The Story Behind My First Pallet for Reselling—and What I Learned the Hard Way
When my Whatnot shows started growing, I ran into a problem I had once dreamed of having:
I couldn’t find enough inventory to sell.
I was still sourcing at thrift stores, garage sales, estate sales, the Goodwill Bins, and anywhere else I could find affordable clothing. Sometimes I brought my children with me while I dug through bins or stood in long lines waiting for the doors to open.
Then I would take everything home, prepare it, and sell it during my Whatnot show that night.
That hustle helped me grow, but it was also exhausting. As I began selling more products during each show, driving from thrift store to thrift store was no longer giving me enough inventory—or enough time.
I knew I needed to start buying in bulk.
That realization eventually led my husband, our four children, and me on a 12-hour road trip to Utah in a rented cargo van. We planned to buy our first reselling pallet.
We accidentally bought three.
And that was only the beginning of the adventure.
Starting With Reseller Boxes
Before investing thousands of dollars in a liquidation pallet, I started with reseller boxes.
These were smaller wholesale boxes containing approximately 50, 100, or 200 pieces. One of the first companies I tried was Helpsy. I ordered a mixed-brand reseller box that included brands such as Lilly Pulitzer and Lululemon.
The box performed well during my Whatnot shows. I was able to sell approximately 100 pieces within a couple of shows, so I ordered another box.
Then another one.
I purchased around five reseller boxes and sold through the inventory in less than two weeks.
That gave me important information. I knew I had an audience, I understood which products they wanted, and I was selling inventory quickly enough to justify buying more.
My husband finally said, “Maybe it’s time to buy a pallet.”
He was right—but finding a trustworthy pallet source was much harder than I expected.
How Do You Find a Legitimate Liquidation Company?
One of the questions I receive most often is:
Where do you buy your pallets?
Finding a reliable source can be difficult because the liquidation industry has legitimate businesses, questionable sellers, and outright scammers.
I searched everywhere:
Google.
TikTok.
Facebook Marketplace.
Social media.
Other resellers’ content.
Liquidation websites.
I also asked other sellers, but many people were hesitant to share their sources. I understand why. A reliable source can take years to find, and inventory is competitive.
Eventually, I found an influencer talking about a liquidation auction in Utah. I researched the company and looked through its website, but I still wasn’t comfortable spending thousands of dollars without seeing the inventory in person.
The only problem was that we lived in Southern California.
When I told my husband about it, he said, “Let’s go.”
I thought he was joking.
He wasn’t.
Our 12-Hour Family Road Trip to Utah
We rented a cargo van, loaded up our four children, and drove approximately 12 hours to Utah.
Imagine four children spending 12 hours inside a cargo van. It was hilarious, chaotic, and definitely an adventure.
The trip happened around Christmastime, so there was snow everywhere when we arrived. The kids loved experiencing something new, and we turned the sourcing trip into a family memory.
We rented an Airbnb and attended the liquidation auction the following day.
We couldn’t open every box or dig through the pallets, but visiting the location allowed us to see that it was a legitimate operation. We saw the building, the inventory, the employees, and other buyers.
The products looked great, so my husband and I started bidding.
We bid on one pallet.
Then another.
Then another.
Somehow, we won all three.
We had invested approximately $5,000 and were so excited. We thought we had taken the perfect next step for our growing reselling business.
Then we went to load the inventory.
Our Three Pallets Didn’t Fit in the Van
Even after removing the boxes from the wooden pallets, we couldn’t fit all three loads of inventory inside our cargo van.
We tried rearranging everything, but it wasn’t going to work. We had to leave one pallet behind and return to our Airbnb to figure out what to do next.
Then I had a crazy idea:
“What if we go live from the Airbnb and sell enough inventory to make room?”
We scheduled a Whatnot show and told our community exactly what had happened. We were in an Airbnb in Utah, our inventory didn’t fit in the van, and we needed to sell some of it before we could drive home.
We weren’t prepared to host a show from there. We didn’t have our regular lights, equipment, or shipping station.
We went out and purchased a small ring light and a printer so we could create shipping labels. Then we started unboxing our first pallet live on Whatnot.
Our community showed up for us.
We stayed live for more than six hours and sold approximately one entire pallet. We packaged the orders, printed the labels, and dropped everything off at a USPS location in Utah.
After the show, the remaining inventory fit inside the van.
We drove home with two pallets, four children, and a story our family still laughs about today.
Running Our Pallet Business From the Garage
When we returned home, we didn’t have a warehouse.
We brought the pallets into our ordinary two-car garage. That garage became our studio, inventory room, packing station, and shipping department.
We set up a ring light, organized the products as well as we could, hosted our shows, and packaged orders in the same small space.
It wasn’t fancy, but it worked.
The Utah inventory sold well, and our first pallet experience felt like a huge success. I was ready to buy another one—but I didn’t want to drive 12 hours every time we needed inventory.
So we tried a liquidation company closer to home.
That is when I learned one of my most expensive sourcing lessons.
The $3,000 Diaper Pallet
The next company did not allow us to inspect the inventory closely.
We trusted the seller, bought a pallet for approximately $3,000, and brought it home. The products near the top appeared fine.
Then we started removing more boxes.
From about halfway down, the pallet was filled with adult diapers.
I couldn’t believe it.
This was not the inventory I thought we were purchasing, and it was not merchandise our existing Whatnot customers wanted.
We contacted the company, but it refused to help. The pallet had been sold “as is,” and it was not manifested. That meant there was no detailed list promising which products would be included.
Thankfully, the sellable inventory from the top half helped us recover much of our investment. We still lost some money, and we eventually donated the remaining products.
The experience was frustrating, but it taught me that one good pallet does not mean every pallet will be good.
Not Every Pallet Is Profitable
Over the years, we have lost money buying liquidation pallets from different suppliers.
We have received:
Damaged customer returns.
Products that were no longer usable.
Boxes filled with difficult-to-sell sizes.
Brand samples that were almost entirely extra-small.
Inventory that looked much better in the listing than it did in person.
Products that didn’t match our audience.
Pallets that became unprofitable after freight costs.
When you see a pallet advertised with a huge retail value, it can appear to be an incredible deal. But retail value is not the same as resale value—and neither one guarantees profit.
A pallet is only valuable if you can actually sell its contents at a price that covers all your costs.
Research Before You Buy a Reselling Pallet
Before buying from a liquidation company, research as much as possible.
Look into:
Whether it is a registered, established business.
How long it has been operating.
Reviews from previous customers.
Complaints or reports of scams.
Whether it has a real address and working contact information.
How it responds when customers have a problem.
Whether the pallet is manifested or unmanifested.
Whether the inventory is new, shelf pulls, overstock, returns, or salvage.
Whether you can inspect the products before purchasing.
The brands, categories, sizes, and estimated piece count.
Its return, dispute, and “as is” policies.
I sometimes use ChatGPT to help organize publicly available information about a company and identify possible warning signs. However, you should still verify the information yourself through reviews, business records, company policies, and direct communication.
If you can visit the liquidation company and see the inventory in person, that can give you additional confidence before making a large investment.
Don’t Forget the Freight Costs
The price of the pallet is not your total cost.
When I started buying pallets from places such as New York and Texas, freight shipping to Southern California sometimes added approximately $300 to $700 for one pallet.
Even when the inventory was good, freight could destroy our profit margin.
You need to calculate:
The purchase price.
Auction or buyer fees.
Freight shipping.
Local transportation.
Payment-processing fees.
Platform fees.
Packaging supplies.
Labor.
Damaged or unsellable products.
Giveaways and discounts.
The realistic price your customers will pay.
If the cost of goods becomes too high, you may have to price the products higher than your audience is willing to spend.
Finding a source closer to home may save more money than buying a cheaper pallet from another state.
Networking Can Help You Find Better Inventory
Some of our best sourcing opportunities have come through relationships.
Not every legitimate liquidator has a beautiful website or an active social media account. Some suppliers grow through word of mouth. Others may post extra inventory on Facebook Marketplace, which can give you an opportunity to make a direct connection.
Talk to other sellers. Attend auctions. Build relationships. Ask questions without expecting someone to hand you every source they have worked years to find.
One good connection can introduce you to the supplier, category, or opportunity that helps you take your next step.
Networking can sometimes be more valuable than money because you may be one relationship away from the information you need.
Do You Need a Pallet to Start Selling on Whatnot?
No.
You do not need a pallet to start selling on Whatnot or living selling on another platform.
You can begin with:
Clothing from your own closet.
Items around your home.
Garage-sale finds.
Estate-sale inventory.
Thrift-store products.
Goodwill Bins.
Small reseller boxes.
Inventory purchased from wholesale shows.
A pallet should solve an inventory problem you already have. It should not create a new problem because you bought more merchandise than you can sell, store, or afford.
Start small while you learn the platform and build your audience.
When Are You Ready to Buy Your First Pallet?
Before investing in a pallet, ask yourself these questions.
1. Do I Have an Audience?
You should understand who regularly attends your shows and what they want to buy.
If you purchase the wrong category or brand, you could end up with hundreds of items your existing customers don’t want.
2. How Quickly Am I Selling My Current Inventory?
Pay attention to your sell-through rate.
If one pallet will sit in your garage for two months, buying it may not be the right use of your money yet.
For me, the signal came when I could sell approximately 100 items during a show. If I sold 100 items a day, five days a week, I needed roughly 500 new pieces every week.
At that point, buying a pallet solved a real sourcing problem.
3. Do I Understand the Category?
Buy inventory you know how to describe, price, market, and sell.
A recognizable brand does not automatically mean it will perform well with your particular audience.
4. Can I Afford the Entire Risk?
Never calculate your investment under the assumption that every item will sell.
Some products may be damaged, missing pieces, difficult sizes, or completely wrong for your audience. Make sure one bad pallet will not put your family or business in a dangerous financial position.
5. Do I Have Space and Systems?
Consider where you will:
Receive the pallet.
Sort the inventory.
Store hundreds of items.
Prepare the products.
Host your shows.
Package the orders.
Handle products that cannot be sold.
Our garage worked in the beginning, but we still needed a plan for every box that arrived.
Start With the Step Your Business Actually Needs
Buying our first pallets helped Moms & Crumbs grow. We eventually moved from reseller boxes to pallets, and then from pallets to truckloads containing approximately 25 to 30 pallets at a time.
But that growth did not happen on my first day.
I began with my neighbor’s discarded party decorations. Then I sourced furniture, clothing, and individual items. After that came reseller boxes. I bought my first pallet only when my sales showed me that I needed more inventory.
You do not have to copy somebody else’s current level.
Take the next step that fits the business you have today.
If that means selling from your closet, start there.
If that means testing a 50-piece reseller box, do that.
If you already have an established audience and are selling through hundreds of pieces, it may be time to research your first pallet.
Whatever step you are facing, don’t allow fear to make the decision for you. Do your homework, understand the risk, and then trust yourself enough to move forward.
You got this.
Watch or Listen to the Full Story
Hear the complete story of our 12-hour Utah road trip, our Airbnb Whatnot show, and the pallet filled with adult diapers.
You can also join Moms & Crumbs on Whatnot every Wednesday for our wholesale show and ready-to-sell reseller inventory.
00:00 – The story behind paying off $60K of debt in six months
09:00 – Hitting $19,500 in one night — and paying off the debt
15:00 – Red Ocean vs. Blue Ocean — finding your lane 17:00 – Stop comparing your journey to others
19:00 – Reverse-engineering your goals (like paying off debt!)
21:00 – Inspiration from other successful sellers 23:00 – Final encouragement: it’s possible for you, too