Going back over the many years that I have been selling to the retail trade there has been several tried and true methods of buying that always seem to work. One is buying in bulk.

 

There was a chain of stores out of the Chicago area that franchised one of the franchise owners, a very nice and hard working man; every time he purchased something he would buy 6 cases. It never mattered what it was just always 6 cases he would request the best possible price for his purchases. As his reputation grew sales people would ask him what he is doing with the six cases after all that was a lot of goods for such a small mid-west town, he’d just smile and say give me your best price. Time went by and he opened more stores and continued buying 6 cases per item per store. Back then discount retailers where able to work on an average MU (mark up) of 35% and what this store keeper was doing was passing along the savings while at the same time building reputation for the best price in town and always having it in STOCK! Folks would travel for miles just to come to his stores and save. This part of his retail theory had three basic components; buy in bulk save cost, past along the savings to customers, and if you can not bump into it, it will not sell. He finally broke away from the franchise group and started his own small chain. Oh, you might want to know who I am referring to, Sam Walton, you know, Wal Marts. In his time he built vendor and customer loyalty, which are key components in being successful. Vendor loyalty was build by being supportive to the vendor by buying in bulk lots. Customer loyalty was build by passing along the savings with a smile and always having it when they needed it. Other accounts that used this concept or parts of it are Federated Stores (F & R Lazarus Columbus, Ohio RH Macy’s New York, NY) and Dollar Tree Stores VA there are others but the list would be too long but all buy in wholesale bulk lots and none of them started out as big retail units.

 

Now you’re probably saying to yourself; “Well, I am not Wal Mart or Macy’s how can I do what they are”. My reply is simple neither where they at first. What I do know is if you buy wholesale bulk lots you can save money and if you pass that savings to your customers you are building customer loyalty. If you are supportive to your vendors you are building a team player, vendor loyalty, and both of these components are keys to your success.

 

At Nickysb2b.com we give you the edge in buying wholesale bulk lots at inside wholesale prices from a variety of resources.   

 

Let us know your comments if you would like to hear more about retailing from the vendors perspective I will be writing more in the coming weeks. You could say this is my testimony from 40 plus years of selling to the retail and wholesale trade.

Buying online closeout liquidations or wholesale items can be a risky business and there are many online and off line that have no scruples about selling you an empty box so to say. It’s not like you can kick the tires, right! So what to watch out for...can you ask the seller questions and what questions should you ask? This is very important. First, if you can not ask any questions of the seller what is your guarantee? NONE! All closeout liquidation auctions are on an “as is where is” basis, that is standard, so the need to ask questions about the condition of the goods is essential. Always cross examine the description of the goods with the answers you get. Now that does not always mean that the seller provides honest information but at least buys you an edge and written recourse. I have to tell you that some sellers do not want to be known there are market reasons for this and they do not want direct questions but then you have to have the ability of getting the middleman to give accurate information and there is only one way the middleman can provide honest response to a question and that is they have to have samples of the lot being sold. Can you get samples of the lot being sold for personal review? At least if you can buy samples then you have a clear edge on the purchase you are preparing to make. Who is in charge of shipping, the seller, the middleman, or you? You want to be in charge of the shipping anyone else is just going to add in…you’re the one buying the “deal” you sure do not need anyone to have their thumb on the scales working against your interest. Is the asset resalable are they in line with US regulations? These today are very important questions. Your not buying goods to look at them are you?

 

What we now doing at Nickysb2b.com is to offering escrow accounts for buyers protection, We request that USA sellers send samples for verification of the quality of the goods being offered.. Those samples are crossed checked for accuracy against the description of the goods. Nickysb2b.com is also encouraging its sellers to offer samples lots for buyers and has raised the bar by offering sellers verification seals. So, if a buyer sees the verification seal that seller has been verified along with the goods being sold.

We would love to hear your ideas, suggestions, and comments. Nickysb2b.com is always looking to improve the services it provides. www.nickysb2b.com your wholesale bulk lots & wholesale closeout liquidations  where you can make an offer and set your own price!

There are all kinds of wholesale bulk lots on the web, when shopping them you want to know what the resell value of the product is first. There are several ways of researching resell values. The best way is to know what retailers in your local area, off and online, are selling the product for and backing into what you are comfortable making on the product. You should also research what markups retailers work on so you know what the standards are. Always in buying you want to kick the tires, so to say. As a buyer you want to be informed and the only way you will gather information about a product is to ask all the questions. From the size of the product on down the ladder; case packing, dimensions, weights, where it was made, what is it made with (plastic, metal, rubber, etc.), if imported; from where, what is the normal % of damages etc…and any other question you can think of. Then always ask if you can get it for less the worst that can happen is the salesperson says no. I do suggest when asking for a better price to put a bone with it, as “can I get it for less if I pay COD” or “can I get it for less if I buy a larger quantity”. After you are done doing your research visit www.nickysb2b.com and compare prices. 9 times out of 10 you will find wholesale bulk lots cheaper at nickysb2b.com auctions. The average bulk lot auction at Nickysb2b.com you can find and bid on products for $0.10 on the retail dollar and under.

Buying goods at $0.10 on the retail dollar and under gives you the opportunity of reselling the products in your store or even on eBay and make an excellent markup. For example: a product is retailing for $5.00 and you have just paid at nickysb2b.com $0.50 for the product, this gives you the opportunity of reselling the product at 50% off normal retail, $2.50 and end up making a 5X markup or to be more exact a profit of  $2.00. So you have just shown your buyer a good savings while at the same time making the markup that you deserve. As a matter of fact you could even wholesale the product yourself in small lots on eBay or in your local market place reselling the product for $18.00 per dozen still making a 3X markup showing $12.00 per dozen profits, well ahead of the game. Buying this way leverages your purchasing and gives you profit options while at the same time always showing your customers good value. In today’s economy value counts and with www.nickysb2b.com your business liquidator resources and auctioneer you will always find the values you need.   

 

A Couple tips for off line Buying Wholesale Bulk Lots:

You want to set your policies and terms. Just because you are new or a small store does not suggest that you can not develop a good set of policies that you are comfortable working with and setting up the terms in advance of buying always gives you a negotiating tool to use. Most companies want to do business the higher you set your standards the more important the wholesaler sees you because you know what you are doing. 

Every wholesaler has a better price normally based on terms and volume. Don’t ask you will not get, ask and you might!

When placing an order with a wholesaler always fax the order or email it with your policies attached and be sure to have the order signed copied back to you confirming the order.

It is hard to rationalize why a business would want to liquidate assets, but here are several very good reasons.

Space:
Approximately 7.5% of most warehouses or stockrooms' inventory never or rarely sales. The cost of warehousing that percentage of dead merchandise ends up being what? Although, warehouse/stockroom cost is rarely taken into cost and should be. As an example 25,000 widgets landed at .02 per pc. They are using 2 square feet with a cost of $18.00 per square foot per month. After a year how much did the widgets really cost? $0.03728. The cost of warehousing dead inventory ends up costing a small fortune, over time for most businesses. Why tie up warehouse space when you can free up the space and the space could be used for faster turning merchandise that generates positive flowing profits?

Inventory:
How long is an item in your line before your sales team stops showing the product? What % of the goods sold? Now you have to close them out. Your sales team is already tired of showing the goods and has shown them to all of their accounts. Fine you are waiting for the reorders to come in only to find out that they are not! Not that I should say this but 9 times out of 10 it is not the goods it is who has shown them and who has seen them. The lack of a fuller audience is a problem and always will be can your company see everyone? No not really. I have been there I know. Here you are sitting with goods and not turning your investment. This is just one of the reasons why liquidation can be a helpful hand. There are a lot of ways of looking at a liquidator in part they can be your answer as another selling arm of your business helping you market your unwanted inventory to markets that want them.

Out of Date inventory :
With all the new laws taking effect in all countries the longer you sit on a product today the more lightly you will end up throwing the inventory, your investment, into the trash! This was before I started Nickysb2b.com but, I have one friend, an owner of a good size company that was held onto dead merchandise until finally he ended up throwing away over 10 containers of merchandise. The damage ended up being well over $250,000.00. What could he have done with that or even half of that? For this reason alone it is better to have lost a little then to loss it all!

Returns:
Store returns are a killer in any warehouse. The freight in, the labor receiving and counting every last piece only to find out that the retailer, who you can not offend, short changed the count or sent you someone else’s merchandise. Would it not save time (money) to put them on a pallet and liquidate the mixed lot? Is the money better spent on positive flows inventory? 

Fixtures, Displays, Office Equipment:
It is more often then not a warehouse or retailer will throw out fixtures. I have always tried to make sense of it, but was never able to. You are throwing out money! Why not liquidate the fixtures and turn them into reinvestment dollars? As a retailer you know all displays cost money whether they are from a straight purchase of came "free" with their cost added into the price of the goods. How many displays are thrown out each year? The answer is most if not all at the end of the day. Would it not be better to turn them into cash? Again this is just another way of increasing overall profit margins if your a retailer and I know you need the money. How many computers, printers, and accessories are setting around in a storage room? I have to ask: are they resting? Just joking but...I know a lot of offices have them setting there. Here is another group of assets, "your investment dollars", just collecting dust. Liquidate them and use the money where you need it.


Cash Flow:
By liquidating dead merchandise, even though, it maybe at a loss, a business is freeing up its investment dollars. Those dollars could be reinvested effectively in more and profitable areas, such as, investing in new products or new technologies that ultimately generate better cash flows, better for the overall bottom line.

Banking:
Most businesses today borrow funds if you are one of them you know the bank is looking very closely over your shoulder. Is better showing the bank how many investment dollars you have tied up in stock or showing the bank a faster cash flow and stunning bottom line? I think you know the answer, but if not, ask your banker they will be happy to tell you.

 
Closing Points:
Liquidators free up warehouse or stockroom space.
Liquidators are your additional selling arm of your company.
Liquidators help remove your out of date inventories.
Liquidators help lower the cost of handling.
Liquidators can help show you the money.
Liquidators can help with cash flows free up, investment dollars, and even your banker will be happy!
After all "liquidators" keep you "liquid"!

In today’s economy can you afford not to turn your unwanted assets into cash? 

www.nickysb2b.com's, wholesale bulk lots, wholesale closeout liquidations

Editors' additional comments:

Sales Team :
What most companies do is tie up their sales personal to closeout old inventories that did not sell in the first place. It is a natural discussion for a business, but the wrong one. This choice actually ends up costing the business sales and profit dollars. Mathematically, this can easily be proven out.
For example: Sally brings in $20,000 in sales per week at “full mark up”. For argument sake we will say that the mark up is keystone. The company has some closeouts that they need sold. She is obligated to sell the closeouts for the business so “her point of focus shifts” to satisfy the companies new position to sell the closeouts. So she contacts all her accounts to push out the closeouts and then starts the follow up process of sales. Her normal sales drops the first week do to the shift. The following week her sales start to pick up but the dollars even if she is still at $20,000 per week the dollars are at deflated prices (10% mark up). The cost of the closeout sales from Sally are easy to calculate the business just lost $9,000 profit dollars and in most cases spent to market the closeouts Sally’s salary plus OH dollars to do it. It is needless to say how this choice effects the image of a business with their clients.  
Over the years I have watched perfectly good sales personal turned into off price sellers and this usually happens with the best of the sales group. The out come of this discussion is lower overall profits in addition to spoiling the sales team.

    

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