How to Read a Liquidation Pallet Manifest (Before You Spend a Dollar)
If you're buying liquidation pallets, the manifest is the most important document in the deal — more important than the photos, more important than the per-unit price. It's the itemized list of everything on the pallet: what it is, how many, what condition it's in, and what it retails for. Here's how experienced buyers read one, and the red flags that tell you to walk away. What a good manifest includes A proper manifest lists every lot on the pallet with: Item description — brand, product name, size/color where relevant Quantity — exact unit counts, not vague estimates Condition — new, like-new/open-box, shelf pull, customer return, salvage MSRP or retail value — per unit and extended, so you can verify the totals Lot totals — total units, total retail value, and your cost per unit If a seller can't produce this, you're not buying inventory — you're gambling. Do the math before you bid Run three numbers on every manifest: Cost per unit. ...