Amazon return pallets are the most searched liquidation product in Australia and the most misunderstood. The searches are full of videos of someone unboxing a laptop from a $200 pallet. The reality is more ordinary, and more workable, than either the hype or the backlash suggests.
Where the stock actually comes from
Amazon operates a very permissive returns policy, and at its volume that produces an enormous flow of goods coming back into fulfilment centres every day. Individually inspecting and restocking every returned item costs more than many of those items are worth, so a large share is cleared in bulk instead.
That stock moves through liquidation channels, gets consolidated, and eventually reaches resellers as boxes, pallets and truckloads. By the time a lot reaches Australia it has usually passed through more than one pair of hands, which is worth remembering when someone tells you they are buying “direct”.
What is actually inside
The honest answer is that it varies, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling. What you can reasonably expect from a mixed Amazon returns lot:
- A proportion of items that are genuinely unopened, because the customer changed their mind or ordered two sizes.
- A larger proportion that were opened, used briefly and sent back, usually complete but not saleable as new.
- A real share that came back for a fault, is missing an accessory, or has no packaging at all.
Higher value categories tend to be picked over more heavily before the lot reaches an open market. Consumer electronics lots that arrive with flagship items still in them exist, but they are not the norm and they are not what a low price buys.
Manifested and unmanifested lots
Some Amazon lots come with an itemised manifest listing each unit and a retail reference. Where we have one, we publish it in full on the product page so you can price the lot yourself before committing.
Plenty of lots have no manifest. Those are cheaper, and they are a legitimate way to buy once you have the cash flow and the storage to absorb a poor result. What they are not is a good first purchase. Buying blind is a volume game, and volume games need a buffer.
Testing is not optional
Returned electricals need to be tested before you resell them. This is not just about your margin, it is about your obligations. Goods sold in Australia come with consumer guarantees that cannot be contracted out of, and selling a faulty item as working exposes you regardless of how you bought it.
Build testing time into your costings from the start. On a high count lot of low value items, testing can easily be the largest single cost in the whole exercise.
Buying in Australia rather than importing
It is possible to buy from overseas liquidation markets directly. It is also where most first-time buyers lose money, because international freight, customs, GST and the time cost of clearing a shipment are all easy to underestimate and hard to reverse once the container is moving.
Buying domestically means the freight is a known quantity, the lot is already in the country, and your recourse if something is wrong sits under Australian law rather than a foreign supplier’s terms. We dispatch from Quakers Hill in Western Sydney, and freight to any Australian address is included in the listed price.
A sensible way to approach it
We do not publish projected returns, because we cannot know your channel, your pricing or how much of your own time you are willing to put in. What we can suggest is a method:
- Buy one box or one pallet in a category you already sell, not the cheapest lot available.
- Work the entire lot through to the end, including the items that will not sell.
- Record what you actually recovered, the hours it took and what you had to write off.
- Only then decide whether to buy again, and at what size.
That one exercise will tell you more about whether this suits your business than any guide, including this one.
Common questions
Can I choose what is in the pallet? No. Lots are sold as they were bought. You choose the category and the grade, not the individual items.
Will everything work? No, and any supplier who says otherwise is selling you something else. Price in a write-off rate.
Is there a warranty? Liquidation stock is sold without manufacturer warranty support unless a listing says otherwise. Your rights against us under Australian Consumer Law still apply, and are set out on our returns page.
How is it delivered? Tail-lift to ground level as standard, so no forklift is needed. See shipping.
More answers are in our buyer FAQ. If you want a straight opinion on whether a particular lot suits what you sell, ask us before you order.