is a good way to get your hands on a lot of inventory at once and for a good price. There are tons of options for small business owners and resellers now. Whether you choose to go for refurbished/ overstock inventory, or through wholesalers or online liquidation sites, there are plenty of opportunities to earn a profit!

Bestselling Products in Electronics

Amazon conveniently curates a bestsellers list that is updated hourly. This is a huge benefit to resellers as you can easily see what’s in demand and selling fast. Here are some of Amazon’s best sellers in electronics right now:

• Fire TV Stick
• Amazon Smart Plug
• Roku Streaming Stick+
• Echo Dot Smart Speaker, 4th Gen
• Fire 7 Tablet
• Echo Show 5
• Wyze Smart Home Camera
• Kindle Paperwhite
• HP Computer Monitor, 23.8-inch
• Apple Watch Series 3

How to Buy Liquidation Electronics

So you know the demand is there, but why exactly is it good for resellers? Well, the more in-demand a product is, the more likely people are to purchase and try it. This inadvertently leads to more customer returns.

Roughly 20% of consumer electronics purchases are returned to the retailer or manufacturer for two main reasons: complexity and lack of problem-solving. Complexity meaning an item is just too difficult to figure out how to use. So rather than utilizing customer support or reading the manual, many consumers will just give up and take the item back–even though there is nothing wrong with it. Lack of problem-solving means the product doesn’t solve the problem the customer is hoping it would. Perhaps purchasing an activity tracker didn’t result in weight loss, so the consumer decides it isn’t worth it any longer.

Of course, you’re looking for profitable products, so something we can’t stress enough is to know your condition codes. When buying liquidation electronics, you don’t want any mystery in the products you’re purchasing. Detailed lot manifests will help you determine the price you’re willing to pay for this inventory. For example, the cost between refurbished goods and salvage will be vastly different. Learn everything you need to know about consumer electronics conditions here.

However, here’s the thing with customer returned electronics. Retailers usually can’t (or won’t due to the cost of reprocessing and restocking) just return items to shelves. And storing these returns that can’t be resold on primary shelves? That costs the company too much money and much-needed space for new inventory. That’s essentially the short answer for why companies liquidate, but where this merchandise ends up is a better question for someone looking to buy liquidation electronics. The answer? Online marketplaces and third-party wholesalers/ liquidators.

Liquidation vs. Wholesale Electronics

Something to note on wholesalers and large liquidators: they frequently purchase large liquidation bulk lots from retailers, break those lots apart, sometimes pick out the good stuff, and then repack and redistribute them in smaller lots to smaller retailers and resellers. Often by the time the smaller retailer or reseller gets it, the merchandise has been through multiple middlemen, cherry-picked, and marked up.

Buying direct from the retailer through an authorized online marketplace is a good way to alleviate some of those worries, and it so happens B-Stock can help! B-Stock operates marketplaces where big retailers can offload this liquidation merchandise so buyers like you can source and bid on inventory that is right for your resale business. With so many places to buy electronics, you want to make sure you’re sourcing products that are right for you, your customers, and your budget!

Selling Liquidation Electronics Tips

Many successful B-Stock buyers have thriving businesses. Here are a few tips you should keep in mind when selling your newly sourced electronics on the secondary market:

Have a generous return policy and list warranty details clearly

Sometimes things just don’t pan out the way they’re supposed to. Having a clear, upfront return policy is in your favor. Ultimately, you will get happier customers coming back for more even if something didn’t go right on a past order. Also, don’t forget to list any product warranty details that might be useful to customers!

Don’t undervalue your photography

It’s best to always take your own professional photos. This is a big consideration for anyone following the dropshipping model, otherwise, your items will look exactly the same as other sellers’ contracting with wholesalers to get their inventory. You can easily boost sales with great photos!

Make your listing name specific

Don’t make things hard for customers. Always list the brand name and model number in the listing title. That way, it’s easy for users to scan on the search results pages and they won’t get frustrated having to click into your listing and go on a treasure hunt for basic information.

Create a standardized template for your online listings

Creating an easy-to-read and standardized template for online listings will make your business look more professional and create trust with potential customers (and hopefully repeat buyers!). It might be worth it to pay a graphic designer to create a branded template for your eBay store. Or, you can take some time to create your own and DIY it.

Take out the risk, use “Buy It Now” options

If you’re listing on eBay, the “Buy It Now” feature is a good option if you want to secure your profit margin. This option lets buyers make the purchase right away. You can do this at a fixed-price listing or auction-style. Read more about eBay’s Buy It Now options here!

Consider shipping operations

You don’t want to spend time sourcing, buying, and listing great electronic products just for them to get damaged during shipping. Make careful packaging and shipping decisions to ensure your customers are happy with your product when it arrives.

Be sure to brush up on a few more tips and tricks for buying liquidation consumer electronics. Then head over to B-Stock Auctions! B-Stock Auctions is the largest network of B2B liquidation marketplaces connecting returned and overstock inventory from top retailers and manufacturers – including nine of the top 10 U.S. retailers – directly to business buyers. Resellers can bid on a few pallets to multiple truckloads of inventory across dozens of categories including consumer electronics, mobile, fashion, home décor, appliances, and more.