How to Spot and Sell ‘Leftover’ Items, by Steve Lindhorst

No, not that kind of leftovers.

Editor’s Note: Today’s post is written by former eBay University Instructor and the author of “Selling on ‘the River’-The eBay Seller’s Guide to Amazon.com,” Steve Lindhorst.

Leftovers? Why would I want to sell leftovers? The word brings to mind Tupperware containers full of old potato salad and tuna casserole.

The leftovers I’m referring to here aren’t food products left too long in the fridge. They’re brand new products that have somehow been overlooked, and under-appreciated. You’ll find these products in your local retail stores, thrift shops and even garage sales. You can find them online too.

A fair question to ask is this: “If no one wanted these items in the store, why would I want to try to sell them?”

First let’s discuss some examples of leftover products, and where you can find them. Then, we’ll look at a few reasons why these items can be a gold mine for you – leftover gold!

What are Leftovers?

No matter where you live, you’ll find leftover products. These are the items you find on clearance shelves in retail stores, in thrift stores, antique stores and garage sales. Often, they are brand new items, still in the package and they are heavily discounted.

Leftover products exist for a variety of reasons. In retail stores, many factors affect the inventory that you see on the shelf.

For example, a store may decide to end a relationship with a vendor. At that point, the retailer may decide to liquidate that vendor’s products to make room for arriving stock. Those “leftovers” are then moved to the clearance shelf.

The same thing goes for a change in season. At the end of summer, camping, picnic and barbeque items need to be moved out to allow room for fall and winter inventory. The items left over from summer are often marked down significantly in order to get them out of the store.

One more scenario in retail has to do with returned merchandise. Often, returns – which are usually the result of the item being the wrong size or color – are  brand new and still in their original box. Many consumer laws mandate returned merchandise can’t be resold as “new.” That means they’re returned to headquarters, or you might have the opportunity to purchase the product as “open box” or “returned” merchandise at a nice discount.

Their Loss – Your Gain

Another way to look at products as “leftover” is when you spot profitable items that other sellers have missed. Have you ever arrived at a garage sale or thrift store after everything’s already been picked over? It can be discouraging but if you’re observant, you can still find leftover “gold.”

Some people are in such a hurry to grab the easily sellable items that they miss the most profitable pieces. That’s where your patience and a keen eye come in.

Sometimes you’ll find that your competition’s greed will blind them to items that could make them some real money. They make assumptions that cause them to ignore good sources of products, and they set arbitrary limits on what they’ll spend.

For example, they may say, “I’ll never spend more than $5 on a piece.” But what if they have an opportunity to buy a power drill for $20 that will sell for $60?

Another error in judgment some sellers make is assuming that, since a product is on a clearance shelf, no one wants it. That is simply not true. As an online retailer, you know that your market includes millions of potential customers. Before making a decision to buy or reject the clearance shelf product, do some research; don’t just assume it’s unwanted .

How to Find Profitable Leftovers

We’ve already considered many of the sources for leftover products. But how do you know if they will bring you a profit? The key is research.

In order to spot products that will bring you a good return on your investment, you need to continually be on top of what items are in demand. You can do that by simply staying in touch with the markets. Spend some time watching what is selling online. Try to get a feel for what is in demand. Three very good sources of information online are:

• eBay Pulse (www.ebay.com/pulse)
• Amazon Bestsellers (www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers)
• Google Products (www.google.com/products)

You won’t be able to remember everything, so another great tool to use is a web-enabled cell phone. With some of the newer “smart” phones, you can simply scan a product’s barcode to get the current online prices for that item. If you’re interested digging even deeper, use Terapeak, an online marketplace research tool that shows you historical pricing and sell-thru rates on ebay.

Once you’ve done your research, learn to keep your eyes wide open all the time for potential products. Even large chain stores have clearance shelves (some have multiple clearance shelves). You can even develop a weekly “route” to make sure you don’t miss any good deals. Stores with deeply discounted clearance items or “open box” items that may be in your area include:

• WalMart
• Target
• Staples
• Office Depot
• Home Depot
• Best Buy
• Barnes & Noble
• Borders
• Rite-Aid
• Walgreens

There are many more, but you get the idea. You just have to look.

One more tip – If you find a nice batch of products that you want to buy for resale, ask the manager if you can get a special deal for buying all of their clearance items. They will often give you another 10 to 20 percent off the price.

In second-hand stores such as thrift stores and antique stores, shoppers often leave behind the most profitable items. Some of the most valuable books, DVDs and CDs also deal with topics considered the most “boring” by the masses – and they wind up as leftovers.

Watch for documentaries, how-to programs, and self-help subjects among the DVDs and CDs. When shopping for books, non-fiction is usually more profitable than fiction, but especially watch for scholarly works that were written by experts for experts. Mass-market books are typically not going to be as valuable.

Once again, a Web-enabled phone will help immeasurably when you’re trying to find profitable media items.

Where to Sell Them

The reason some products became leftovers is that no one wanted them in the local market. So you need to find a way to expand your market reach to take in more potential buyers. Hmmm — I wonder where I could find millions of potential buyers…

Obviously, the best place to reach buyers for your treasures is online. More specifically, Amazon, eBay and your own website will bring you the best results.

Amazon is experiencing solid growth lately and they are actively encouraging third-party sellers (that’s you) to try selling on their site. It’s quite easy to sell on Amazon, and that’s especially true when selling (leftover) products that are still new.

Wherever you choose to sell, rest assured that there is a market for those scattered items that have been overlooked by others. Develop an eye for profitable items by doing your research. Outwit your competition by spotting the things they’ve missed, and snap them up for a quick sale.

It won’t be long before you’ve developed a taste for “leftovers.”

Editor’s Note: For a much more extensive discussion of this topic, and more details on just where to find these valuable leftovers, read the ebook: Amazon-The Quick & Dirty Guide II: Leftover Gold by Steve Lindhorst (available online at www.LeftoverGold.com).

About the Author: Steve Lindhorst has educated online retailers, both new and old, on how to successfully sell on eBay, Amazon, and their own ecommerce websites. He is the author of Selling on ‘the River’-The eBay Seller’s Guide to Amazon.com, along with several other guides to help people earn money online. Steve publishes a free enewsletter containing ecommerce advice and tips for home-based entrepreneurs at: www.MultichannelSurfer.com/newslettersignup.html