Posts Tagged department stores
Are You Wondering How to Buy Store Returns to Sell in Your Store?
Posted by johnb in Wholesale, Wholesale Sources on November 16th, 2009
Discovering how to buy store returns can be very profitable for your retail business, since they can be purchased at incredibly low prices. Chances are, if you have experience sourcing wholesale products, then you have encountered store returns before, but a lot of the time merchants do not realize the potential of buying and reselling store returns.
In this article we will discuss in depth exactly what store returns are and the benefits of sourcing them to sell to your target market.
It is important to understand that there are some issues that come with store returns, but the low prices leave ample room for considerable profit. In order to make the most of your store returns, you should be knowledgeable about these issues and how to handle them.
So, what are store returns, anyway?
Generally, department stores permit their customers to return purchases for various reasons; if the item is flawed in some way, or, if it is apparel, it does not fit properly, etc. Different stores have different return policies, but pretty much all department stores will accept at least some returns.
Products are rarely returned in the condition in which they were bought, for example most are missing the original packaging. This is almost always the case when a customer returns a flawed item.
While it can cost the department stores money, since the items cannot be resold as new, they accept returns in a effort to provide exceptional service and build trust with their customers. Regardless of the potential risk, department stores offer the service to ensure that their customers do not favor the competition, and remain loyal to their stores, since returns and customer service can often be a deciding factor for customers.
Now we will look at what happens to the products once they have been returned to the store. Most stores compile all of their returns into bulk lots. The bulk lots are generally purchased by a wholesale supplier who then sells the returns to their customers, since the department stores cannot sell the returns for their full purchase price, this is the most cost effective way to deal with the excess stock.
For many merchants learning how to buy store returns, a common question is why would you want to sell items that are flawed? The fact that you can have the items repaired and then proceed to sell them while still making a considerable profit, since returns can cost well below regular wholesale price, is what makes this a viable option.
Around twenty percent of store returns are still still in mint condition, meaning they will require no action on your part. It is for this reason that store returns are generally sold to interested parties, apart from other products. It often depends on the buyer’s skills, since an electrician might be delighted to find a broken television at such a low price, which he could then fix and resell for near full retail value.
While it may require some creativity on your part, with some thought you can see that these products, even faulty ones, do have a market for resell.
Can You Return Stolen Items To Costco?
Posted by Wholesale News in Liquidations, Wholesale, Wholesale Sources on September 1st, 2009
Recently, I was looking through an online forum in which someone asked, “Can you return stolen items to costco?” It seemed like a rather odd question to me at first, but when I began to contemplate the implications associated with this type of transaction, it began to seem like a more reasonable inquiry. So, the following is a more detailed explanation of what this involves.
Naturally, no crime of stealing and reselling stolen goods should ever be condoned; however, this fact aside, the answer to the question of whether or not you can return stolen goods to costco is actually yes.
It is costco policy to permit customers to return items to their store even if they don’t have a receipt since pleasing the customer is one of the most important parts of their business strategy. costco will provide a full refund for a product if it is broken, damaged or unwanted; it doesn’t have to be in perfect shape, and doesn’t even have to still be in the box or have the labels on it.
A few years back, the first problem that came up as a result of this practice arose when liquidation services contracted with costco started selling salvaged goods that had been taken back to the stores by consumers to department stores.
This practice is based on the concept that the wholesale liquidator will ask for a low price in exchange for the goods, and while the product might not be in mint condition, the person who ends up with it will be satisfied.
However, what was actually happening was that people were abusing costco’s return policy by returning the products they had purchased in bulk for discount rates back to costco in return for a full refund. Significant changes were made to wholesale liquidator’s contracts with costco in order to prevent this practice since costco lost a large amount of revenue from the abuse of their return policy.
Because stolen items could also be used to exploit costco’s refund policy, they had to start enforcing additional regulations in their return policies. Now, if you’re taking back electronics, you have to do so within 90 days of the date when you bought them. It’s not explicitly stated in their return policy, but it does indicate that you will need to prove the purchase date by bringing along a receipt.
Customer returns that are received by wholesale liquidators also specifically indicate that they cannot be returned. The enactment of this new policy has allowed customers to continue taking advantage of costco’s low prices and has also saved the company revenue.
costco is making a dedicated effort to maintain a high quality shopping experience for its customers, although a few criminals will always attempt to get around the regulations in place.
Costco Store Returns Surplus and Fraud
Posted by Wholesale News in Liquidations, Wholesale, Wholesale Sources on August 28th, 2009
costco realized that they were being regularly scammed with false returns (a problem for many businesses)and felt that they had to do something to protect themselves from the large amounts of fraud being perpetrated upon them.
You need to know the history behind the process in order to understand how the costco returns fraud was possible. wholesale liquidation sources are often contracted by most big stores, like discount or department stores, to take shipments of returns or surplus inventory. surplus inventory can be attributed to many different factors, ranging from geography to overpricing or lack of customer demand for the item. surplus inventory is considered when pricing is strategized; it is an accepted part of the retail business.
When it comes to returns, however, the situation changes. Because costco has a lenient return policy and will take returns on unwanted or damaged merchandise without a receipt, they are very open to costco returns fraud.
Because wholesale liquidators simply sell overstocks and returns in bulk at drastically reduced prices to the public, there is no way to know if a buyer has purchased at item at the liquidators, gone back to costco and returned it for a full costco store credit. While costco returns fraud costs the company millions of dollars, costco would prefer to keep their lenient return policy as it currently stands; this unfortunately puts the company in a situation with no apparent solution.
Wholesalers and liquidation contractors actually have an obligation to costco to remove anything and everything on the packaging of any item they receive from costco store returns surplus to ensure that costco returns fraud cannot happen. Label sanitation is when this obligation is fulfilled.
As the wholesale supplier is not allowed to tell you that the products you are purchasing from them are costco store returns or surplus items, you cannot be certain as to where exactly the liquidation products you are purchasing are originally from.
Removing all of the labels and costco-specific brand name badges creates a lot of work for the wholesale supplier, but agreeing to take the time to do this extra work is why they are able to buy the items at such low prices from costco stores to begin with.
Sourcing your products by this process is a way that you, as a retailer, can get great discounts on products to on sell in your store. costco items can often still be identified even after you remove all of the identifying markings, which can assure your customers that the items they are purchasing from you are of high quality and originally from a trusted store.
Some electronics and similar items from costco store returns and surplus will arrive at the store of the contracted wholesale supplier with markings indicating that they are salvage items on the packaging. This is to ensure that costco returns fraud is unlikely, not an indication that the quality of the item is low. Most people these days are doing all that they can to get as good a deal for their money as possible; this means that the small tag will not be considered important enough to deter them from making what they will know to be a great purchase.
Home Decor & Furniture at Wholesale Prices
Posted by Scott in Liquidations, Wholesale, Wholesale Sources on July 20th, 2009
Being a savvy shopper can save money on home decor and office furniture for both consumers and businesses. Furniture is one of the major expenses when moving to a larger home or expanding your business. You can easily overpay by thousands of dollars if you don’t take the time to shop around for the best deals.
Office furniture like cubicles and work stations that many companies buy at retail can be marked up by double or triple percentages. By utilizing the internet you can find many options to buy this type of office furniture, new and used, with much smaller markups.
Local department stores are not the best place to find decor like paintings, clocks, sconces and other wall art at favorable prices. With tough economic times it isn’t a good idea to throw money away on over priced items.
Through a quick search on the internet you can also find coffee tables, entertainment centers and desks that you can purchase either assembled or to put together yourself. Due to the price of gas, shipping can be more expensive on these items and wholesalers will price them accordingly. Even with added shipping, the low cost of purchasing these products on the internet will still provide you a great deal.
Using your time wisely and narrow down your search to focus on liquidator websites. Open your browser and type the terms “buy wholesale furniture” or “furniture wholesaler” in your search engine. This search will provide you with a large number of results. You may need to scroll through 5-10 sites to find the exact item you want, but taking the time will result in your best deals.
To improve your capabilities and save some time you can use comparison shopping websites. Narrow your search by product and these sites will show you several dealers carrying the same item. You can compare the item price and shipping costs from several companies at once, making shopping for wholesale furniture online easier. If you have questions on the items or concerns about purchasing call the company’s customer service line. Wholesalers welcome your business. Web sites with good customer service are the best places to shop and ensure you have a smooth transaction.
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