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Buying Amazon Return Pallets (Ultimate Guide)

Blog post by TDW Closeouts on 6-Sep-2023 at 7:43 pm Eastern Time

Read the buying guide about Amazon return pallets with TDW Closeouts. Know how to score great deals, what to watch out for, and how to turn a profit—all in an easy-to-understand, engaging read!

Introduction

Have you ever returned anything to Amazon when you weren't satisfied with the item you received or when you accidentally ordered the wrong thing? Did you know they don't really go back to Amazon? In fact, Amazon return pallets are a gold mine for the right business-minded person to come along and take advantage of. You can get your hands on some really high-quality goods and pay only around a quarter of the price, sometimes even less!

Through this article, TDW Closeouts want to help you understand what the deal is with these return pallets from Amazon, how to purchase them, and the risks and rewards involved. This guide is here to help both seasoned resellers and anyone curious to start, aiming to give you valuable insight into this part of the ecommerce industry.

What are Amazon Return Pallets?

The name is pretty self-explanatory, to be honest. The items in question are wooden pallets with returned items from Amazon stacked on them. These items range from home appliances to clothing and sometimes furniture, too!

Amazon doesn't bother with returned items much, at this point, the ecommerce giant simply bundles everything up together and sells them in bulk to any interested parties that want to buy. The most interested consumers? Small business owners, resellers, and anyone who has money on their hands and a lot of curiosity about what they'll find.

Why Do They Exist?

Amazon finds it more cost-effective to take back, fix, and resell every item returned. Individually processing returns is a long, labor-heavy process for the company, and it is instead in Amazon's best interests to clear their warehouses quickly so they can make room for new stock.

Amazon's solution? Grouping them all together to sell in bulk, hence, Amazon return Pallets exist.

What's Inside a Pallet?

Honestly, no one can really predict what you'll get in a palette. Sometimes you'll get items that were returned just because it wasn't what the customer ordered, or they changed their mind. And then, there will be times when you'll get items that were genuinely defective.

Sometimes you will find palettes that list what's in them, and you can judge whether you want to buy it or not, but sometimes the details added to them don't really tell you what.

The Opportunity

If you have the energy and time, this could turn into something truly lucrative for you. You can find pallets that contain goods at staggeringly low prices, and even resell them yourself. Even if you sell these prices for less than their retail value, you'll still turn a profit.

You can either do it online or open up a store with a physical location.

There are certainly risks, and the items worth reselling come with a lot of items that will be of no use, so finding the pallets that are worth it is going to be hard. In fact, expect a major learning curve at first.

Why Do People Buy Them? (To Sell For Profit)

The most attractive thing about Amazon's pallets is that you can resell the items in them for profit, but how do you do that? How do you decide what your profit margin would be, how do you figure out which pallets to buy and which not to? Let's talk about it.

Low Cost, High Reward

We're not going to beat around the bush here; Amazon's pallets are great because you can resell them for profit and buy retail items for very, very low prices.

When done wisely, you can capitalize on this opportunity to earn some hefty profits for a higher margin than most sellers.

The Thrill of the “Treasure Hunt”

Sometimes, people don't really care about reselling these pallets. They're not that expensive, and it can be exciting to see what you'll find in them. Manifests do give you a clue, but the exact nature of the items, and how usable they are, is always a mystery until you actually buy them and open them up yourself.

Diversification of Inventory

Sometimes, you just want to increase the range of products you're selling in your stores. In cases like this, you will probably hesitate to invest in stock you don't know your customers will like or not.

Amazon Return Pallets offer a unique opportunity for you to figure that out. You can add a lot of different things to your store with minimal investment and then see what sells and what doesn't. Once you know what your customers are interested in buying more of, you can go and invest in your store inventory accordingly.

It can be a great opportunity for you to attract a broader customer base while giving existing customers more of what they want.

Niche Market Opportunities

The good thing about Amazon's pallets is that even if the items inside are randomized, you always have an idea of what kind of stuff is in there. Whether it's electronics or makeup, kids' toys or office furniture, you will at least know what kind of things there are.

This means that anyone operating stores in these categories can easily buy these pallets and put them up for resale while keeping their stores and online shops under the same theme.

Sustainability and Eco-Friendly Practices

If you care about minimizing waste from large corporations and want to save the planet a little, you're in luck. Every pallet you buy is one that doesn't end up in a landfill somewhere, which is something you can use to market your store to attract eco-friendly consumers as well.

Where to Get Them ( A Wholesale Liquidation Warehouse)

By now, we think we've done a pretty good job of telling you all about how great return pallets from Amazon can be, but one big question remains: where do you find them? It's not like you can walk into Walmart and get your hands on some!

Well, until grocery stores start stocking them, you'll need to stick to warehouses that specialize in wholesale liquidation to get your hands on a return pallet.

What is a Wholesale Liquidation Warehouse?

You probably already have heard about these warehouses somewhere on TV or social media, but let us tell you more about them. A warehouse that specializes in wholesale liquidation buys returned, discontinued, or damaged goods from companies like Amazon and sells them just as they are for very low prices.

There's no guarantee what condition these items are in, but that's something these warehouses disclose beforehand very openly.

Why Choose a Wholesale Liquidation Warehouse?

  • Volume and Variety: Shopping from a warehouse like this can be quite the adventure, mainly because of the wide variety of items they hold. This variety opens up a lot of rooms for exploring and for anyone interested in buying them.
  • Transparency: While there's certainly an element of surprise in buying return pallets, it's not a total mystery. Sellers are transparent about what kind of items are in the pallets.
  • Cost-Effectiveness: There's one guarantee when you buy from a liquidation warehouse, which is that you will get items at a fraction of their retail price when you do get something good in there.
  • Local Availability: There's at least one liquidation warehouse in each city, which makes it easy for you to drop by and make your purchases. You also have the opportunity to actually check the pallets out before purchasing one.

How to Find a Good One (Criteria)

Not all liquidation warehouses are built the same, which is why it is important for you to know how to pick the right one for your business needs. If you're smart about your choices, you might just be able to find that one invaluable needle in the haystack, and your chances only increase with us to help you out.

Reputation and Credibility

  • Customer Reviews: There's really no better indicator of a business's quality than its online, independent customer reviews. This is why you need to look for warehouses with positive online reviews and shortlist the ones with good ratings and reviews. They can even help you figure out what the best ones would be for the particular kinds of products you're looking for.
  • Business Accreditation: Some warehouses will have more than just good reviews – the bigger, well-established ones will have at least some kind of business certifications and accreditations. These can be a good indicator of what kind of things to expect there.

Transparency

  • Detailed Manifests: Good warehouses will be able to give you highly detailed lists and manifests containing all sorts of information on what kind of items are in the pallets they're selling. The more a warehouse takes transparency seriously, the better your chances are of striking gold.
  • Clear Terms and Conditions: No reputable warehouse will make rules that are confusing or hard for customers to understand – any good business wants to be easy and pleasant for its customers to deal with, and you should usually avoid warehouses with complicated rules around refunds and returns.

Inventory Selection

  • Variety: Any good warehouse will have many different sorts of pallets to offer, from those containing imitation jewelry to toys to home appliances.
  • Frequency of Stock Refresh: Frequent restocks are a great sign that a warehouse is good and has an established customer base, which makes it more likely for you to find great stuff there. Besides, the more often warehouse stock is refreshed, the likelier you are to find great stuff there.

Pricing

  • Competitive Rates: It's true that all liquidation warehouses sell pallets for really cheap prices, but even then there's a whole spectrum of what a single pallet can cost you. Compare prices between different warehouses, and choose one that fits your budget best. Be warned, though, you'll get what you pay for. With pallets that come cheap – even for pallets – you won't find a lot of valuable stuff in there, but the opposite is true for return pallets that cost a bit more.
  • Bulk Discounts: If you're a seasoned veteran in the world of pallet buying and resale, it might benefit you to look for liquidation warehouses that offer discounts for bulk purchases or buying multiple pallets.

Accessibility

  • Location: You need to choose a warehouse you can frequent often if you want to make this a regular thing, and choosing a liquidation warehouse close to you will save you a ton on transportation costs. Not to mention, it's advisable to buy pallets in person and inspect them before you make a purchase.
  • Online and Offline Sales: If you can't make it to any stores, look for warehouses that offer these pallets online. In this case, prioritize transparency and opt for a warehouse that offers manifests with as much detail as possible.

Customer Service

  • Knowledgeable Staff: No one wants to buy from an establishment that doesn't treat its customers well, and neither should you. One of the biggest signs of a good liquidation warehouse is that it has good customer service. The staff there should be able to help you out with any queries as well as guide you in the right direction. This is essential at first, when you're buying pallets for the first few times.
  • Communication: Warehouses like these need to be easy to talk to and get in touch with. If you're trying to get a hold of someone from a particular location, it doesn't bode well for what your experience will be like there. Imagine what a nightmare that would be if you placed an online order for your pallet!

The Best Amazon Return Pallet Providers

It can be tricky to get started with looking for the right warehouse, but we can help you get started in your search. Below is a list of reputable retailers you can check out if you're interested in buying a return pallet:

1. TDW Closeouts

TDW Closeouts is one of the best when it comes to getting their hands on quality return pallets from Amazon, making it the top choice for resellers and other business owners. Let's take a look at why that is:

Extensive Inventory

We don't think there's anyone who offers the same variety as TDW Closeouts when it comes to return pallets:

  • Amazon Coffin Boxes: These pallets include medium-sized or small items like housewares, clothes, small electronics, and toys. Every load carries 240 boxes on 26 pallets.
  • Amazon Smiley Boxes: These pallets contain the same stuff coffin boxes do, but carry 800 boxes in every load instead of 240, which means even more variations in the kind of things you can find, and bigger chances of finding things that are in high demand.
  • Amazon Apparel: These boxes have clothes in them. It could be women's, children's, or men's, and it is all new items that have never been used. Overstock items most commonly end up in these pallets.
  • Amazon Premium Mystery Boxes: Mystery boxes contain items that have been pulled off shelves, or overstock multimedia items. There's also some general merchandise there.
  • Amazon HPC (Smalls) Loads: Pallets that contain multimedia items and a lot of general merchandise are grouped into this category. There are more or less four hundred items in each.
  • Amazon Smalls Loads: If you're looking for multimedia items and inventory but don't want to buy something with hundreds of items in it, this pallet would be the perfect option. It contains the same stuff as the HPC pallets, but just fifty two items.

Transparency and Quality

TDW is famous for how transparent it is about what is in each pallet. Detailed manifests help buyers decide which ones they want, and these manifests often contain information about the condition of the products inside.

This makes it possible to know the most you can about a pallet before you spend money on it, and it's a plus point given the wide variety of pallets they have to offer.

Competitive Pricing

TDW Closeouts is an attractive seller option not just because of its customer service or track record, but also because of its competitive pricing structure. With pallets up for grabs in almost every size and product category, there's something for everyone's needs and budget.

Longevity and Experience

Having been established in 1996, there's no one with more industry experience than TDW Closeouts. Thanks to its early establishment, TDW Closeouts has more experience and relationships with retailers than most, making it possible for TDW to source some of the highest quality return pallets up for grabs today.

2. Liquidation.com

Online Auctions

Liquidation.com stands out because of the way it sells pallets. It's an online store that allows interested buyers to bid on the pallets they want, giving you the opportunity to set your own price and decide how much you want to pay for something.

It gives you more flexibility in terms of how much profit you'll make on resale, as well as making the buying process more thrilling.

Variety

There's a lot of stuff that is sold through Liquidation.com, from apparel to industrial equipment, they have something for everyone. Which means they'll probably have what you need for your business too.

Whether you want to increase the variety of your stock or stick to specific types of pallets, having the option of buying whatever category product you want is great.

Transparency

It's essential to have as much information about a product as you possibly can before buying it, especially when the product is mysterious by nature, like Amazon's return pallets are. Any and all information you can get about these pallets will increase your chances of finding great stuff that is in demand.

Every listing on Liquidation.com contains a lot of details about the pallet and what you can expect to find in them, making the online buying process seem more viable, especially since you can't drop by a warehouse to check the pallet out yourself. In fact, listings on Liquidation.com often even come with pictures of what the pallet contains!

3. B-Stock Solutions

B-Stock takes pallets straight from sellers like Amazon and brings them to you, removing any middlemen from the equation. Not only does this bring costs down significantly, but it also ensures you get pallets just as Amazon made them, without the products and items inside facing any wear and tear usually associated with their transportation.

It also makes it possible for pallet manifests to be as accurate as possible.

Category Specialization

B-stock conducts regular auctions for pallets containing specific product types. This means that you can go there and bid on only electronics, or only apparel if you want pallets with clothes and accessories in them.

If you own a resale store of a certain kind, you can benefit greatly from these auctions.

Final Thoughts

Sure, Liquidation and B-Stock have certain things to offer, but there's no one who can give you the real pallet buying experience quite like TDW Closeouts can. TDW Closeouts stands apart from the rest because of the sheer variety, transparency, and customer service it has to offer in the pallet-selling business, making it a go-to for pallet buyers and item resellers.

Whether you're looking to dip your toe into this, or you're a seasoned pallet buyer with years of experience in sourcing and reselling products from Amazon Return Pallets, there's no better partner than TDW Closeouts, especially given its well-established track record and position as an industry leader in this area.

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