Throughout my years of reselling online, I’ve come to have my favorite stores to purchase new items for retail arbitrage.
My rule of thumb for purchasing new items for retail arbitrage
- Make sure they are discounted, I mean deeply discounted. Unless something is 75% off or more then I probably bypass it
- Look up the items prior to purchasing them. Just because they are a great price doesn’t mean they are a good buy for you if they aren’t selling for much. If too many people have found the same sale you did and oversaturated the market that could drive the price down
- Buy seasonal items when out of season. Do this if you have the room to store the items until the holiday or weather comes back around. This will save you a ton of money.
- Head straight to the clearance section and if you’re shopping online place items in order of low to high importance
While you can find designer items anywhere, these are seven places that a lot of resellers shop.
1. Saks off Fifth
Saks off Fifth Taking a note from my above rule of thumb of shopping offseason, I found this Christmas sweater deeply discounted because it’s a Christmas sweater.
You can find really great high-end items on their site, but you will have to hunt for them a bit and check often.
2. Neiman Marcus Last Call
While the significant discounts may be few and far between you can still find some pretty good deals if you consistently visit the website, or store if you have one near you. I found this tank for $13 and the comparable value was $76.
Want to Start & Organize Your Resell Business? Get our 48 Page Business StartUp Kit now!
3. Nordstrom Rack
I love shopping at Nordstrom rack and often find myself on the designer rack. Wait until the clear the rack sales which usually occur once a month so you can get an extra 25% off the clearance prices. These B.P Shirts were $4.99 at the regular clearance price and would be 25% less at the Clear the Rack sale. Also, make sure to become an insider so that you’re able to shop the sales first.
4. Anthropologie
Anthropologie is one of my absolute favorite stores so whenever they have at least a 40-50% off sale you are guaranteed to find me there. You can catch a great deal during these times. The only thing is that some stores don’t bring in all the items from the website if they are smaller venues and usually stock is quite limited so you have to make it early on in the sale to get the first prices usually. This Aiko Embroidered Shift dress was $19.95, if you catch it at the coveted 50% off sale it would be $10!
5. Thred Up
Thred Up is an online thrift store where you can search for designer apparel and items. You will have to really search the website for true designer items because they mix in a lot of mid to low range items as well under the Designer heading. It’s one of my favorite places to shop for myself and once and a while I’ll find some items to sell in my online store. These are some items I found on the website
6. The Real Real
If you can make it to a physical store then do so, especially if you’re shopping for yourself! They have stores in Chicago, Dallas, LA, New York, Miami, Washington D.C. and SanFrancisco. If not online is just as good, maybe even better for scouting a deal. They don’t have the best deals, so I wouldn’t start here unless you really had time to hunt around. But you can still find some great deals if you’re willing to do the work. These items are already second hand, so you want to ensure they are in good condition before purchase which is why I think it’s better to go to the physical store.
Also, make sure to sign-up for their newsletter to get deals like $30 off your first purchase
7. The Runway – TJ Maxx
While this isn’t my favorite place to shop for designer deals, it is another option that many use. I haven’t had much luck, but check it out for yoruself!
Where else do you find great designer deals?
0 comments