How to Price a Liquidation Pallet Before You Buy
The buyers who make money in liquidation are the ones who can price a liquidation pallet accurately before they click buy. Here’s the framework the pros use.
Step 1: Start from realistic retail, not the headline
On a manifested lot, add up the estimated retail from the manifest — but sanity-check the big-ticket lines. If a line looks inflated, discount it. On an unmanifested lot, estimate from the category’s typical mix.
Step 2: Apply a recovery rate
Multiply realistic retail by your expected recovery rate — the share you’ll actually sell for. Be conservative: 40–50% for mixed returns you list individually, lower for a flat-priced bin. That gives your expected gross.
Step 3: Subtract every cost
From the gross, subtract the pallet price, marketplace/payment fees, and your time to sort, test, list and ship. Freight is free here, but factor it anywhere it isn’t. What’s left is your real margin.
Step 4: Set a walk-away number
Decide the most you’ll pay before you look at the price, then stick to it. The single most common liquidation mistake is overpaying because a pallet “looks” valuable. A disciplined walk-away number beats FOMO every time.
Do this on a few real lots and pricing becomes second nature. It’s the difference between a hobby and a business.
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