The 7 WORST Store Return Types of Inventory to Invest in

Posted by Big Brand Wholesale.com on 19th Aug 2021

If you are new to buying wholesale hopefully you already learned about The Different Types of Wholesale and read our blog post The WORST Famous Store to Buy Wholesale Through. Today we will be discussing the worst types of store returns to buy in general. Let’s begin:

These are in no specific order:

1. Electronics - Unless you are the type of person who knows a LOT about fixing electronics in addition to knowing a lot about electronics in general, this is probably one of the worst things you can buy. You should expect Store Return Electronics to contain a large portion of items that are:

Missing power supply cord / block / etc
Missing pieces
Broken Screens
Broken in General
Often items are “box swapped”, meaning a dishonest customer in the store will want the $60 wireless rapid charger but they don’t want to pay $60, so they remove the Rapid Charger from its box and also remove a $20 charger from it’s box. They then put the $60 charger into the $20 box and head to the cashier. This means you will end up with a box that SAYS it contains a $60 Wireless Rapid Charger but actually contains a $20 wired charger.

2. Bedding - This can be super tricky because you really have to look over everything and count pieces. Additionally what you will often discover is that someone stole the pillow cases or sheet out of a set and returned the remaining pieces.

Bedding isn’t “swapped” nearly as much as Electronics, however bedding is often USED. Used can mean something as minor as someone laying on it for a couple days prior to returning it but it can also mean all kinds of chaos ranging from cigarette burns to dog hair everywhere to… well … let’s just say “fluids”... use your imagination… theres all kinds of fluids and 0 kinds that you WANT to deal with on bedding belonging to a stranger. Rips are common. Incorrect washing is also common. Incorrect washing means the blanket was Dry Clean Only and someone threw it in their washer and dryer and now it’s shrunken and scraggly looking.

3. Underwear - Bras and shapewear can be ok and there’s a massive market for these items used but panties are a very tough sell for mostly the same reasons as Bedding listed above. In general, used mens underwear is a MUCH easier sell than used womens underwear.

4. Home Goods - Home Goods, as a whole, can be really “hit or miss”. Sometimes they’re outstanding. Other times… not so much. Expect to end up with bedding as mentioned above in addition to things like crock pots or vacuums missing the power supply (like we discussed in the Electronics section”, single curtains that have been used, silverware sets missing pieces, etc. There’s also usually a fairly large quantity of broken decor. This can include things like shattered mirrors, broken ceramics, chipped dishes / bowls / statues and more.

5. Shoes - Store Return shoes terrify me because even traditional liquidation shoes can be a pain in the arse to deal with. Mis-matched sizes or completely mis-matched shoes (one Puma means sneaker in a box with one womens Adidas shoe). There’s also extreme damage… damage that makes you wonder how on earth they were even allowed to return it, like the entire bottom of the shoe ripped completely off.

You should also expect to receive super worn shoes…. Like the type that should be thrown out. Also plan for broken heels, scratched pleather, ripped leather, broken zippers… UGH. It’s a LOT of work. (Be sure to check out our blog post AMAZING Ways to Sell USED Single Shoes)

6. Purses - Store Return purses are also scary unless you are a pro at replacing zippers and fixing leather (holes, scuffs, etc). Personally, I’m not a sewing expert so I steer clear. You will also have lots of missing purse straps, missing dust covers (this isn’t a big deal), and other missing parts (which may or may not be a big deal). If the purse is only missing a strap, we got you covered! Read our post How to Replace a Missing Purse Strap.

7. Jewelry - This is another tricky item to buy because you should expect to invest a LOT of time into it. Your time will be primarily spent:

Untangling - this isn’t a typical tangle. This is 50 necklaces all in one big “wad” of chain. It’s VERY, VERY tedious. I mean, it’s so tedious that it can take 5+ HOURS to attempt to salvage some tangled pieces. Additionally, there’s going to be many of these “wads”, so you’re looking at a substantial amount of time just untangling.

Once the pieces are untangled you can begin looking for damage; missing stones, broken chains, tarnish, pairs of earrings missing the second earring, rings that are bent, etc. A large amount of time also goes into this process.

Categorizing - Next you have to figure out if the item can be easily fixed, or fixed at all, or if it’s salvageable for part or to “upcycle” into a new creation. Obviously, fixing jewelry is usually going to have cost, although sometimes you can fix them very easily with very little work because people are lazy and will return something that they could have fixed in literally 10 seconds. You can buy a simple "fix it kit" off Amazon and have the majority of what you will need to restore necklaces to a sellable sate:

Other times you will need to add a clasp, glue in a stone, etc. Check out our blog posts about Store Return Jewelry:

Store Return Jewelry: Fix, Pitch or Upcycle?

15+ Things I Have Made from Broken Jewelry

5 EASY Upcycling Ideas for Damaged Earrings

In the end you will end up with a ton of time spent as well as additional cost to repair…. And this is BEFORE you can even start listing these items. If you consider yourself to be crafty AND creative, this might be a great niche for you. However if you see a single earring and assume it must be trash, you should avoid Store Return Jewelry like the plague because you are so much better off going with store return clothing that you can easily wash, fix or Custom Destroy or, simply invest in Traditional Liquidations.

NEXT READ: FIXING STORE RETURNS

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Missing Purse Strap Replacements

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