How to Shop for an Auction That’s Right for You

The world of liquidation auctions may seem like a way to get rich quick, but in reality reselling can be a lot of work, especially at first. It’s easy to become overwhelmed when you’re starting out. It’s also easy to fall prey to scammers and bad actors who pose as legitimate auction sellers. How do you protect yourself from fraud and still get your money’s worth? We’re here to help.

What Do You Want to Sell?

The first thing to consider when choosing the right online liquidation auction is the type of products you’re looking for. At first, it’s a good idea to specialize in a specific category of goods and really get to know the type of inventory you’ll be carrying. There are mixed lots out there and available, but it might be best to wait on those until you’re more familiar with liquidation resale.

Are you a fashionista? Check out auctions full of clothing, shoes, and accessories. Do you love gadgets and all the latest tech? Electronics auctions might be your sweet spot. If your kids are your passion, you might consider buying lots of toys to resell. Do you love to work on cars? Check out auctions full of car parts and vehicle accessories.

Beyond your personal hobbies and interests, you’ll also want to consider what you’re going to do with the items you’re buying if you win. For furniture or appliance auctions, you’ll need a large warehouse and probably a place to sell your goods locally. Don’t buy items like candles if your warehouse or storage space isn’t climate controlled. They’re likely to melt in the heat of the summer and create a big, unsellable mess. And remember, it’s a lot easier to warehouse a bunch of rectangular boxes than it is to store oddly shaped items.

So, before you choose a product type, consider how you’re going to store and sell it. Make sure you’re familiar enough with that type of item to write good online listings and answer questions from potential customers. If you’re selling online, consider how expensive it will be to package and ship your items.

Where Should You Buy?

Now that you have a product line in mind, how do you find the actual auctions of inventory to purchase? It’s important to choose a reputable seller and you’ll need to understand the process before you start bidding.

First, you want to avoid fraudsters. There are a number of bad actors in the liquidations space who buy auction lots, pick them over, and take out anything that’s likely to bring a profit, then lump the least profitable items back into a new auction. If you were to purchase from one of these, you’d likely receive a lot full of broken or nearly worthless goods that will be hard to move and nearly impossible to profit from.

Instead, choose an auction site that is upfront about the goods available in each auction. If you shop with B-Stock, you’ll usually get a full manifest detailing each product in the lot. We’ll even give you an estimated retail value. And since we work directly with retailers like Amazon, Walgreens, Best Buy, Target, and Nordstrom Rack, you can trust that you’ll be bidding on quality products with proven customer markets.

There’s another consideration when choosing where to buy: the physical location of the products. When possible, choose auctions as close to your region as possible. Shipping a truckload of goods across the country can be expensive; but by choosing a closer warehouse, you’ll save money. Remember that the shipping fees are on top of the auction price, so do your best to keep them low.

How Do You Get Your Products?

Once you’ve chosen an auction site and won a liquidation lot, it’s a little different from winning an auction on eBay or buying an item on Amazon. In many cases, the seller does not arrange for shipping. Most sellers also don’t allow buyers to pick up their own merchandise, unless you have the proper equipment to do so. This means you’ll need to contract with a trucking company to get your products.

If you’re new to this, you may not have the slightest idea of how to contract a trucking company to deliver your goods. There’s good news though — we have a few highly-rated options available to get you started. We’ve teamed up with shipping partners to help you arrange shipping by the truckload and LTL (less than truckload) shipments.

Next, you’ll need to consider storage. If you haven’t already found a warehouse to store your goods, now is a good time to get to it. If you’re planning to purchase a full truckload of goods, this takes up a great deal of space to sort and store. If you’re serious about your reselling business, you’re going to want a better option than stashing everything in the garage. Even if you have enough space at home, shipping there is likely to cost you extra fees. This is because trucking companies need a proper loading dock with access to forklifts and other equipment. You’ll pay an extra fee for residential deliveries or the use of a lift gate.

No matter what type of product you’re looking to sell, B-Stock’s liquidation auction marketplaces are your source for quality liquidation lots from top brands across the US and even abroad. Browse our auctions today and explore the reselling possibilities.