Last Updated on February 16, 2023
Whether you are hoping to earn some extra cash with a simple side hustle or create a new business to get out of your 9 to 5 boring day job buying Amazon pallets for sale is a great option. It is like buying a storage unit where half of the fun is seeing what is inside.
With so many products being bought and sold on Amazon, it only makes sense the company would do everything possible to increase profits. This gives consumers like you a great chance to buy Amazon returns at a significantly lower price than going to a resale store.
What are Amazon Return Pallets?
Essentially Amazon processes hundreds of thousands of return orders every single week. All of those returns contain items in used, broken, or brand-new condition that need to go somewhere. It does not make any sense to throw the items out because Amazon can still get money from selling them as liquidation pallets to consumers hoping to make some extra cash.
Why Would Someone Buy a Pallet of Returned Customer Products?
The best reason you would want to buy Amazon returns in pallet form is that you can flip the products to earn money. It takes very little to post the items to Facebook marketplace, eBay, Instagram, or even your local resale shop for a markup over what you paid and turn a profit. That is actually the foundation of most businesses – buy low, sell high.
How to Buy Amazon Return Pallets
There are a number of providers who offer Amazon overstock pallets for sale. Their goal is the same as yours, to turn a profit instead of being stuck with additional products that take up space in their facility. We summarized some of the more popular providers below:
- Big Box Stores – you can purchase entire truckloads, but you have to work with the individual local store. There is no central portal or method to get the pallets without making a connection with stores like Target, Best Buy, Lowe’s, Kohls, and more.
- Broker Sites – places like liquidation.com or bstock.com often sell entire Amazon return pallets, but tend to stick to lower quality “scraps” instead of the really good stuff big box stores have. There is also:
- Local Liquidators – these are individual sellers on Facebook, Offerup, or Craigslist using category 1 or 2 product levels (the good stuff) and hoping to double their profit.
What Can You Expect from Buying Amazon Return Pallets?
The good news is most suppliers will designate what category of goods they are selling (hint: 1 or 2 is the best) or allude to the value of the pallet in resale value.
At the end of the day, what you get is kind of like buying a lottery ticket. You never know if you end up with a complete pallet full of Pokémon Cards that be worth thousands or Fidget Toys that may be worth $5.
Some sellers report only being able to resell about 20-30% of the products they purchase, but still turning a profit. Others say the best way to go is to buy huge truckloads from Amazon directly. Unfortunately, that usually requires a forklift and warehouse or garage big enough to handle all the product.
The goal is to find a profitable system that allows you to purchase good quality Amazon pallets for sale that you pretty much know will turn a profit in the resale market. The closer you can get to the original returned items before a third-party gets the chance to dig through and remove the good stuff, the better.
Every stage of buying and reselling the Amazon return pallets has its own pros and cons that take a bit of trial and error.
How to Buy Quality Amazon Return Pallets?
The absolute best way for where to buy Amazon return pallets is from Amazon directly. This will require more equipment because the online retailer only sells to approved resellers in truckload and not individual pallets.
They will also sell to liquidation sites, but some resellers have had bad experiences of workers at those locations cherry-picking through the most profitable items before selling the liquidation pallets, lowering the overall value of what you can get.
The best option is always going to be getting as close to Amazon as possible in the supply chain. They do not have the time to sift through the pallet and just want to clear their warehouse floor space as quickly as possible.
You need to do your due diligence when you get a pallet. That means going through and testing all the electronics, verifying the brands, researching the value of the possible resale, and checking for any faulty products that will end up in a junkyard.
Amazon probably will not let you skim through the pallet because that slows down their efficiency process and because they sell in truckload sizes, but some other sources may let you check the pallet before making a purchase.
If you can get a direct purchase of Amazon pallets for sale, you should also get a manifest of what is included. This will list the items that should be included in the pallet and will give you a good idea if the pallet has been searched through before.
There are quite a few resellers online that suggest double-checking for repackaged pallets or people selling Amazon overstock pallets without a manifest. You should avoid those situations as they may be scams.
How to Sell Amazon Return Pallets?
There is no 100% effective way to earn the highest profit from each pallet you buy from Amazon or an Amazon return store. However, here are a few suggestions of what we know has worked in the past:
- Buy directly from Amazon in truckload form and then try to resell the individual items through online sites like eBay, Craigslist, or Facebook Marketplace. This requires a lot of time, warehouse space, and probably a forklift or a lot of strong friends to get the Amazon overstock pallets off the truck.
- Buy directly from Amazon or a major reseller and pick out the items you know will have the best profit. You can then group the rest of the items together and offer an honest resale to others at a lower price point. Be fair and let them know you have already gone through the boxes. Otherwise, people will think you are trying to scam them.
- Buy directly from Amazon or a major reseller and then resell the entire pallet for profit without touching anything inside. There is actually a good amount of money to be made here if you have the original manifest and everything looks honest and authentic.
- Buy the pallet from local resellers and sell individual items on eBay or Craigslist.
If you are curious what sites work well for reselling individual items, try any of the following popular marketplaces:
- Facebook Marketplace
- eBay
- Mercari
- Depop
- Poshmark
- Offerup
- Craigslist
- Varagesale
- Yard Sale Treasure Map
- Bonanza
Is the Amazon Return Pallets Business Worth Going Into?
Yes and no. You absolutely can make plenty of money learning where to buy Amazon return pallets, but it comes down to the system you use. If you have the space and workflow set up ahead of time, you can leverage your items for quite a bit of profit.
The key element is finding a source supplier that will not try to scam you or trick you by removing the good quality items.
The included manifests are worth gold to the right people. Even if you want to try the reselling option for the entire pallet when left untouched, having that manifest to prove what is inside is critical.
Will you become a millionaire overnight? Probably not unless you have a massive warehouse, multiple employees, and a few forklifts. Can you replace your regular income? Absolutely, as long as you develop a profitable system of source pallets and resale options.
Final Thoughts
You can make money buying Amazon pallets and then reselling them online or offline. The key element is putting in place a system that you know will turn a decent profit as well as the work required to get the job done.
Amazon pallets come with a lot of products and require hours of research and work to flip them online. You also need to have a reliable source that isn’t trying to scam you and a good working relationship with others who know you are also honest about what you have. There is a great Redditor who explains the work ethic involved for his successful resale business.
It all comes down to whether or not you want to put in the effort. If you are willing, you certainly can make decent cash from this business.
If this seems too much for a start, why not consider the gig economy? Since we are discussing Amazon opportunities, perhaps you could try to become an Amazon Flex driver and deliver orders to the buyers or Amazon Hub Counter. The gig offers plenty of flexibility, minimum management, and easy entry.
