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So I have an opportunity to load up on higher end mens fashion this week. We’re talking a mother load of a rich man estate of everything he ever had for the last 30 years – clothes, shoes, suits, ties, etc. There are 300+ designer silk ties!! I know I see at least one pair of cordovan shoes in the photos. Sooo much good stuff.
Negatives:
-I have too much stuff already – where do I put this stuff if it turns out better than expected and I go all in? I mean I could probably make space, but I’ll have to 100% stop scavenging for some time. It would take me a solid day to reorganize my storage spaces to get it all in.
– I have to travel and take time off work to go.
– I really don’t want to invest a bunch of capital right now since my sales are already slow.Pros:
-This is an opportunity that just doesn’t come around too often.
– Prices are quite reasonable for the stuff I am interested in.
– Did I mention this is literally a men’s shoe/clothing sellers dream find?I’m very torn here…part of me says this kind of opportunity is what I have to embrace if I’m ever gonna man up and go full time. I could sell a handful of things to cover the costs in the end.
The other part of me says that even though this is an amazing opportunity, I don’t really NEED it. I get by just fine.
Then my wife (AKA my conscience) chimes in and says she thinks the plethora of cheap, good inventory is coming to a close and eventually everything will be super expensive and hard to come by, so get what you can now. I really needed her to reel me in here…but that didn’t happen.So Scavengers…. chime in.
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Are you confident men’s clothes would sell? I’ve had very little success in men’s clothes with some notable exceptions: higher-end hunting / outdoor clothing. Dress shirts, slacks, shoes….very little success.
Just saying…results may vary.
The GeorgiaHillbilly
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If I found a cheap bulk deal of a lifetime (or even the year) in one of the categories I’m familiar with selling, I’d be all-in.
The way I see it is that all the time you scavenge for each individual item you sell is eliminated by the bulk purchase – not only are you making $ by buying cheaper, you are also saving time, a lot of it, by buying a bulk load. The time you would spend scavenging can now be spent listing. I also find listing similar items all in a row a lot quicker than random items.
The only cons I can think of is cash tied up in inventory (if you can’t afford it, it’s not worth the stress), and if you don’t have the storage space.
I’d also think of a quick flip for a portion of the purchase – bundle similar items like the ties (sell a dozen of the same brand – for the price of 7 or 8 individual ties), then get your $ back quicker to re-coup the original payout then focus on single selling.
Lots of ways to play it, but if I found hundreds of items I was into in one place at a very good price, I’d be knocking down the door…
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All good points. I disagree that the times of good, cheap inventory are coming to an end but the big deals can be really good.
For me, though, the thought of creating a huge backlog of clothing inventory would make me very unhappy. I hate selling clothes and I do so only if they fall in my lap. If it were me, I’d be talking to SEAM Store about a bulk deal – maybe even just a referral fee so I don’t even have to touch the stuff.
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I’d take that deal. Deals like that don’t come along very often, and now you won’t have to go out and source for a while.
It sounds, however, like you kinda don’t want to take the deal? Is it the volume of inventory that is off-putting or the financial layout? Is there anyone in your area that would go halfsies on it with you?
I also disagree that the era of good, cheap merchandise is coming to an end.
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The sheer volume is what is getting in my head and making me hesitate. Yard sale season is also getting ready to start. I’m at the point in my storage that I have to consider quitting sourcing completely for a time…or expand my storage which I am hesitant to do.
Even if I spend $1k, I know I’ll make it back in relatively short time. The issue is I’d rather have the money in the bank though since we have another child being born next month. We’re at that point where the nesting instinct is kicking in, get our house in order, clean, etc. If we weren’t due for the baby I don’t think I’d be having this mental struggle I’d just make it work and then cherry pick list 10-20% of the new inventory to recoup my investment.
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And yes my counter-argument to her is that I have ZERO issues acquiring high quality inventory. I have to basically beat it back with a stick and keep increasing my standards to keep from buying too much. I am constantly learning, adapting, and changing my sourcing methods to stay ahead.
We don’t really control the availability, content, or quality of the inventory we acquire – we just have to be there when it does become available with cash in hand.
Back when I was big into collecting, repairing, and selling vintage arcade and pinball machines it was common knowledge that you better always be ready to hop in your truck with cash in hand on a moments notice or else you won’t get anything. I actually turned down many cheap and even free games as sources were plentiful from 2006 through about 2013.
Well…those cheap and easy to acquire sources dried up. Prices for even junk went through the roof. I still look for cheap arcade/pinballs, but they have become very, very rare.
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Just a few years ago my store was mainly toys and electronics. I could get them super cheap at yard sales and thrift stores. That entire market dried up quite quickly. That is why my store is mainly clothes/shoes now.
In regards to clothes, prices at thrifts continue to go up and sale prices on ebay continue to go down. As an example, just 2 years ago Ralph Lauren plaid button down shirts were $35+ shirts. Now they are pretty much worthless. Buckle Jeans went from $50+ quick sales to not even worth buying to resell in most cases.
Also within the last 3 years of doing this, sourcing on facebook yardsale and craigslist have pretty much dried up. Prices on FB yardsale have went through the roof.
So that is the context in which my wife sees “good and cheap” merchandise being harder to come by.
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No bulk price. Pseudo estate sale. The collectibles and such will be individually priced. The clothes and shoes will largely be priced flat per item. They don’t really care about the clothes/shoes. Just want to move it.
Once I am there and can inspect things closer I’d see if they would do a bulk price, but really alot of the stuff I likely don’t want from what I’ve seen so far. I don’t want a bunch of lower end mall brand shirts/pants. I would be cherry picking to control how much stuff I get. Even cherry picking though, I could end up with a load of 50+ pair of shoes, 50+ shirts/sweaters/vests, 20-30 suits, 20-30 pair of golf pants, and 100+ ties and spend close to $1k. Prices will be less than Goodwill per item.
And who knows what I haven’t even seen yet.-
How far is the sale? If its reasonable, it’d be worth the drive. You’re an experienced enough seller to know if its a good deal.
The only thing that haunts me is when I think back on deals I missed out on.
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As Jay said, I’ve regretted NOT going all in more times than I’ve regretted a bad buy.
At the end of the day, the answer is different for all of us. Do what will make you sleep easiest at night.
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I’ve gotten pretty good at making myself uncomfortable and have went all in multiple times. This one just wasn’t meant to be. With the baby coming and my wife feeling pretty miserable at this point in the pregnancy, it just wasn’t in the cards. We thought about going this weekend but she didn’t feel like doing the drive.
Oh well. I’ve decided to go the opposite direction and forego scavenging at all in April. I need to work on the backlog and get my workspace cleared out. Hard to do if I keep bringing more stuff in!
I’m very happy not dealing with the stress of bringing in a large amount of inventory right now.
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i think you should do it. if you have a new baby on the way, this would save you time from sourcing for the next several months, it’ll all be right there for you to “eat on” as Jay says.
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Look at the brands and then look at what your ROI is on the purchase. If you are spending $1k to profit $4k-$5k, I say do it.
When these situations come along, I remove emotion. Either the numbers work or they don’t. Don’t force it either way. If the numbers work, act on that.
I have Veronica do this as well. Yes, sometimes when the dollar amount is high, you get nervous. But either the numbers are right or they aren’t. The volume shouldn’t matter (at this level…if we are talking $15k, then yeah, other things come in to play…).
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When I do bulk buys, I like to think of it as the equivalent of x normal sourcing days. “Oh, if I do this bulk buy for this amount of inventory, it’s the equivalent of 10 days of sourcing.” If you only source 1 or 2 days a week, in actuality that means 1+ month of sourcing.
From what it sounds like, you’d do better picking the cream rather than trying to buy the collection outright. If you already have too much inventory to list, it’s not worth adding an entire collection that might have a lot of junk in it you’ll never get around to dealing with.
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I’m with Almasty. If it’s up to you, I’d pick the best stuff out and have fun with that. Chances are this is the most fun and your most probable path to fewer regrets.
More than us, listen to your own instincts, which seem to be telling you not to fill your space with too much more stuff, spend the $, or guilt future sourcing when you may really need to get out of the house and escape life with a new baby for a few mintues. Seriously, there is always more stuff!
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