selling Clothes on Facebook Live: Where to Buy Wholesale Clothing Lots in Canada
A customer came to our warehouse with a story we hear far too often. Before she found us, she had bought a pallet of clothing online. Price: $3,000. She had never seen it.
When she opened the boxes, it was the same t-shirt. Over and over. Same style, same size, from one end of the pallet to the other.
Try running a live with that. Your customers want variety, different sizes, something new every week. A pallet full of the same shirt is $3,000 of stock sitting in the garage.
If you sell clothes on Facebook Live, this article is for you. We'll show you how to find good stock, how to avoid the traps of buying lots online, and how to pick a lot that actually makes money.
And to be clear from the start: at Kwickstock in LaSalle (Montreal), we sell new clothing only. No customer returns, no used clothing, nothing dirty. Our lots start at $2–$3 per piece, and we also carry higher-end brand-name lots. There's something for every budget, and you always see the lot before you pay.
The real problem with live selling: running out of new stuff
A two-hour live can move 40, 60, sometimes 100 pieces. Your customers come back the next week and want to see something new. Show them the same items and they tune out.
Many sellers start with their own closet, then thrift stores. That works for a while. But after a few weeks, digging through bags for hours to find 15 sellable pieces stops making sense. That's when it's time to buy wholesale.
4 ways to find clothing to resell
| Source | What's good | What holds you back |
|---|---|---|
| Thrift stores, garage sales | Cheap, one-of-a-kind pieces | Slow to sort, low volume, used |
| Overseas wholesale sites | Lots of styles | Long shipping, customs, quality unknown until it arrives |
| Amazon return pallets | Low prices | Random contents, items sometimes broken or incomplete |
| New liquidation lots | New, branded, big volume at once | You need a reliable liquidator |
For live selling, a new liquidation lot is usually the best pick. One visit gets you enough stock for several weeks of lives. And new-with-tags clothing sells for more and brings fewer complaints than used.
Buying a clothing lot online: traps to avoid
The $3,000 pallet of t-shirts isn't a rare case. Every day online you'll see ads for "brand-name clothing pallets" at unbelievable prices. A nice photo, a dream price, a "Pay now" button. That's usually where things go wrong.
Before you send your money, keep these tips in mind:
- Never buy a lot without inspecting it. Go see it. If you can't, at the very least ask for a live video where the seller opens random boxes, not the ones they picked.
- Don't trust the top-of-pallet photo. The top of a pallet is the shop window. What matters is what's at the bottom.
- Ask for a list of contents. How many different styles? What sizes? What colours? A seller who can't answer either doesn't know what they're selling, or doesn't want to tell you.
- Watch out for "returns", "unsorted" or "customer returns". That often means worn, stained, untagged, sometimes dirty clothing. You can't sell it live without washing and sorting everything.
- Work out the real price. Add shipping, customs and taxes. A "cheap" pallet can double in price by the time it reaches your door.
- If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Well-known brands at $1 a piece with no way to see the goods? Ask questions, or walk away.
That's exactly why, at our warehouse, we invite you to open the boxes yourself. Feel the fabric, check the labels, count the sizes. If the lot isn't right for you, you leave without buying it. No surprises when you get home.
Lots for every budget
Not every seller has the same customers. Someone running "everything $5" lives doesn't need the same stock as someone selling brands at $30 a piece. That's why we carry different types of lots.
| Lot type | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Budget lots | Starting at $2–$3 per piece | You're just starting, or your customers want bargains. Great for fixed-price lives ($5, $10). |
| Brand-name lots | Higher per piece, depending on the brand | Your customers know brands and pay for quality. More margin per item. |
Lots change with each arrival. For example, we've had mixed lots of European brands (women's, men's and shoes) and American brand lots that were mostly womenswear. Everything is new, often in original packaging. Never returns, never used.
How to pick the right lot for your customers
Before you buy, look at your last few lives. What sold first? At what price? Who buys: women in their 20s, moms, men? Then choose your lot with these 5 questions:
- What price do my customers pay? If they buy at $5–$10, go with a budget lot. If they pay $25 and up, go with brands.
- Women's, men's or mixed? Most lives sell mainly womenswear. A mixed lot lets you test something new.
- What sizes? Ask for the size breakdown. A lot full of XS will be hard to move.
- How many pieces? Divide the lot price by the number of items. That's your real cost.
- Can I see it first? With us, yes. Come to the warehouse, open the boxes, check the quality. No surprises.
Work out your profit before you buy
Never go live without knowing your cost per piece. The math is simple:
Profit = (average selling price − cost per piece) × pieces sold − your expenses
Example with a budget lot: 250 pieces at $2.50 = $625. If you sell 200 pieces at an average of $10, that's $2,000 in sales. You're left with about $1,375 before packaging and shipping, and you still have 50 pieces for your next live. (Example only; your results depend on your prices and your customers.)
A few rules that work:
- Stay clearly below store prices. Your customers check.
- Use 3 or 4 round prices ($5, $10, $15, $25). They're faster to call out live.
- Save your best pieces for the end of the live. People stay tuned in.
6 tips for lives that sell more
- Go live at the same times. Tuesday and Thursday at 8 p.m., for example. Your customers plan around it.
- Announce new arrivals ahead of time. "Big European brand drop Thursday night" pulls more viewers than a live with no theme.
- Don't show your whole lot at once. Keep new pieces for your next 3 or 4 lives.
- Show the label and fabric up close. Try pieces on when you can.
- Set clear rules. Payment within 24 hours, shipping fees, local pickup.
- Ship fast. Invoices the same night, parcels out within 48 hours. Happy customers come back and share your lives.
