r/Flipping

I purchased a truckload of Like-New (Costco) refrigerators (and one microwave) from B-Stock for $18,133 delivered after hearing over other success stories on Koerner Office and other podcasts about flipping from B-Stock to Marketplace. I kind of was just testing out the model to see how if it's something I would want to try and build a business around. I'm sharing my experience and a breakdown of what I received and my results and conclusion from the process.

The truckload of refrigerators was 28 units + 1 microwave.

The total retail was almost $57K and the lot consisted of mostly Samsung and LG.

Judging from the photos most of the refrigerators appeared to still be sealed in the original cardboard or Styrofoam (basically looked brand new). Although I paid a premium, the condition mattered mostly because I didn't want to get into scratch and dent or salvage units for a number of reasons.

After some research I concluded that best case I could get 60% of the original (new) retail price which would leave me with about $16K in profit, and I should be able to sell everything within 60 days. Worst case I would only get 40% of retail which would still be about $4K in profit.

Receiving the refrigerators wasn't terrible, just time consuming. Each refrigerator was palletized and I have a forklift, so getting them off the truck was time consuming but not hard. I've seen other loads on B-Stock that are floor-loaded, which I wanted to avoid entirely because I would imagine there could be damage to the units in transit and unloading them sounds like a nightmare.

Once I received the refrigerators I spent about 3 days unwrapping , inspecting, and testing them.

-17 units appeared to be in Brand New condition - not used in any way and no dings, etc.

-7 units were in Like New with small dents, dings, etc

-1 unit was a smart hub refrigerator with a broken front glass panel

-1 unit appeared used but was in excellent condition

-1 unit had a loose handle that I was able to fix with a $.20 screw

-1 unit had a sensor that beeped like the door was always open

-The 1 microwave was Brand New never opened in the original box

I spent the next few days getting everything listed on FB Marketplace and built the listings using Costco pricing as my reference as follows:

-30% off for Brand New

-40% off scratch and dent

-60% off the damaged and defective

The listings got a lot of clicks and activity, and I received a ton of messages, which was re-assuring. About half of the refrigerators I was asking over $1K for, and quickly noticed those getting the least activity. The cheaper ones in the lot were very fast moving and all sold first. The more expensive ones I found that I ended up discounting more down to the 50% off or so range.

After about 8 weeks, I sold every last refrigerator (even the damaged/defective ones).

My total revenue was $23,700 for a profit of $5,567. I only accepted cash so didn't have any fees or any other expenses.

Overall, here are the positives:

- testing and inspection is easy

- huge market for refrigerators since every household has one

- high ticket, low volume - less items mean handling material and dealing with less people

and the Negatives

- people show up in all kinds of vehicles - be ready to learn how to load refrigerators onto pickup trucks, vans, box trucks, etc.

- handling the refrigerators is not easy because of the size and weight, and they are on pallets and some have Styrofoam underneath them, which is hard to remove. Handling materials like an appliance dolly or at least a regular dolly are definitely required

In conclusion I would buy another lot of the refrigerators in the Like New Condition grade from Costco B-Stock if I really was desperate for sourcing items to resell. I like the fact that I can sell through the entire truckload in a relatively short amount of time, but will have to more conservative next time with the Marketplace value of the retail price.

Anyone here buy Costco furniture lots from BStock? Wondering what the hell has happened in the last month. These lots are being bid up to 40-45% MSRP when they were typically going for 25-30%. The numbers don’t make sense at 45%, you’re barely making any money and if one couch is bad you’re probably losing money.

Where did this sudden race to the bottom come from?

I spent a decade in HR before shifting to run our ecom brand with my husband and that experience shaped how I deal with weird buyer interactions on eBay and Mercari. When someone sends an aggressive lowball or picks apart a listing, I treat it like a mediation conversation. Acknowledge the frustration, restate what they actually need, then pivot to a solution. It sounds basic but the number of people who back down and just pay full price when you don't get defensive is pretty surprising.

My husband thinks I'm wasting energy on this and should just decline and block. Maybe he's right for the truly hostile ones. But I've turned a few complainers into repeat buyers just by responding like a human instead of a robot.

The flip side is I catch myself overthinking interactions that probably just need a firm no. Working from home all day means I can spiral on one weird message for hours.

Anyone else here lean into soft skills for buyer negotiations or do you just treat it as a volume game where the difficult ones aren't worth the effort? Curious how other flippers handle that balance between protecting your margins and not burning bridges with potential repeat customers.

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I am trying to find legitimate t@rget distributors of nwt clothing pallets or case packs. I’ve found a place that gets case packs of nwt clothing but it is small quantity. I need a wider selection to choose from. I’ve seen select liquidation come up on Google suggestions. Has anyone tried to order from Select? If so what is your experience?

Ive only had a few cancels . At first no big deal, it wasnt much in fees.

Today i had a order cancel about 2 mins after placing. Charged me 4 dollars to cancel.

Again 4 dollars is 4 dollars but if this becomes a pattern I am going to have bigger issues.

I felt kinda bad to confront the buyer about it but obviously they could care less regardless.

In the future id be rather avoid these type of things if i can help it

I'm trying to sell original, non-mass produced, one of a kind paintings by established artists in China. And I'm being gatekept by Chairish.

I have supplied multiple links and videos explaining in detail the most reduced pricings of my listings. I've provided detailed cost and profit breakdowns and also limited my net profit margin to 10% and under. I've even gone as far as to screen record the Chinese platforms on which the paintings are being sold, showing the exact price they are being sold for before being shipped, as well as the pricing of similar pieces sold by other artists.

Dozens of back and forth emails, with most of the replies being copy and paste emails with dwindling requirements as I fulfill each of the requirements.

From "Please provide any documentation you may have to support the price at which you've listed this item, such as LINKS or website as reference to comparable works sold at similar prices or Auction House Records or Invoices image." to "Please provide any documentation you may have to support the price at which you've listed this item, such as Auction house records and Invoices/Official Receipt."

At this point, I'm realizing the curatorial staff might just be gatekeeping me simply because of the artists are Chinese.

To clarify, these are new, original works​ direct from the artist's studio, which is why traditional auction house records or prior resale invoices do not exist.

The pricing for these pieces is supported by a robust, established art ecosystem in China that operates outside of the public auction market. Specifically, the value is backed by:

• **Pedigree & Artistic Education:**​ The artist's formal training and academic lineage from top-tier Chinese art academies (such as the China Academy of Art or Central Academy of Fine Arts) heavily influence the value of their graduates' work.
• **Exhibition History:**​ A record of solo and group exhibitions at recognized institutions, public art museums, and galleries across China.
• **Direct Sales History:**​ Prior acquisitions by government-sponsored museums, public cultural institutions, corporate collections, and private collectors within China's primary market.

There’s a common misconception in Western markets that Chinese art is predominantly mass-produced or decorative. In reality, China has a deeply rooted, institutionally supported contemporary art ecosystem that operates quite differently from the Western gallery-auction model. Many significant artists — including this one — work within rigorous academic traditions, exhibit in state-supported museums, and sell to discerning private collectors, yet remain under the radar in Western commercial spaces simply because they haven’t been aggressively marketed overseas. This work reflects that caliber of practice, not the decorative ‘mass-produced’ category.”

By Chairish logic, how does it make sense that a painting like this (https://www.chairish.com/product/37168072/birds-angels-and-horse-rider-contemporary-mixed-media-expressionist-oil-painting) is listing for $6500, when the artist has no auction house records whatsoever? (I'm not trying to knock her work.)

Alexandra Swistak

What supports the pricing of her work other than exhibitions and purchases by museums and private collectors, all prerequisites that are also satisfied by the artists of the works I'm listing? 

EDIT: I just found online auction house records for the artist I'm listing. They're pretty much out of excuses to decline my listing. Curious how this plays out.

Here it is! You've waited all week to tell us about your big score, so come in and share! Tell us where you got it and what you paid for it, then how you sold it and what you got from it. This is completed flips only! Anybody who's had a flip removed this week, this is where you want to put it.

Try to pop back into this thread from time to time and sort by New over the course of the week so people will be encouraged to keep posting here until next week.

I feel like true haggling has been dying out as whole. Unfortunately people nowadays think haggling is lowballing like crazy and then asking what the lowest price is with minimal discussion over why and how the price should be lowered.

When I first began flipping I would normally allow some wiggle room for haggling as people where generally polite and understood how to work down a price without wasting your time with ridiculously low offers. However today, almost every time someone is trying to get a better deal from me they usually send me some ridiculous offer that leaves you baffled as to how someone would even accept that.

To me (and apparently to others) this type of "haggling" has essentially caused waaay stricter pricing and an increase of nasty interactions where people feel entitled to your money.

Idk what caused this or its always been a thing, but to me its been a very noticeable change in how people comport themselves when doing business.

I always admired the way my dad was able to haggle and work down prices at the dealership or flea markets, so its frustrating to see how people think its ok to disrespect sellers simply because they are trying to give you money.

I am a new reseller and have saved tons of paper envelopes from Amazon to start shipping items to buyers. I am having a hard time finding resellers that do this. Most everyone seems to use new polymailers. What are the reasons you don't (or won't) reuse the paper envelopes? And if you DO reuse the paper mailers, do you find it adds a ton to your shipping? Thanks!

I inherited fine jewelry, mainly rings, necklaces, and earrings, from anywhere from the late 1800s to the early 2000s. Basically all of the family jewels plus my jewelry obsessed aunt‘s haul who collected a lot in the 80’s and 90’s.

I want the biggest bang for my buck, so I’m planning on selling everything on eBay and possibly Etsy.

My main question is this: I’m planning on having everything appraised for insurance so I know roundabout value, to have confirmation of the metal and gem, and also to insure things while they’re sitting waiting to sell. I know it’s expensive but I think it’s worth it. Is it an added value to include the insurance value appraisal in the sale?

Any tips or common sense welcome. Thank you!

I recently sold a vintage item to a buyer on Poshmark. When the buyer received it, she said it wasn't as soft as she expected and asked for a return. I declined. She then opened a case and said that the item was much more worn than as described (it wasn't) and was falling apart (it wasn't). She then showed a picture of the sleeve lace, picked apart and shredded. I did not send the item to her with the lace in that condition, so when I received the return, I opened a case as well and showed pictures of the sleeve lace before I sent it (in perfect shape) compared to the sleeve lace when I received the item back (picked apart and shredded). Customer support ruled against me and gave me a $5 credit to spend on the platform instead of making the seller pay for the ruined item. I'll now have to eat the value of the item since she damaged it and it's unsellable in its new damaged condition.

In the listing, I included many pictures of the item, including from close-up, and pictures of the original sleeve lace. I priced the item slightly above market to account for offers. Where did I go wrong here? What should I have done differently?

What have you learned lately? Could be through a success or a failure. Could be about a specific item, a niche, flipping in general, or even life as learned through flipping.

Do please keep in mind the difference between shooting the shit and plain bullshit and try to refrain from spreading poor advice.

Try to stop in over the course of the week and sort by New so people are encouraged to post here instead of making their own threads for every item.

Whatever you want to know about flipping, no matter the question, ask here. Even if it's been covered 1,000 times before. Doesn't matter if you're new or old. If you stop learning things, you're probably on your way out.

This is an extremely newb-friendly thread. As such, any rudeness is to be reported.

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Buyer cancelled due to wrong shipping address, immediately agreed, it's been FIVE HOURS and it still shows processing. Money was coming right out of available funds.