Liquidation Deals 101: How to Buy Overstock for 70% Off Retail

How are so many business owners leveraging their inventory and sales? Is it that simple, or have you been skipping any step that delays you?

For the most part, it is all thanks to liquidation deals and how they offer an opportunity for resellers to purchase stock. They can create inventory around overstock items, returned goods, or clearance items. All of them at a fraction of retail prices.

These deals are everything for many businesses because they help save upfront investment and inventory. However, their format is what makes them both good and problematic.

Liquidation deals come in the form of pallets or lots and they contain a variety of products or goods. You can maximize resale profits since you access items from different categories.

The problem lies in the quality of these products and if they are good for leverage or not.

This is why understanding how to buy liquidation pallets for beginners and even for owners with experience is a game-changer.

Our team at Coastal Surplus Solutions helps you navigate the best liquidation marketplaces 2025, and work on setting your road for success.

How do we do it? We want to be there to explain every detail and how you can work with liquidation.

What Are Liquidation Deals?

Liquidation deals are sales for items in large quantities. At least, usually.

The merchandise from suppliers usually comes from customer returns, overstock inventory, and shelf pulls. Discontinued items can also be included in the whole equation.

The idea is to acquire items for a fraction of the price while giving these items a second chance. Working on these surplus goods helps companies maintain the circular economy practices.

All of this is balanced with how quantities are managed and how less waste is moved to landfills.

For example, Amazon has liquidation pallets all retailers can access. They often contain returned or overstocked products from warehouses or specific lots.

All of them are sold in bulk for resellers at amazing discounted prices.

But how can you work on getting them for your business?

Amazon is not the only seller for liquidation deals. This is what makes the process challenging, since vetting suppliers and liquidators is a difficult task.

We can tell you where to start and how to succeed.

Step 1: Find Reputable Marketplaces

While this sounds tough, you can go to some of the best liquidation marketplaces in 2025.

They are often listed by users and experts in the area, making it easier for you to align everything.

Choosing trustworthy platforms saves you the hassle or reduces the chances for scams. This is the right direction regardless of the items you are trying to source.

Some of the best marketplaces for liquidation deals are:

B-Stock: It offers access to multiple pallets from Amazon, Walmart, and Home Depot. The benefit is how they communicate and perform operations with transparency and manifests included.
Direct Liquidation: It goes over big-box retailers and provides clear product information. 90% of the items are in top condition and you can access large quantities.
UpLiquidation: Known for a vast selection and fast processing, ideal for high-volume buyers.
888Lots: It is a great space for beginners looking for low minimum order quantities. Moreover, there is always a discount on first purchases.

Step 2: Inspect Manifests and Negotiate Truckload Pricing

All trustworthy suppliers and marketplaces offer manifests of their lots.

This manifest is a detailed inventory list of the pallet contents. While they are not entirely explicit about each item, you can have an idea of their quality and value.

This helps you:

Assess product value and resale potential by the names.
Identify any damaged or unsellable items and compare.
Plan your strategy and inventory around the pallets.

While this can take some time, it makes the difference when knowing what lot to buy or not.

In this process, make sure to negotiate pricing and terms the larger your purchases are. Many suppliers will offer discounts for bulk purchases. Even more for certain categories.

Then, consider shipping costs and how you can include them.

Does It Make a Difference? Profit Case: Reselling a $5.000 Pallet

Liquidation pallets do bring profit. As long as you were careful and followed steps, you will benefit as a whole.

A reseller in Florida bought a liquidation pallet valued at $5.000. it was from a reputable marketplace and followed all the security steps to reduce risks.

In the end, he found high-demand items in good conditions, making the pallet boost its cost exponentially.

The key was being able to sell the inventory within 5 weeks. This means no inventory was really retained, and value was boosted as a whole.

While listening products on different channels, he was able to resale everything for a total value of $15.000.

This example demonstrates the potential for liquidation lots for resale profits. As mentioned by LinkedIn experts, when you approach buying strategically, you leverage everything.