WHERE do some sellers get their merchandise?

[FALLAX COR]

How come some sellers have huge quantities of stuff from certain brands? I'm talking about the ones who sell items with marked or cut labels...Like some people who have a ton of returned items from Victoria's Secret or JCrew? Where do these people get all their stuff??!!

 

[CynthiaNYC]

Distribution centers, outlets, etc. Once an item is sold through the catalog or store and then returned, most companies won't put it back out at full price, so they send it on to their distribution center where it's sold at a discount.
Other HUGE eBay sellers may have deals where they purchase directly from the corporation, but those are few and far between because they sell by the truckload literally.

I used to sell a huge volume of brand new clothing on eBay, in case you're wondering how I know all this. Nowadays I focus only on bags though

 

[FALLAX COR]

thanks cynthia!!
distribution centers?? where do i find those? maybe i could try my hand at reselling items like that... the original reason i asked is b/c i've been dying for a pair of jcrew boots from past season, and sellers have every size but mine. any tips on where to find a jcrew distribution center? TIA!

 

[compulsivepurse]

You will probably be able to find it in their prospectus/financial paperwork if they are a publically owned company, or google online for the words "distribution center" or "warehouse store".

Saks' is in Maryland. NM's is in California (they may have another one). Right near me there is a Macy's Furniture distribution warehouse that has sales of damaged furniture twice a year that you can buy cheap and then have fixed.

 

[lulilu]

Distribution centers, outlets, etc. Once an item is sold through the catalog or store and then returned, most companies won't put it back out at full price, so they send it on to their distribution center where it's sold at a discount.
Other HUGE eBay sellers may have deals where they purchase directly from the corporation, but those are few and far between because they sell by the truckload literally.

I used to sell a huge volume of brand new clothing on eBay, in case you're wondering how I know all this. Nowadays I focus only on bags though

That is interesting Cynthia! I just was looking at an MJ Stella bag and asked the seller where she got it and she said she was a wholesaler. My initial reaction was that it had to be fake. Maybe not?

 

[CynthiaNYC]

Lulilu, actually, I am pretty sure that the seller in question could not have been a wholesaler of Marc Jacobs, since they are an LVMH company and LVMH does not do wholesale.
That being said, it is possible that she could have bought it at a retail outlet type store like Off Fifth or Loehmann's or Neimans Last Call, at a significant discount. More likely, though, your instincts were correct and the bag was a fake.
I just hate when sellers fudge like that--if it's real, just tell the truth about where you got it! Gah!

 

[CynthiaNYC]

thanks cynthia!!
distribution centers?? where do i find those? maybe i could try my hand at reselling items like that... the original reason i asked is b/c i've been dying for a pair of jcrew boots from past season, and sellers have every size but mine. any tips on where to find a jcrew distribution center? TIA!

I am pretty sure that J Crew's distribution centers are in Minnesota somewhere and then another one in like Cleveland or that area. Could be wrong, it's been a few years since I dealt with them.
Do you have a saved search for the boots set up on eBay? If so, eBay will automatically email you if your saved search brings up any new results. I have had great success with these searches when looking for a very specific item like this.

As for buying items at DCs for resale, just bear in mind that the margins are generally very low, and the workload is high since you often don't get to buy multiples of the same thing--so you end up taking photos and measurements of EVERY item. It's very tiring and a lot of work. The alternate way to sell items like that is just to toss up one blurry pic, forgo measurements altogether, price it at rock bottom, and let buyers take their chances. I personally don't recommend that approach, though as a buyer I often take advantage when I find a seller like that.

 

[Sensalicious]

That is interesting Cynthia! I just was looking at an MJ Stella bag and asked the seller where she got it and she said she was a wholesaler. My initial reaction was that it had to be fake. Maybe not?

MJ stores in NYC for example discount their bags up to 70% 2 times a year so it might be possible. Like Cynthia said Saks Fifth Ave or even Neimans discount their merchandise.