- Lizeth Cuana bought her first Amazon return palette in 2015 for $ 5,000 to flip for a profit.
- Luana worked long hours ranking items on the platform and learning the business from YouTube.
- Hustle helped her start her retail business who brought $ 5 million on sale last year.
This essay as strong-based on a conversation transcribed with Lizeth Cuanta, CEO of Misty Fases, a luxurious post-birth line. Business Insider has verified the finances with documentation. Below is edited for length and clarity.
I grew up in Compton and I was living paycheck to pay, working on LA property management. I didn’t feel appreciated in my work and was looking for a way out.
My friend suggested that I try to flip the return pallets in Amazon as a sidehill. He had seen friends do it and thought he would help me quit my job.
The pallets were filled with client returns such as shoes, electronics and lotions. My friend said you can reshape these items on platforms like eBay and win. He knew warehouses selling pallets, but he didn’t know more how it worked.
This was in February 2015, I was 30 years old and had saved $ 10,000 since I started working in 17 years old. I decided to use my savings and buy two pallets. The worst thing that could happen was to return to the same job and live as I had been.
Learn how to flip Amazon’s return pallets
Within days of having that conversation with my friend, I went to a depot in LA to buy my first pallet. The seller was hesitant; He would have seen people fail in this business. I convinced him to sell me two palettes $ 5,000.
I began to list in the palette with no idea what I was looking for. I kept everything that seemed new. My friend had said people sold items on eBay, so I asked ‘how to list something on eBay’ on YouTube.
I download the eBay app and photographed each item on my phone. I uploaded the name and price, using YouTube as my guide. I sold items on the first day. Then I had to learn how to send the items and be paid through Paypal. It was a process of proof, error and YouTube.
Initially I focused on getting good ratings so that buyers could trust my small eBay store. I also had to be careful not to list anything that was limited by eBay, so my account was not stopped. There were strict and detailed rules regarding what you can list.
Products are quickly sold at prices slightly lower than what people could find in the Amazon. I didn’t have to do marketing because people already asked for them on eBay. After learning how to post, ships and pricing items were made to list as many items as possible daily. The more I rank, the more I sold.
It was time, but I started earning money from pallets immediately. With Paypal and eBay, your funds are available almost immediately, so I’ve been able to live from that income. In my first month, I brought $ 10,000 on sale, and within a few months, I reached $ 15,000.
Rolling pallets were profitable but unpredictable
I was winning more than my old job, but the business was unpredictable. A $ 5,000 pallet can give $ 3,000, even break down, or bring $ 15,000. One month inside, I knew I would leave my full -time work. Sale of the pallets was more work, but I liked to learn the process even if the days were long. I just slept for a few hours every night and constantly working.
My first step in scaling the business was to learn that I could buy the largest palette of all one article.
Within weeks of buying my first pallets, I went back to buy more. My beginner seller told me I could go to a second warehouse that had products from Amazon sellers who were abandoned or damaged. These pallets would have repeated items where I would only have to create a post on eBay, but they were costly.
I bought mixed pallets about twice a month until I could handle the most expensive pallets of repeated items.
After the first months, I began to discover models in inventory. Some types of products are constantly sold well that were not big brands. I learned that they were called white labels. Researching at Amazon, I discovered that these less popular brands were generating impressive sales.
The pallet business was profitable, but it lacked sustainability. I can’t rely on this long -term model.
About eight months after I started selling pallets, I started researching how to develop and produce my products.
Starting my products
I used the money I had generated from eBay as the seed money to create products. Having savings gave me the freedom to experiment with samples and overcome obstacles.
My first products were lotions, teas, waist coaches and sauna belts. Through my experience with the pallets, I knew people loved these items. I employed a marketing agency and promoted my products using Facebook ads and influenza marketing.
To my surprise, the products did extremely well. They were presented by Univision and CBS in their lifestyle segments.
Manufacturers often require big orders when making products. The weakness is that not every product will succeed. In my experience, it is best to start with three or four products because only one or two are likely to perform well. I always advise to put all your money in a single product.
The attempt is that when you are wholesale, your cost for the article comes down, which helps with the boundaries. Plus, maintaining an original product means less competition and more price control.
I have learned invaluable lessons about the prices, demand and behavior of the client. These lessons helped me to start my luxurious stages of post -birth dress, based on my traumatic birth and healing.
I knew how to produce products, run ads on Facebook and sell to Amazon and my website. I started the foggy stages at the end of 2022, and it generated over $ 5 million on sale in 2024.
Betting for myself was the best decision
Buying the return pallets in Amazon was one of the best decisions I have ever made. They provided money from the seed, penetration of e -commerce and a collision course in the venture. Now, I’m a single mother and have a home in California.
There are risks and challenges in the flip pallets, but it is an extraordinary way to learn internet sales, testing product ideas and building capital for greater dreams. Theelli is dedication and tireless work.
Even now, I know that if everything was to fall tomorrow, I would go back to buy pallets in a heartbeat.