How to Calculate the Value of a Liquidation Pallet
A repeatable method for turning a manifest and a freight quote into a defensible maximum bid.
Step 1: Estimate realistic recovery
Take the manifest and estimate what each significant item sells for in your channel, in the stated condition. Not retail — your actual selling price, after fees. For unmanifested lots, use the category description and be conservative.
Step 2: Apply a sell-through assumption
Assume you will not sell everything. Choose a percentage you can defend based on your own history. New buyers should be pessimistic here; there is no industry-standard figure that applies to your specific lot.
Step 3: Subtract every cost
Freight, accessorials, marketplace fees, shipping supplies, storage, disposal of unsellable items, and your labor at a real hourly rate. What remains is the most you can pay for the lot while still meeting your margin target.
Step 4: Set your walk-away number
Write your maximum down before you shop and hold to it. The most common expensive mistake in liquidation buying is paying past a number that was correct when it was calculated.
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