How To Complete and Pay for a Wholesale or Liquidation Deal

I frequently get calls from new or inexperienced buyers in this business. More often than not they have no idea how this business works so I wanted to give some knowledge of what you can expect if you decide to make the leap. I may sound like I’m being harsh here. That’s not my intent. But if you are going to do this you need to know how the game is played and what you are up against.

Whether I’m selling a truckload or a lot of 100 new products I will frequently get the comment “I want to buy a much smaller lot and if I like it I will buy more.” If you say this there is a chance that your supplier will hang up on you. If the MOQ (minimum order quantity) is a truckload or 100 units that is the minimum order. If you try to entice them with how big of a buyer you are understand that there are customers buying 10 to 100 truckloads every month. You are not a big buyer in this world.

There are people that say I can only do the deal if I can pay for it with a credit card. They are trying to hedge their bets. So if they get burned they can cancel the charge. I understand the mindset but a true wholesaler/liquidator will not accept a credit card. They won’t for the very same reason you want to use a credit card. This leave themselves wide open to get burned on the deal too. Not to mention the extra charges for using a credit card. 99.9% of the time payment is made with a wire transfer. They only exception may be cash.

Once I had a customer that decided to jump into the “big time” and buy a truckload. The load was delivered to them and they quickly realized they were over their head and the wanted to return it. There are NO returns in this business. You make the deal, you pay for the deal, the load is delivered then it is on you. I can sell you the best load ever but if you don’t know how to sell it you will lose money. But that’s not my problem. You need to have your big boy/girl pants on. If you can’t live with these terms then you are not ready to step in this arena. You don’t get to make the rules or change the rules. People make the mistake in thinking that buying a load is like buying a car. You get to make demands and they bend over backwards to get the deal done. This not how it works in the wholesale/liquidation business. You need to understand that if you find a source that can provide you with good product and good profits, you need to protect that connection. A good source is far more valuable than a good buyer. If you lose your source you have nothing to sell and you are out of business. I’m sure you’re thinking “hey I’m taking all the risk” Well the fact is that there is a certain amount of risk in this and every other business. If you want to avoid all risk stick to retail arbitrage and estate sales. But you can manage that risk and it will pay dividends in the wholesale/liquidation business if you have the stomach for it. There is no such thing as no risk in business. If you want to get in this business here is what you need to do.

1. Do your due diligence. Get as much information about your source as possible.

2. Establish a relationship with your source. Talk to them to get a sense of who you’re dealing with. Ask question, look at manifests (if available) and pictures, so you know what you are buying.

3. Then take the leap. Do the deal. Follow the parameters I mentioned above and do what you do best. Move some product and make some money. If you wring your hands and you’re afraid to make a decision you will never make the move and you will never make money in this business.

Once the first deal is done, every other deal thereafter with this source is much easier. You both know what to expect and you are both comfortable with the deal. But if you don’t do the deal because you’re worried you may be missing out on a great source and a lot of ongoing money. So do your work ahead of time. You have to be willing to take a managed risk. You have to be bold if you want to succeed in business. You can do very well buying and selling wholesale, liquidations, closeouts etc. But this business is full of scammers and BS. If you walk in blindly and not know what you’re doing or who you are dealing with you will most certainly get taken advantage of. So as I’ve said, do your work, be bold and move some product.