If you’ve ever seen a warehouse full of unopened boxes or heard about people making thousands from reselling clearance items, you’ve probably stumbled into the world of pallet flipping—and yes, it’s as real as it sounds.
Pallet flipping is the process of buying liquidation or return pallets—large bundles of overstock, shelf pulls, or customer returns—and reselling individual items for a profit. Whether you're looking to earn extra cash or launch a full-fledged resale business, pallet flipping can be an accessible, low-barrier way to start. But like any business venture, it comes with risks, logistics, and a steep learning curve.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through exactly how to start pallet flipping, including how to source pallets, what to watch out for, and how to turn your side hustle into a real income stream.
Pallet flipping involves purchasing pallets of discounted merchandise—often returned or excess inventory—and reselling the individual items through marketplaces like eBay, Facebook Marketplace, Amazon, or local garage sales.
These pallets can come from:
Because these pallets are often sold below retail value, flippers can earn a healthy margin on resales—if they know what they’re doing.
It’s tempting to dive in after watching a few YouTube videos, but your best bet is to spend time understanding the business model first.
Here are a few solid beginner resources:
Doing your homework here can save you hundreds (if not thousands) in bad buys and beginner mistakes.
Not all pallets are created equal. Most fall into these categories:
Items returned to stores may be damaged, used, or missing parts. Higher risk, but cheaper.
Brand-new items that didn’t sell or were removed from shelves due to changing seasons or packaging.
Typically, non-functioning or damaged items are sold for parts or scrap value. High-risk, niche buyers.
For beginners, start with overstock or shelf pulls—they offer a better balance of quality and resale value.
The difference between a successful flip and a dud often comes down to where you buy your pallet.
🔍 Tip: Check reviews on each site and verify whether you’ll get a manifest (a list of what’s in the pallet). Buying unmanifested pallets is riskier and best left for advanced sellers.
Buying the pallet is only step one. Here’s what else to consider:
Use a spreadsheet to track your costs, profit margins, and item performance. The last thing you want is to spend $800 to make back $600.
Once your pallet arrives:
If you’re serious about scaling, invest in a lightbox and thermal label printer to streamline your workflow.
Use a multi-channel strategy to test where your items sell best.
Shipping eats into profits fast. Here’s how to reduce costs:
Pro Tip: Calculate shipping costs before you list an item so you don’t get caught in the red.
Pallet flipping is real, but scams are too. Watch out for:
Always research the seller, check third-party reviews, and start small.
Once you’ve flipped a few pallets and proven your profitability, here’s how to grow:
Some flippers go full-time and scale into warehouse spaces with staff. Others keep it as a profitable side hustle. Either way, you’re in control.
Pallet flipping offers a legitimate path to extra income—sometimes even full-time earnings—but it’s not a guaranteed goldmine. It requires research, patience, and hands-on work. You’ll deal with shipping headaches, broken merchandise, and the occasional dud pallet.
But if you’re scrappy, organized, and willing to learn from mistakes, you can build a real business flipping everyday goods into serious cash.
