Liquidation Review

Tuesday, January 21st

2025 Online Auction Site Reviews

Liquidation

• Bulk inventory
• Timed bidding auctions
• Items sold by pallets and truckloads
• Sells items from popular retailers
• Most pallets sell for more than 50% off the MSRP
• "A+" rating from the Better Business Bureau

Liquidation, as the name suggests, specializes in auctions for commercial surplus inventory. The company was started in 2000, and it operates a consortium of other companies, each specializing in the resale of different items, including returned merchandise from stores, bulk goods, and overstock inventory, among others. These companies cater to a wide spectrum of industries, including retail, energy, industrial, construction, biotech, government, automotive, and even the scrap sector. Therefore, Liquidation has a broad reach that extends its services to many different types of buyers.

Start shopping with filters and lot sizes

After registering for a free account, you gain access to an extensive range of categories, encompassing items such as clothing, computers, tools, electronics, general merchandise, housewares, jewelry, and even store fixtures. Liquidation also presents you with the flexibility to select your desired lot size, whether it be an entire truckload, a pallet, or smaller packages. To refine your search results, you can choose from several criteria, including the condition of the items, warehouse location, seller identity, retail price, the number of bids placed, auction type, and lot price. This multifaceted approach to searching helps you tailor your auction experience. If you want to be a seller on Liquidation, you're out of luck. Liquidation only allows major entities like retailers, wholesalers, manufacturers, financial institutions, or other forms of business to sell on this platform.

Stress-free bidding style

The buying process on this platform is relatively straightforward. You can place bids on items of interest by specifying the maximum amount you're willing to pay. Should your bid emerge as the highest and secure the victory, your new item (or items) will be shipped to your location within four days. If you don't win the auction, you don't pay a dime, which helps keep the stress out of the process. And most of the auctions on the site list the original MSRP of the items in the package. Based on these numbers and the cost of the auctions still ongoing during our review, we noticed that Liquidation often sells these items more than 50% off the original MSRP.

Not ideal inventory for specific searches

Liquidation is unique in that it doesn't feature independent sellers or individual sellers in its ecosystem. Instead, it focuses on selling bulk products sourced from major companies such as Amazon, Wayfair, Target, Sony, Lowes, and Home Depot. This means you can expect goods from a variety of sources and even some high-end items like furniture or appliances to appear in searches on Liquidation. For example, at the time of this review Liquidation was advertising Logitech items on the front page.

Compare their inventory

To compare the inventory range at Liquidation to the other auctions in this review, we looked at the same three key search terms (watches, autographed items, and iPads), and here's what we found.

• Watches: 58 results found
• Autographs: 2 results found
• iPads: 64 results found

In general, there are far fewer auctions at Liquidation than at other competitors. However, if you're willing to do extra browsing or browse by company, you can find some unique items. For example, under the Target section, Liquidation was selling boxes of electronics with 49 items in them from older Target inventory. So, while you might not find exact items, you may find some unique and exciting deals if you're willing to dig.

Best for shoppers who love surprises

What Liquidation specializes in is bulk orders. While you can find single lots for sale, the majority of the inventory at Liquidation is large crates or multi-packs of overstock items that you can get in one large grab bag. While this doesn't guarantee that you will get everything you want in the crate, there are lots of different items in each one. For example, in the Wayfair Overstock section, there was a lot that included a Danby Dishwasher, a single swivel barstool, a nightstand, and a gold chandelier, along with 11 other items that aren't listed in the description. So, if you enjoy surprises and you're interested in highly discounted items from major retailers, this is a great place to shop.

No listed return policy

Unfortunately, Liquidation doesn't have a return or refund policy. Due to the nature of the items, you don't really know what you're getting in the box. So, with Liquidation, you're agreeing to buy the items "as is”, which might be scary for some shoppers and exciting for others.

Reviewers are frustrated when items aren't perfect

According to Liquidation's page on the Better Business Bureau, the company holds an "A+” rating. However, according to customer feedback, its "A+” reputation with the BBB may not be totally accurate. Numerous reviews show customers expressing grievances about receiving products that bore little resemblance to the descriptions and images presented in the product listings. Due to the "as is'' contingency, customers received damaged items in some of their orders. Now, what these reviews don't take into account is that Liquidation is an overstock and returned merchandise auction site. Many times customers make returns with damaged items or things that aren't in perfect condition due to the return process. So, it's expected that not all the items in a crate or pallet will arrive in perfect condition.

Best for buyers who like bulk shopping

Liquidation offers a unique auction side, making it one of the go-to destinations for buying items in bulk. There's some great potential for amazing deals at Liquidation, but since you're agreeing to "as is'' purchases, there might be some danger of broken or less-than-perfect items in the orders. While there may be risks associated with the experience, it is undeniable that Liquidation presents an enticing opportunity to secure valuable products from major retailers like Wayfair, Overstock, and Target at compelling prices, making it a destination worth exploring for those with a discerning eye and who love a little surprise in their shopping spree.