I’ve spent the past year trying out resales of surplus and liquidation items, sometimes with success and sometimes not. One thing to be careful of is the addiction, because it can be just like gambling if you are not careful and you can overpay or end up buying an item that’s not in demand.

When people hear the words "liquidation sale," they assume the main purpose is to get rid of merchandise quickly, meaning cheaply. While moving the inventory is one goal, it's not the primary goal. The main point is to make money.

If you do decide to buy at a liquidation sale, see that the item is in good working condition. Plug it in to make sure it works and open the box to be certain all the pieces are there. You need to take extra care since you won't be able to return it. Fully understand the return policies and any terms of the sale before you buy. If you can, use a credit card to get protections.

Good deals can usually be found at the end of a liquidation sale, but only on items that aren't in high demand. Don't be fooled into thinking that, just because a business is being sold through liquidation, it guarantees a good price.

Selecting a Niche

For me I started out in niches that I thought would be fun, and that I have some experience in. One of those was surplus lab equipment - as I spent many years in labs getting my doctorate (yeah that’s why I have to write about passive income).

The second niche was real estate, as I had a strong interest in this, and had experience with due diligence for land purchases.

So, I say start out with something that excites you and try it out for six months before giving up. Now the other component is the pricing - you don’t want to select a niche with low return on investment.

Pricing Your Item

This has become alot easier with all of the resale sites out there. Ebay is a great tool for searching the value of your item. You can look at what has sold, the current items for sale, and even better if you go to list that item, ebay suggest a value that’s competitive.

You can also use google shopping and amazon based on your item. For real estate I looked at comps and a site called land Watch.

With auctions and liquidation sites you will hit a brick wall with Amazon. Since they are brand focused, if you are trying to resell a brand they have, you will need a letter or invoice from the manufacturer and they don’t accept one from the auction company.

Retail Sites

These are probably the most competitive. You can get multiple pallets from large retailers for products that have slight imperfections or that have been returned, site unseen. Many folks that have done this for awhile will have a big truck with pallet jacks all setup to move these.

There are also sites that but these items and resell them at lower prices, which still allows you to make profit.

Deal Dash

One of these is DealDash! This is the closest thing to a real auction I have seen. You buy bids and see real time who is bidding and how much the item is. It’s extremely gamified and like gambling because every bid results in 9 more second being added to the bid clock. If you can manage yourself and mind, you can get great deals. A Samsung Galaxy S25 sold for $25 when I was on.

Direct Liquidation

For over 10 years, Direct Liquidation has been a leading provider of customer returns, overstock, and end-of-life products sourced from major retailers and manufacturers. We offer a diverse range of liquidation inventory, including electronics, home goods, clothing, toys, general merchandise and much more.

They offer bulk items from Walmart, JcPenney, Amazon, Sony, Apple, HP, Sam’s Club, and others. They also have a great rating system so you can assess the condition. For each item they also list the % of MSRP the current cost is. Now you should always do your own research to check this.

Amazon Liquidation

Amazon has their own liquidation service and what I love about it is they ship right to you!

Lots are composed of either overstock (new and unopened) or damaged items (returned by customer or damaged during processing). The products are sold by either Amazon or Third-Party Sellers. Each lot is either entirely sourced from Amazon’s inventory or aggregated from one or more third-party sellers’ inventory.

Depending on the size of the order, shipments may arrive in pallets, requiring a forklift or delivery dock to unload, or orders may be shipped in small parcels. The product detail page will specify the estimated shipment size. We do not guarantee delivery within a certain timeframe. By placing an order from Amazon Bulk Liquidation Store, you accept that shipment timeline and delivery date are at Amazon’s discretion. When part or all of your order ships, you receive an updated expected delivery date and tracking information via email. Not all items in your order may ship together. However, we aim to deliver to you in the fewest shipments possible.

Only enrolled customers can make purchases. If you are not enrolled in the program, then you will not be able to add the lot to your cart.

This program is currently only available in the contiguous US and requires enrolled customers to have a regular Amazon customer account enrolled in the Amazon Tax Exemption Program (ATEP).

888 Lots

888 Lots has been around for over a decade. Their site is nothing fancy but there are some good features.

Connect a scanner gun to your PC, click on button and start scanning your packages. Once you do a successful scan, you'll see what's inside the box, some additional details and link to the related order.

They even have a negotiate section. Enter the price you are willing to pay. If your offer is reasonable they will be glad to accept it. Even crazier is they have an 8 cents store!

You can link your 888lots account with the Amazon one. Once you do this, you can use the Login with Amazon instead of entering your email and password.

Note that no additional sales data or details will be provided to them. The only thing stored on their side is the reference between your accounts. You can unlink your Amazon Account any time you want.

Like most, in order to work with them you need to have a valid resale certificate unless you live outside U.S. If you are an international customer you have to provide a valid business registration from your country instead. There is also a credit card limit of $25,000 for 30 days.

Walmart Liquidations

Walmart Liquidation Auctions is an official liquidation channel for Walmart.com and Walmart Stores, Inc. Walmart Liquidation Auctions allows resellers to bid on excess inventory, store returns, and refurbished bulk lots directly from Walmart. Lots range in size from single pallets up to truckloads of excess inventory, and typically sell at a fraction of retail MSRP.

Fill in the required fields, attach a valid reseller's certificate and click the submit button. They will notify you within one business day if your account is approved. There is no fee for applying or for being an approved buyer. It’s only open to US buyers.

They offer a few types of shipping:

Binding Shipping

Binding shipping means you, the Buyer, must pay the total order amount which is your winning bid plus the cost of shipping and tax, if applicable. Once paid, the Seller and Carrier partner arrange shipment of your Order.

You cannot switch to Buyer Arranges Shipping or Buyer Pickup for listings with Binding Shipping.

After your Order is “Paid”, your shipment is booked with the Carrier who will contact you to schedule a delivery.

Buyers should schedule delivery within 3 days of a Carrier’s suggested delivery date. Carriers may be able to accommodate later delivery times subject to additional holding fees.

Buyer Arranges Shipping

Buyers are responsible for arranging shipment with a Carrier of their choice and must work with the Seller to schedule pickup and delivery of their shipment.

If additional information about scheduling a pickup from the Seller is available, it will be shown on the Auction Details page or in email notifications.

Fixed Price

Buyers are required to pay the fixed price for shipment shown during bidding and the Seller will arrange pickup of your Order with their Carrier.

After your Order is “Paid”, your shipment is booked with the Carrier who will contact you to schedule a delivery.

Buyer Pickup

Some Orders are eligible for Buyers to pick up directly from the Seller’s warehouse in their own truck.

Unless specifically noted on the Auction Details page, your Order is not eligible for Buyer Pickup.

Quicklotz

Buying from Quicklotz is as easy as logging on to our website, viewing our listed inventory and following our secure checkout, orders will be shipped directly to you!

Tax ID's are not required. However, if you intend to resell the merchandise you source from us, if you provide a reseller's certificate, we will be glad to set up your account as a reseller so sales taxes can be eliminated from your transaction.

They do not ship boxes or pallets outside of the USA. They only ship containers globally.

They sell high-end items like Michael Kors, Adidas, Nike, Made Well, ECI, Puma, Seven, ASTR, Sanctuary, London Times, etc. They also sell general goods from Amaon, Walmart and Target.

General merchandise lots are available for unbelievably low prices. For instance, a standard general merchandise lot contains 24 pallets with a value of $70,000+. On Quicklotz it can be purchased for only $14,000! That’s less than 20% of the retail value!

B Stock

B-stock is a platform that offers a plethora of tools and resources for buying liquidation items. It includes shipping resources, reseller resources, and how to become an exporter (odd to think we export back to the place these things were made!).

They also offer all of their own auctions, while also linking from other liquidators. Yoi can see the entire manifest of the pallets you are buying.

Big Brand Wholesale

Big Brand Wholesale seems to mostly offer clothes, which are not my cup of tea. They NEVER order from private sellers, off Alibaba, eBay or anywhere other than directly from designer stores. This means they are able to absolutely guarantee that 100% of merchandise is always genuine name brands. They are based in Detroit, so if you are close, go take a look.

AuctionNinja

AuctionNinja is a technology solution and online marketplace designed by estate sale pros, for estate sale pros.

They specialize in estate liquidation software that simply put, is the most user-friendly auction & estates inventory management software available in the industry. You can search by distance from you or search for specific items.

Blue Lots

BlueLots is a B2B marketplace that connects small businesses, entrepreneurs, and individuals looking for additional income with sources of bulk liquidation inventory to resell for a profit. As of this writing the company is up for sale.

Lab Auctions

Lab auctions can be pretty lucrative if you know what you are looking for. This is especially true if you live near a major university or biotech lab as these labs often surplus valuable equipment.

Note that much of the equipment can be quite heavy - in the hundreds of pounds - so you may need a partner and truck. You also don’t know the condition, and if you haven’t had experience with the equipment it may take some effort to see if it’s working. Luckily most manufacturers have repair folks who car recalibrate it.

Govdeals

GovDeals is a complete and sustainable solution specifically created for, and dedicated to, government agencies (including universities) and their surplus disposition. With over 15,000 sellers utilizing the GovDeals online auction platform, GovDeals has completed over $4 billion in sales achieved by selling directly to our more than 1 million registered buyers. Our online auction platform regularly generates higher net returns by delivering true market values.

Thousands of items are sold every week, in just about every category - including transportation, heavy equipment, real estate, and more - all on one simple and centralized marketplace. Find what you're looking for today. Items for sale include:

Construction and Agricultural Equipment
Aircraft and Aviation Equipment
Nautical, Boats, and Marine Equipment
Commercial Trucks, Vehicles, and Transportation Equipment
Medical, Dental, and Laboratory Equipment
Industrial and Manufacturing Equipment
Fire and Police Equipment
Confiscated / Property Room Items
Power Generation and Electrical Equipment
Food Service Equipment and Machinery
Scrap Metals and Recyclable Materials
Real Estate, Buildings, and Structures

Public Surplus

Public Surplus was designed specifically for public agencies. Most states require that public agencies, whenever possible, reallocate surplus items internally. This site beaks open the door so the public can buy.

Almost anything can be sold on Public Surplus including mousetraps, portable classrooms, automobiles, buses, heavy equipment, shop equipment, kitchen equipment, athletic equipment, musical instruments, computers, printers, furniture, etc. Almost everything listed sells, no matter how aged or unusual.

Computers

TechLiquidators is the largest online auction marketplace for buying bulk liquidations of new, used, returned, end of life and non-functioning consumer electronics and information technology products.

New TechLiquidators accounts are manually reviewed before users are permitted to place a bid. This is to ensure a fair and secure bidding environment for all users on the TechLiquidators platform.

As of July 2023, valid resale certification is required to bid on TechLiquidators for new users. Please email a copy of all resale certificates to techliquidators@optoro.com

Any business can buy from TechLiquidators as long as you ship to a US-based shipping address (excluding Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico). TechLiquidators does not ship to freight forwarders.

Large Equipment

Large equipment can be found on many of the sites above, such as Govdeals.

BusinessLiquidations.com

BusinessLiquidations.com provides business liquidation services to clients and customers all across the United States. We specialize in helping companies and small businesses sell their inventory, equipment and supplies they no longer need to local buyers online.

Real Estate Auctions

Many are familiar with foreclosures, but you can also buy homes, buildings, and land for low prices. Even the government sells off its surplus property.

Bid4Assets

I love Bid4Assets, now owned by Gov Deals. They let you find County and Sheriff tax auctions and also real estate that any old person can post. You can even find tax liens and other real estate instruments.

You have to really watch this site and do your research on the County’s property tax site, as liens are common (these are tax auctions after all).

Issues I have come across include homes that burned down requiring payment of huge fees to the town; very large tax burdens, and even liens from HOAs. Note that the HOA liens may not be shown on the County tax page.

USAGov Real Estate Sales

Government agencies sell real estate and federal lands either by auction or offer. Federal agencies acquire these properties through foreclosure, forfeiture, or failed banks. GSA often has light houses for sale!

Just as above, do your research. Note that government lands might have restrictions on what you can do. You may also need to do a Phase I assessment to make sure the lands are not contaminated or dangerous.

Jewelry Auctions

I don’t tend to go for jewelry auctions, but many of the sites above sell jewelry. Not all of them provide authetication certificates so it can be hard to resell them. In many cases the prices on surplus sites tend to not be that much lower than ebay.

Car Auctions

Car auctions are also available for many of the government surplus sites. These are usually decent deals, but as with lab equipment its hard to tell if these vehicles have any issues. Often you can inspect the car before buying it and also have access to the VIN for research. Many of the cars are old police cars, while others were possessed following crimes, so it’s a crap shot. If you are a mechanic or know one it might be a good fit.

Get Addicted to Auction Resales Without Losing Your Mind and Money