Explanation of Wholesale Product Conditions

In what condition is the wholesale merchandise? 

When working with wholesale items there are different terms and definitions used to describe the conditions of products. Below are the terms usually used in the liquidation industry, and their definitions. Please click on each term for a more detailed definition.

 

Overstock - new merchandise which was never exposed for sale in a retail store. Usually comes in original packaging.

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Closeouts and Shelf Pulls - goods in new condition that have been displayed for sale in a store showroom or online but were never purchased by a customer. Most items would have their original tags.

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Irregulars - new goods that are being discarded or liquidated as a result of improper or minimal defective manufacturing. 

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Customer Returns - items that were once purchased from a store (or online store) but then were returned back to the store. Some items in customer returns condition may have imperfections and items in this condition usually do not have price tags.

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Pre-Worn - merchandise with signs that have been previously been used or worn. Typically there are no retail tags or store markings on these items.

Please visit DNCWholesale.com directly for more information on the wholesale designer merchandise we offer.

4 reasons to buy department store closeouts

There are a few different methods of acquiring wholesale merchandise from designer brands, but by far the easiest method is by obtaining wholesale merchandise from department stores. In other words, acquiring department stores’ overstock, shelf pulls and closeout merchandise.

For the most part, department stores’ closeout merchandise is sold in mixed lots. The stores know that if they provide the option of choosing or preferring only certain brands or styles, either the merchandise from more popular brands would sell first, or the high retail value items, but other items would take longer to move. Therefore, they organize and offer their merchandise in mixed lots, as they want to move all the different types of merchandise they offer, from all the designer brands they feature.

With that said, the 4 reasons to buy wholesale designer clothing from department stores’ closeouts are:

1. Their wholesale merchandise is constantly available
2. Flat low wholesale prices (even for high retail value items)
3. Quality merchandise
4. Limited collections included

Their wholesale merchandise is constantly available

Department stores are always trying to introduce new merchandise into their stores, in order to attract returning customers. To make up the space for this new merchandise, they must move the current merchandise out of their stores.

This causes department stores to constantly have to liquidate current merchandise. Therefore, on a weekly basis there is a steady supply of hundreds of thousands of items being liquidated by department stores.

Low wholesale prices (even for high retail value items).

The best part of department stores needing to move merchandise is that because they already made their profit on the merchandise they sold at their stores, they make their closeout merchandise available at below their original wholesale cost, as their main goal is simply making space for newer merchandise coming in.

To make the purchasing process of department stores’ mixed closeout lots easier for customers, DNC Wholesale offers these assorted lots at a low flat price per item, independently of the brands, styles or sizes of the items included. This is beneficial to resellers, because these assorted department store lots contain high end items with extremely high retail prices, eventually providing resellers with great profit margins when selling this wholesale merchandise.

In average, for most lots, the original retail value is 3 to 5 times more than the wholesale price these lots are available for. In other words, resellers have the opportunity of selling new designer merchandise at discounted prices to their own customers, and still attain a good profit.

Limited collections included

Department stores are still the “go to” place for brands to release their special and limited collections. Brands like Ralph Lauren for example, create special collections for the Olympics, and other sport events, which sometimes are exclusively featured and sold at department stores. Department stores are the main showroom for the latest styles and limited collections released by the brands.

With that said, like any other type of merchandise, when department stores decide to introduce newer merchandise, items from these limited collections are eventually also removed from their stores, and included in their closeout offers.

Quality Merchandise

High end department stores and the brands they feature, have an image and reputation they need to maintain. Therefore, they have strict quality procedures in place, in order to make sure only items with the highest quality are introduced and offered at their stores.

This ensures that their merchandise is always top quality, independently of the item’s brand or style.

Are you interested in acquiring department store closeouts? Try us out! Visit www.DNCWholesale.com for more information on the wholesale designer clothing we offer, obtained directly from department stores' overstock and closeout lots.

Should I risk buying customer returned merchandise lots? Or stick to Overstock and Closeout lots? - The Pros and Cons of working with Customer Returns Wholesale Merchandise lots

Undoubtingly there are benefits to purchasing wholesale merchandise in customer returns condition, but as any decision, if you expect to have a good outcome reselling the merchandise you must first compare the pros and cons and make sure the pros outweigh the cons. For many, working with customer returned merchandise has been a successful business, but this may not be the case for others, as working with such merchandise has its risks, and requires a well planned strategy.

In the wholesale liquidation industry it is understood that merchandise lots offered in customer returns condition will include a small percentage of items with imperfections. The imperfections can vary tremendously from a blemish, to a stuck zipper, missing part etc... Also, the percentages of items with imperfections vary not only from department store to department store, but by each single lot. In general, wholesale lots in customer returns condition usually consist of 60-80% of items in good condition, and 20-40% of items may have some kind of imperfection. 

People who work with merchandise and clothing lots in customer returns condition usually have come up with different strategies to resell this merchandise. Some of them export the customer returns lots to other countries, many times to countries where if any items need to be repaired the labor cost will be minimal. Other buyers of customer returned merchandise have the resources to repair many of these items, further lowering their costs, and growing their profit margins. There are also some people who separate the merchandise they acquire in customer returns condition, and sell items that may not be in perfect condition in different locations using different pricing/selling strategies. 

Even though there are risks, there are also benefits when working with customer returned wholesale lots. A great benefit of merchandise lots in customer returns condition is that it is usually available at lower prices compared to shelf pulls and closeout lots. Additionally, it sometimes happens that customer returns lots have larger quantities of items from more desirable and well known brands, compared to lots of the same category offered in closeouts condition. Also, many department stores mix perfectly good overstock and closeout items into customer returns lots. Because of this, there are many occasions in the wholesale industry that merchandise from certain distributors and department stores, or certain merchandise lots/categories are only offered in customer returns condition.

To sum it up, if you come up with a good strategy for reselling customer returned merchandise, and put in the necessary work, you can always count on a constant merchandise supply, and there is a good profit to be made in this business. But, before you begin working with customer returns merchandise please ask yourself the following questions:

• Where will these items be sold?

• Who will these products be sold to?

• Will customers accept to purchase items with minor imperfections (even if they are offered at lower prices)?

• And lastly, if necessary, are you willing to put in extra work to repair some of the items you purchased, or do you want them all to be retail ready?

If you answered these questions understand the risks and work it takes to sell customer returns wholesale merchandise lots, and are interested in obtaining wholesale designer merchandise in customer returns condition, we can help by supplying you constantly with this merchandise. Don't hesitate to contact us at Info@DNCWholesale.com, or visit our site DNCWholesale.com if you have additional questions, or would like to begin ordering wholesale designer clothing and merchandise in customer returns condition.

The Difference Between Clothing from Outlet Stores and Department Stores - Quality, Styles, Pricing etc...

Many people looking to start their businesses and offer authentic designer clothing, compare the pricing of department stores' wholesale merchandise lots that wholesalers offer, to the pricing of merchandise that outlet stores offer. But, what many people don't consider or don't understand is that there are many differences between the merchandise offered at these two completely different types of stores.

Quality

Of course, considering that outlet stores usually belong to specific brands and that they target the end consumer directly, they will provide the opportunity of picking and choosing the exact items you would like to buy. But, it has been proven that generally, items offered at outlets stores were made specifically and intentionally for outlets stores, and because they were meant to be offered at lower prices to begin with, these items don't go through the same quality standards process as items meant to be sold at department stores in high end malls.

Styles

As mentioned previously, because many brands are manufacturing separate items for outlet and department stores, there is also a difference on the styles of clothing offered in these locations. There are certain special editions or collections that can only be found at department stores. Consequently as much as you search for these styles at outlet stores, you will not find them, but you will be able to find many of them within department stores' wholesale overstock and closeout lots.

Pricing

The pricing at outlet stores is meant to be low. Companies already know that consumers going to outlet stores are hunting for deals. So, to make customers happy, that is exactly what the brands want to portray, but in reality oftentimes they are simply offering items that also cost them less to make.

On the other hand, when obtaining wholesale clothing from department stores' overstock and closeout lots, you are obtaining the quality, the styles and collections offered at high end malls, for low wholesale pricing (often lower than outlet stores), and in bulk quantities.

In conclusion, you are not comparing apples to apples when comparing merchandise from department stores and outlet stores. If your goal is to resell the merchandise you obtain, even though you have more possibility of choosing the items at outlet stores, you will end up spending a lot of time searching for deals, instead of working to grow your business.

Our advice is: Find a dependable wholesaler of quality clothing and merchandise that you can rely on, so you can invest more of your time on your business and customers. Try us out! Visit www.DNCWholesale.com for more information on the wholesale designer clothing we offer, obtained directly from department stores'overstock and closeout lots.

Why purchase wholesale clothing from department stores' closeouts? - The Benefits

Many people see the potential on making a business out of selling designer brands' clothing items, at a retail location or online, but don't know how to obtain them in bulk. What many people don't realize is that it's not simple to obtain items from certain brands, as explained on previous posts. There are different methods of obtaining wholesale designer clothing, but the most common and reliable method is through a verified wholesaler that offers overstock and closeouts from department stores.

There are different terms used when working with wholesale merchandise, but department stores' overstock and closeout lots in general, refer to items that are left from department stores' sales. These items were only displayed at a store, they were never sold, and are in new condition. Once these items are left from department store's sales, they are separated into categories, and offered to wholesalers in large quantities. 

Some department stores offer their closeout merchandise in broadly categorized lots of "men's clothing"or "women's clothing", while others separate their closeout items into more specific categories, and even offer manifests (item lists with the description of each item) for their lots. Because department stores only separate their merchandise into categories, they do not offer wholesalers the possibility of picking or choosing items of a certain style or from a specific brand. In other words, closeout lots from department stores will always contain an assortment of brands, styles, sizes, colors etc...

While some more specific offers are available from certain distributors, they are usually only sporadically available, which makes it hard to count on if you are looking for a steady supply for your business. Even though these closeout lots contain a variety of brands and clothing styles, they are constantly available, as they are acquired from department stores, which have sales every week, and must always have the latest fashion styles in their stores.

Purchasing closeout lots is one of the only methods of obtaining some designer brands, which are practically impossible to obtain otherwise. Many of the styles found in these lots are also unique, and cannot be found in discount or outlet stores, as they were made specifically for large department stores which are many times located in high end malls.

Though no one can ultimately guarantee a profit when working with department stores' overstock and closeout lots, as it will always depend on the retailer's selling strategy, many factors can collaborate to a profitable business. The designer brands found in these closeout lots, the unique styles, and the steady supply are only some things to consider. Taking into account that these items are offered at wholesale prices, good profit margins can be attained, as many times these lots are sold for a fraction of their retail value. 

The proof that there is a profit to be made when working with department stores' overstock and closeout lots are large discount stores like Marshall's, TJ Maxx, and Ross. These companies are based on selling items from designer brands obtained in bulk from large retailers, and have been on a steady growth for more than a decade.

For more information on the wholesale merchandise we offer, or any questions, please visit our site: www.DNCWholesale.com

Tips on How to Obtain Wholesale Clothing from Designer Brands like Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Lacoste etc...

As many of you reading this blog may have already found out, it is not easy nor simple to obtain clothing from certain designer brands in bulk, and for wholesale prices. Usually, the more popular the brands and their products are, the harder they are to obtain.

The main reason that it's so difficult to obtain merchandise from these brands, is that they do everything they can to control and protect their brand image and reputation, as anyone would do being in their position. No one can blame them for protecting the years of investment they have made promoting their brands, and now that they are popular, the effort they put into having control of where their merchandise is sold.

The side effect of this "control" is that these brands, being popular and difficult to obtain, become high in demand, and the few people who are able to obtain clothing from designer brands like Ralph Lauren, Lacoste, Tommy Hilfiger, amongst many other popular brands, are able to build a profitable businesses, reselling these items.

So, how does someone obtain wholesale authentic designer clothing from these brands?

Considering how controlled the clothing of some of these brands are, there are truly only 4 methods of obtaining this authentic designer clothing in bulk and for wholesale prices, and only two of these methods can be considered realistic:

• Directly from the brands.
• From the factories that produce the clothing/merchandise.
• Obtaining the clothing from the official distributors.
• Acquiring overstock and closeout merchandise from wholesalers.

Directly from the brands - probably the most unrealistic.

To be able to obtain merchandise directly from the brands is practically impossible. The brands already have contracts with established distributors, and the distributors have a network of approved retailers they provide the clothing to. The brands will not offer their merchandise to anyone, unless you own a large business and can prove to them that working with them, and selling their clothing, will also be profitable to them. Even so, if you are able to get their attention, they will certainly have a list of requirements, including constant orders of thousands of their items at a time.

From the factories that produce the clothing/merchandise - extremely hard and complicated to work with.

There are many who claim to be legitimate authorized manufacturers of clothing for designer brands. The problem lies in the fact that they are not able to prove it. To control their merchandise, the brands usually have manufacturers sign strict contracts, to prevent them from reselling their merchandise, or producing it without their authorization. But, there are some loopholes in this system.

Factories are located in different countries, and laws are different in each country. Some countries enforce some of the restrictions on contracts, as well as completely annul other restrictions, as it doesn't comply with their laws. In other words, some factories are able to take advantage of their local law, and do offer authentic designer merchandise they manufactured for wholesale and at extremely low prices. Also, as part of their contract, some factories are able to sell clothing that did not pass quality standards, and any overruns, or over produced clothing they end up with.

The main problem is that manufacturers are usually not able to truly prove that the merchandise is authentic, as they will never have an actual resale letter of authorization from the brands, which makes it extremely complicated to export/import.

Obtaining the clothing from the official distributors - hard, but possible.

In many cases, if a retailer has a large quantity of overstock from a certain merchandise, the retailer can return the merchandise to the distributor. The distributor for their part, must then liquidate and sell that merchandise as seen fit.

Offers from distributors are usually specific to one single brand, and will either contain an assortment of items/styles or give buyers the option of choosing the quantities of each style they would like to order. These offers are brand specific, but in general they sell fast, as they are hard to come by, and only sporadically available.

Because distributors don't want to infringe any part of their contract with the brands, they are very cautious on deciding who they should offer the overstock merchandise to. Distributors usually work with large and reputable wholesalers and liquidators to sell their overstock clothing/merchandise.

Acquiring overstock and closeout merchandise from wholesalers - most common and easiest to obtain.

The most common method of obtaining wholesale authentic designer clothing, is through a trusted and verified wholesaler of overstock and closeout merchandise. The merchandise wholesalers offer are for the most part obtained from large retailers, department stores, and the distributors of these designer brands.

Wholesalers who work directly with department stores and distributors are usually able to offer documentation/proof that the merchandise they offer is authentic, and obtained from reliable sources. Department stores usually offer a release letter, while some distributors only offer sanitized invoices, as they do not want to cross any legal lines with their brands. There are though, circumstances where the brands control their products to a certain level, that not much proof can be offered, as retailers and distributors will not risk their business with their suppliers, simply to liquidate overstock products.

Overstock and closeout offers from distributors are different from offers from department stores or large retailers. Offers from distributors, as mentioned previously, usually consist of items from one single brand, and sometimes (depending on the distributor) there is also the opportunity of picking the exact styles and quantities of each style you would like to order. Please take into consideration, that wholesale offers for certain merchandise from some brands are more difficult to come by than others. For example, it is almost impossible to find an offer with only Ralph Lauren Polo Shirts, or Lacoste Polo Shirts, while it is more common or easier to find offers from distributors for Ralph Lauren and Lacoste Shoes.

Offers or lots obtained from department stores and other retailers, on the other hand, can either consist of an assortment of different clothing styles from one single brand, or consist of a variety of brands and clothing styles that are simply separated into different categories. Most department stores divide their closeout merchandise into lots or categories, as they carry a large list of different clothing styles and brands in their stores. Even though each lot category will contain an assortment of brands and syles that already come mixed from department stores, obtaining these lots is the easiest and most reliable method for obtaining wholesale clothing from designer brands like Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Lacoste, and many others.

Honestly, being able to obtain wholesale clothing from designer brands is not an easy task, but with some effort and insistance, it can be a very profitable business. If you are interested in obtaining wholesale designer clothing and other merchandise from designer brands, or have any questions, visit us at DNCWholesale.com.