Starting a home business selling Walmart returns can feel intimidating, but it is indeed more straightforward than most people realize. The first step you want to take is to secure where you will get the returns from. Some companies provide Walmart liquidation that you can purchase products from.
The products available will be items that have been purchased and then returned to Walmart. Since the products can no longer be sold as new, Walmart works with direct liquidators to resell their returns and recover their investment. The liquidators then resell the products to entrepreneurs that make a living reselling them.
Once you have made connections with the liquidation company, you will want to create an inventory tracking sheet. This can be done with Excel; you do not need a special inventory management system. In your tracking sheet, you want to add the product name, a link to the product online, details of any damage to the product or product packaging, and your estimated cost.
If you are buying lots of items, you may not have an exact product cost. However, you can take the total price of the lot and divide it by the number of things you are planning to resell to give you a cost per piece. You can also add to the cost of the product new, so you have an idea of what people would expect to pay for the item new. The actual product cost will help you determine your selling price.
Then you need to decide how you are going to sell the products. Ebay is an ideal option for smaller items that are easy to ship, but there is a lot of competition on eBay, so you need to understand that you may not get the best prices. You can also sell through local markets using Craigs’ List or Facebook Marketplace. This is ideal for larger items; it also allows you to have more control over costs and the selling price. A bonus is that there are no seller fees when you sell locally. Ebay will involve eBay fees and processing fees if you use a site like Paypal to accept the payments.
When you get a shipment of products, you will need to inspect every item and add the required information to your inventory tracking sheet. From there, you will be able to create ads. To stay organized, it is best to create a consistent schedule for yourself. For example, you may work on inventory and ads Monday through Wednesday, so everything is posted Thursday or Friday. This is advantageous because people are more likely to buy online going into the weekend when they feel they have time to pick up the items they purchase.
As you sell items, you need to update your inventory tracking marking the items sold and adding the selling price and any related expenses, so you know what your net profit is on each item. This will help you make adjustments to how you run your business in order to maximize profits. It will also provide you with a clear picture of what your profit is, which is essential for any business to understand.
While you may not have a significant investment in a home office, you will need money upfront to buy at least the first round of products to start selling. If you do not have the money, you will need to find it. You may be able to ask a friend or family member if they are willing to invest in you as a new business. You may also be able to get a short-term loan to get you through the first round, and then use your profits to fund future purchases. There are many online lenders you can go to if you are unsure. For example, you can search hard money loans in Texas to see what your options are living in the state of Texas. Each state may have varying rules, so it is important to search for your state.