E-commerce continues to skyrocket as more consumers turn to digital marketplaces when shopping.
Unfortunately, there has also been an increase in the rate and number of returns on products sold through Amazon.
This growing problem can become an excellent opportunity for someone looking to make a profit online.
If you want to buy Amazon Return Pallets and create a profitable business out of returned items, I can help you.
In this guide, I discuss what these return pallets for sale are, how to buy Amazon Return Pallets, including the different Amazon pallets for sale, where to buy them, how to get good deals, and how to sell refurbished items.
Let’s get started.
Table of Contents
What Are Amazon Return Pallets?
Amazon Return Pallets are enormous pallets full of returned items that Amazon resells at significantly lower prices.
Sellers willing to take the risk buy these pallets and refurbish the returned items to sell them for a profit.
You can buy return pallets from companies that sell them via blind auctions.
How Do Customer Returns Affect Sellers?
It’s no secret that Amazon’s free return policy has posed many problems for Amazon and its sellers. A study shows that customers return up to 30% of products they buy online. To compare, customers only return 9% of products they buy from brick-and-mortar stores.
Amazon’s policy on returned items has been an issue for some time. While most sellers consider returned items part of the risk of doing business online, they also want a way to make some of their money back.
Enter: the Amazon Return Pallets program.
Amazon created Amazon Return Pallets as a tool to turn a pain point into a way to recoup some of the money lost on returned items and reduce waste.
What Happens to Amazon Returns?
Amazon has become an undeniable leader in the e-commerce space.
In 2021, the e-commerce giant reported over $469.8 billion in net sales on its digital marketplace, a number 22% higher than the previous year.
But, there is a downside to this growth.
There’s also been a massive increase in product returns that have contributed to seller loss and solid waste problems.
The average return rate on online items increased to 16.6% in 2021 from just 10.6% the year before.
The CEO of returns solutions provider Optoro once said:
“From all those returns, there’s now nearly 6 billion pounds of landfill waste generated a year and 16 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions as well. That’s the equivalent of the waste produced by 3.3 million Americans in a year.”
Returns continue to pose a big problem, especially during the holiday season. Amazon partnered with various entities to deal with this rising problem.
Amazon has several options for dealing with returned items:
- Resell the items – Specific people inspect the items returned to Amazon’s warehouses. Products in good condition get a valid resale certificate. Amazon typically sells these items again to other buyers.
- Dispose of the items – Many returned items don’t stay in an Amazon warehouse. Amazon dumps a significant portion of returned items, which adds to the world’s already bad waste problem.
- Donate the items – Amazon donates some returned items to charity organizations.
- Liquidate the items – Amazon passes returned items to partner liquidation companies that sell returned or overstocked merchandise. The returned items end up in Amazon liquidation auctions, where sellers can bid for plenty of products.
Amazon Liquidation Auctions
Bidding for pallets allows you to get various items at hugely discounted prices. The caveat is that there’s no way of ensuring the type and condition of the products.
It’s similar to what happens on the hit reality show Storage Wars.
Companies selling Amazon Return Pallets don’t usually tell bidders what items are inside the pallets.
Typically, liquidated items include the following products.
- Clothes
- House decor and other home items
- Gadgets
- Computers, phones, and other devices
- Books
- Jewelry
- Video games
- Pet supplies
- Toys and games
Some pallets may contain broken merchandise or products in poor condition. This is why buying Amazon Return pallets can be extremely risky.
Are Amazon Return Pallets Worth It?
Is buying Amazon Return Pallets worth the time, energy, and effort?
Because you are buying blind, buying Amazon returns may not be for everyone.
But, if you’re willing to take the risk, buying Amazon returns can be a bargain that results in significant profits. Even with the risk, many sellers still buy Amazon customer return Pallets to make a profit.
Why Buy Amazon Return Pallets?
Buying Amazon liquidation pallets has many benefits. If you’re planning to purchase return pallets, here are some compelling reasons to do it.
It Helps Reduce Waste
Many online purchases end up in the trash, adding to the world’s existing waste and pollution problem. Buying Amazon Return Pallets allows you to help minimize retail waste.
You Can Get Great Deals
Buying Amazon pallets for sale is risky because you don’t see the actual products in the pallets. However, if most of the products are in good condition, you can end up getting a good deal you can turn into a profit.
Yes, some items might end up in the trash. But, products in good condition can offset the ones you throw away.
You Can Sell Them for a Profit
Getting your hands on Amazon pallets for sale and selling them can be an intelligent business model. Liquidation auctions sell pallets at discounted prices, which means you could end up with a big batch of products you can easily resell for a profit.
The great thing is that any seller with capital can buy Amazon Return pallets from reputable liquidation companies.
If you can sell them at resale value (or at least close to it), you’ll probably make a reasonable markup on returned or refurbished items.
How to Buy Amazon Return Pallets
Look no further if you’re wondering where to buy Amazon Return Pallets. Here are the different liquidation companies that offer Amazon Return Pallets.
Direct Liquidation
Direct Liquidation is a popular liquidation company that sells liquidated merchandise to resellers. This company has partnered with some of the biggest retail brands, including Amazon, Walmart, and Lowes.
Direct Liquidation sells liquidated products via auction. If you’re planning to bid on pallets from Direct Liquidation, you’ll need to deliberate if they’re worth it because the company doesn’t provide much information.
Check the website to search for products and filter by brand or store.
Liquidation
Liquidation.com is another direct liquidation company that does liquidation auctions for resellers. They buy overstock merchandise directly from retail companies and auction them off to resellers.
The company is a popular Amazon Return Pallet partner and a reliable place to buy liquidated goods.
Like most liquidation platforms that sell Amazon Return Pallets, an Amazon Return Pallet auction on Liquidation is also virtually blind.
Furthermore, the products you buy on Liquidation are typically untested. This means there’s a risk of getting damaged merchandise you can’t sell.
Liquidation includes the following categories on its website.
- General merchandise
- Housewares
- Tools and machinery
- Consumer electronics
- Computers and networking
- Personal protective equipment
You can also choose returned pallets based on their conditions.
- Returns
- Shelf pulls (usually overstocked merchandise)
- Salvage
B-Stock Supply
B-Stock Supply is another online auction platform that sells Amazon return pallets to resellers and shoppers.
B-Stock Supply will often launch Amazon liquidation auctions where prices range from $300 to $5,000 per pallet.
On this platform, resellers can source customer returns from other businesses. It’s a great place to buy liquidated merchandise if you want an experience that matches eBay.
The only downside is that B-Stock Supply only sells return pallets to buyers in the United States and Europe.
Craigslist
Craigslist is a name that most people already know. The website is a great place to start your pallet purchasing journey.
The chances of you getting a good deal on Craigslist is just as good as liquidation auctions by Amazon third-party sellers.
However, current options are pretty limited and highly dependent on your location.
888Lots.com
888Lots is another company that does Amazon liquidation auctions. The company is located in New Jersey, which makes it a great option if you’re a reseller from the East Coast.
If you’re nowhere near that area, you might be unable to maximize the low prices since you’ll have to pay additional costs for shipping.
888Lots also requires you to have a valid reseller certificate and a valid business registration if you’re from the United States.
What’s fantastic about 88Lots is the site’s Amazon profit calculator, which can help you determine whether or not your bids on their Amazon liquidation auctions will be worth it.
Liquidation Warehouses
If you’re not for buying returned merchandise online, you can visit liquidation warehouses around the United States.
These onsite locations are good alternatives if you want to be able to inspect the packaging of the products in the pallets.
Still, like most direct liquidation auctions, you won’t be able to open the boxes since they’re inside factory plastic wrapping.
How Much Do Amazon Return Pallets Cost?
Amazon Return Pallets cost anywhere between $200 to a few thousand dollars. Buying Amazon returns is usually done via auction, so the price can vary depending on who’s bidding on them.
How Do I Sell the Liquidated Merchandise?
After successfully picking up your first Amazon Return Pallet, the next step is to sell the items inside!
Here are a few tips to help maximize your Amazon Return Pallet reselling business.
Sort Through the Products.
Sort your stash and see which items you can sell as is and which ones you can sell as refurbished. Keep what you can sell and dispose of the rest.
Choose Products Ready for Selling.
If your products are practically ready for sale, you don’t have to do anything except put them up for your potential buyers to see.
This category includes clothes in good condition, sturdy toys, or products without defects or issues.
Determine What You Need to Refurbish.
Some items in your Amazon Return Pallet might be slightly damaged. Don’t give up on them yet. See if any are repairable so you can sell them as refurbished.
Some businesses hire experts to fix products that require technical knowledge, such as gadgets or electronic items.
You can save on costs by trying to repair the products yourself. Once your business grows, you can build a network of reliable experts who can help restore products to factory specifications.
Remember, the time you spend refurbishing items could be time spent on other essential business tasks. Once you can, outsource all the refurbishing and repairs.
Assign Prices to Your Product.
Search other marketplaces to determine the estimated retail price of brand-new merchandise. You’ll have to drop prices a bit if you sell refurbished merchandise.
Try to make as much profit as possible by pricing your products a little higher. You can offer discounts later on if no one’s interested.
Sell Your Products
The last is to sell your items. Display them in your physical store if you have one or make a garage sale.
You can also sell them online. You can sell on online marketplaces such as:
- Craigslist
- eBay
- Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok
- Your own Shopify store
- Your own WooCommerce store on a WordPress site.
Remember to offer different payment and shipping options to buyers when selling online.
Promote Your Products.
Setting up a physical or online store is just the beginning. You’ll also need to promote your products online.
Here are some great ideas that you can try out.
- Run ads on Facebook, Google, Instagram, or TikTok
- Partner with a social media influencer
- Build your own social media following
- Create sales and discount offers
- Advertise in the local newspaper
- Try to get featured on popular websites or news sites
- Start a YouTube channel
- Try selling live on a streaming platform
How Much Can I Make Selling Amazon Return Pallets?
Like any business, an Amazon Return Pallet reselling hustle can turn into a profitable one if you do it right. There’s no limit to how much you can make.
But if you buy enough pallets consistently and deploy robust online promotion strategies, you should be able to make considerable money through return pallets.
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
How to Bid on Amazon Pallets?
To bid on Amazon pallets, follow these steps:
- Go to the Amazon Liquidation Auctions website.
- Register for an account, if you don’t already have one.
- Browse the available pallets and select the ones you want to bid on.
- Enter your maximum bid for the pallet(s) and submit your bid.
- If your bid is the highest, you will be notified and required to purchase the pallet(s) within a set timeframe.
Note: Amazon Liquidation Auctions is a marketplace for business customers to buy and sell overstock, returned, and other liquidated merchandise.
What is Amazon Mystery Pallet?
An Amazon Mystery Pallet is a pallet of merchandise that is sold by Amazon Liquidation Auctions without disclosing the specific items that are included in the pallet.
The contents of a mystery pallet are made up of usually overstocked, returned, or otherwise liquidated inventory that Amazon is trying to sell quickly.
You are effectively buying a box of goods when you buy a mystery pallet; this element of surprise and excitement is added to the shopping experience.
Although the value of the items in a mystery pallet might vary widely, they are frequently offered at a lower cost than retail.
Where Do Amazon Customer Returns End Up?
Amazon customer returns go to Amazon’s reverse logistics centers, where they are processed and evaluated. Based on the condition of the item, it may be resold as “new” or “used”, refurbished, or recycled. Unusable items are often disposed of in an environmentally responsible manner.
How to Buy Quality Amazon Return Pallets?
To buy quality Amazon return pallets, follow these steps:
- Research reputable pallet sellers: Look for reputable companies that specialize in selling Amazon return pallets. You can find these companies by searching online or asking for recommendations from other buyers.
- Check their selection: To find out if the seller has the things you’re interested in buying, look at their selection of pallets. To understand what is contained in the pallet, carefully read the product descriptions.
- Read reviews: Read reviews from other buyers to get an idea of the quality of the pallets and the seller’s customer service. Look for consistent positive feedback from buyers.
- Compare prices: Compare prices from different sellers to ensure you get a good deal. Remember that the cheapest option may not always be the best quality.
- Contact the seller: Contact the vendor if you have any inquiries or worries so that you can obtain further details. Additionally, you’ll have a chance to evaluate their degree of professionalism and customer service.
- Place your order: Once you’ve found a reputable seller and are satisfied with their selection and customer service, place your order. Make sure to review the details of the transaction before finalizing it.
- Inspect the pallets upon arrival: Upon receiving the pallets, inspect them to make sure they meet your expectations. If you find any issues, contact the seller to resolve them.
Final Thoughts
Hopefully, the information I shared about how to buy amazon pallets has made you realize how you can turn a problem into a potential profit.
Now that you’re familiar with Amazon Return pallets, the next step is to put your knowledge into action.
Find an Amazon returns auction or liquidation company today and start bidding on returned or used merchandise.
Visit our blog to learn more about maximizing your presence on Amazon.
