What is pallet flipping? Why does it exist?
When people ask us what we do for a living and we tell them that we are pallet flippers– we usually get either really interested looks or very confused ones. Most people have this idea that we are super crafty pallet furniture makers– and we wish we were that crafty. But that’s not what we do at all!
In fact, what we do actually has little to do with pallets, but what we purchase that are on them.
So, let’s break down the process by telling you how we come to get the pallets we purchase:
1. Retailers and manufacturers have products they cannot use or sell.
And this is a BIG problem. Why? Items that don’t sell cost money. Most big industries won’t sell items returned by consumers because they cannot guarantee the quality once it’s left the store.
Unsold seasonal decor, overstock items, damaged-in-transit goods are all unsellable for big retailers. If the consumer is willing to pay top dollar, then they are going to get a truly
brand-new, unused, perfect condition item– right down to the box it came in.
So what about those imperfect or overstocked items? Where do they go? The longer retailers keep unsellable goods around, the more it costs them because storing and destroying items costs money! How can they get these items off their hands as quickly as possible without costing boucoups of moolah?
Liquidator businesses will pay to take those goods off their hands! It’s a win-win situation for both businesses!
2. Liquidators purchase goods retailers cannot sell on large pallets.
Liquidators are the middle men who develop contracts with these larger industries. The contract is an agreement that liquidators agree to purchase a certain number of pallets. Now, the larger manufacturers have a way to make a quick buck for items that they previously would have to pay to store or throw away!
3. Liquidators sell goods to resellers.
Now that the liquidators have all of these pallets of goods to sell, they turn around and sell it to pallet flippers like us!
Each liquidator is different, so you’ll have to do your research on each individual liquidator to find out what happens once the pallet gets to their facility, but each facility processes their pallets and sell them either for a flat price or to the highest bidder.
Once resellers receive their pallets, they go process each item, test it, grade it, and reintroduce it into the marketplace. You’ll find resellers everywhere!
You can find reseller business online (think Opera),
in stores (think T.J. Maxx),
sold on Amazon, eBay,
you can find resellers in bargain bin stores,
flea market booths,
or on platforms like Mercari,
Facebook Marketplace, and Letgo.
Tell me, are you a hobby reseller, a career reseller, or something in between?
Let me know in the comments below!
Happy reselling!
