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by
Dennis Prince
Hey,
wanna know the secret places where you'll find even more great
stuff for your auction inventory? Of course you do--and so does
everyone else. But there's really no secret to it just as there
is no one-stop Auction Inventory Warehouse, so to speak.
Actually, there are many different sources from which all
sellers draw as they stock their own shelves in support of their
auction businesses. But what are these sources? Glad you asked.
Here's an overview of some of the most promising venues you'll
want to visit as you keep your inventory fresh and
fortune-bearing.
The
Obvious Choices
First, consider the time-tested favorite venues where sellers
can pick up auction inventory:
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Garage sales: Still a big
source for great items at great prices. The recent eBay
Effect, however, has many private individuals believing
their junk is worth jewels. Don't let that deter you,
though--these folks just want to get rid of the stuff rather
than haul it back into their garage, so negotiate.
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Flea markets: It's the
garage sale on wheels, and it rolls into the local flea
market site every weekend (and sometimes on weekdays).
Forget the professional vendors--head to the area where
private sellers will try to unload their goods to the
attending masses. An early start usually gets you the better
pickings, but treasures are often found throughout the day.
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Estate sales: This is a
more upscale version of a garage sale, involving the
liquidation of personal belongings and taking place in an
actual home (often due to the owner having passed away).
Usually the items are a bit better at estate sales since
it's a total liquidation of goods, not just the skimming of
garbage someone decides they no longer want to have around.
Though the sale is of a higher caliber (and price) than
garage and flea market sales, the prices still are quite
tempting and bear plenty of room for resale profit.
All of these venues are
regularly advertised, usually in local newspapers. Grab the
Friday paper and plot a course through an area where many such
sales might be occurring over the weekend. And, as a new twist,
be sure to check with local realtors: These days, many are
helping coordinate area-wide yard sales where entire communities
band together for "Garage Sale Saturday." The realtor,
who pulled the effort together and paid for local advertising,
gets great publicity for his or her business in the meantime.
A
Good Cause
Selling used goods has been a longtime pursuit of charitable
organizations, too. We all know that thrift stores deal in such
goods and that some decent finds can be found within their
walls, but don't forget other fund-raisers such as library book
sales, public radio music sales, and general rummage sales.
Often the items you'll find at these less-trodden venues will be
of the donated variety, but many times you can find merchandise
that was owned by the hosting organization. However, such sales
are almost always featuring bare-bones pricing on some decent
stuff, though you might need to be at these sales early to
cherry-pick from the cream of the crop. When it comes to thrift
stores, your best bet is to find out what days the store
receives and unloads new merchandise, and to be sure you're
there bright and early to help.
A
Healthy Outlet
How many times do you drive by that 98-Cent Store without
stopping in? Sure, there's a bunch of junk in those sorts of
places, but some of the outlet and liquidation stores offer
plenty of great items that you can have for a buck or two.
Often, manufacturers' overruns or discontinued merchandise can
be found at these stores. Just because the retail market has
turned its back on these goods doesn't necessarily mean the
auction market has (remember, auctions are international). Make
a regular sweep through these stores just to see whether
something worth reselling has shown up. And, like thrift stores,
find out when new shipments arrive and shelves are restocked.
It's true that these discount stores usually have different
merchandise every week.
The
Corner Store?
Why not visit the store down the road, especially when some
hard-to-find items getting high bids online happen to show up at
your local retailer? Though demand and value of such goods
usually rises and falls quite quickly--often coinciding with a
current trend or season--the nearby store also should be on your
regular inventory-tracking route. Though no one is promoting the
hoarding of retail goods, what seller wouldn't pick up a couple
extra items that he or she can auction online for terrific
(albeit temporary) profits?
Online,
Elsewhere
Don't forget about the other online sources available to you
every day. Whether you're looking for current retail goods that
are all the rage or seeking out-of-date or out-of-print items
that are seeing great online bids, remember that the Internet is
full of Web sites (retail and private) where gobs of goods are
for sale 24/7. When you're tracking the trends and looking for
new sources of merchandise to sell, hit you favorite search
portal and plug in the stuff you'd like to purchase for resale
later. Chances are, you'll find a new source or two for
practically little effort at all. And, be aware that a search
for "wholesale" or "importer" will bear hits
that link you to manufacturers and distributors who will sell to
you in bulk.
Don't
Ask, Don't Tell
A final point to understand about sources of supply is the
protocol of it all: Don't ask and don't tell. Merchandise
sources are truly deep secrets, largely because many sellers use
many of the same sources or types of sources.
Still, a fellow seller might find a particular out-of-the-way
source that you may wish to know about, but never be so
brutish as to ask, "Hey, where do you buy the stuff you
resell?" Not only will this earn the immediate scorn of the
question's recipient, but you'll also ruin your chances of
possibly getting a hint of where some of that great stuff might
be found. You may also check
our large wholesalers resource to find best wholesaler
companies.
Rather, whenever
engaged in a conversation with another seller, be more
respectful about asking for some suggestions of where inventory
can be found: "Can you give me some advice about what sorts
of items I might consider investing in for resale?" It's a
more indirect approach that typically doesn't give rise to
reproach. Then, if a seller does confide a source to you,
consider it a generous offering and try to respect the
confidence in which the information might have been shared, even
if it isn't such a big secret after all.
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