Every industry runs on shorthand, and liquidation runs on more than most. Half the confusion new wholesale buyers have isn't about products — it's about words. A supplier says a lot is "shelf pulls, RTV excluded, 25% of retail, MOQ 50" and suddenly you're nodding along without a clue.

Here is the vocabulary you actually need, grouped by where you'll run into it, in plain English. Bookmark this page — these terms come up in every sourcing conversation you'll ever have.

Product Condition Terms

Overstock — Brand-new excess inventory a retailer ordered too much of. Never sold, never opened. The cleanest grade in liquidation, and most of what we stock. If a listing doesn't state condition, ask — "overstock" and "returns" are worlds apart.

Shelf pulls — Items that sat on a store shelf, were taken off (often with tags still attached), and packed away. Usually new, but boxes may show shelf wear. Great value if packaging doesn't matter to your buyers.

Customer returns — Exactly what it says: items customers bought and sent back. Condition ranges from "never opened" to "broken." This is the lottery-ticket grade — pricing should reflect that you'll lose a share of the lot.

Salvage — The bottom grade. Damaged, incomplete, or non-working goods sold by weight or pallet, meant for parts or repair. Not what a small reseller should start with.

RTV (Return to Vendor) — Goods shipped back to the manufacturer instead of being liquidated locally. Listings sometimes say "RTV excluded," meaning failed units were pulled out before sale — a good sign.

Closeout — A retailer or brand discontinuing a line and clearing remaining stock. Condition is typically new; quantity is limited to whatever's left.

Pricing Terms

MSRP — Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price. The number printed on the box. Useful for marketing ("$49.99 value"), misleading for planning — MSRP is what the item could sell for, not what it will.

Percent of retail (POR) — What you're paying as a fraction of MSRP. A lot at "20% of retail" costs $0.20 per $1.00 of MSRP. Lower isn't always better: 25% of retail on fast-moving overstock often beats 10% on salvage.

MOQ (Minimum Order Quantity) — The smallest quantity a supplier will sell of one SKU. Ours run 30-50 units — low enough to test a category, real enough that you're working with an actual wholesaler. See our guide to buying without pallets for how to use MOQ as a testing tool.

Tiered pricing — Volume discounts: one price at 50 units, a better one at 500. Standard practice — if a supplier won't discuss tiers on large orders, ask.

Case pack — The manufacturer's original sealed box quantity (e.g., 12 units per case). Buying in case packs keeps units protected and counts clean.

Logistics Terms

FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) — Amazon's warehouse network. "FBA free shipping" means your order ships from an Amazon warehouse inside the US to your door at no extra cost — typically 2-5 days, no freight quotes, no dock needed. This is the core of how our USA inventory works.

Freight / LTL — Freight is commercial shipping for large goods; LTL (Less Than Truckload) is the pallet-sized middle ground. Both mean quotes, appointments, and often a forklift — the hidden costs that FBA-shipped stock eliminates.

Pallet / Truckload — Pallets are mixed lots stacked and wrapped (typically 100-500 units). Truckloads are, well, a truck. Both are the traditional liquidation format — and both are why small buyers get stuck with dead stock, which is why we sell by the case instead.

Manifest — The itemized list of what's in a lot. A real manifest shows SKU, quantity, condition and (sometimes) retail value. Read our notes on what manifests won't tell you before trusting one blindly.

Lead time — Days between payment and delivery. Domestic FBA stock: under a week. Overseas containers: 4-8 weeks plus customs. Plan your Q4 buying around this.

Marketplace & Channel Terms

Retail arbitrage — Buying at retail (stores, bin stores) and reselling online. Contrast with wholesale sourcing: buying from a supplier at true wholesale prices without leaving your desk. We compared both models in bin store vs online sourcing.

FBA arbitrage / FBA wholesale — Buying wholesale and shipping it straight into Amazon's network to sell there. Since our stock already sits in FBA warehouses, resellers route it directly into their own FBA inventory.

Whatnot / live selling — Live-auction platforms where sellers move stock in real time. Fast cash, audience-dependent. See our breakdown of where clearance items sell best.

Dead stock — Inventory that isn't selling. Every reseller has some; the goal is buying in quantities (small MOQs) that keep dead stock to a shelf, not a pallet.

Turnover / sell-through — How fast inventory converts to cash. The single healthiest metric in this business: fast turnover at thin margins beats slow turnover at fat margins, every time.

How to Use This Vocabulary

Two practical habits: first, when a supplier's listing avoids condition terms entirely, ask directly — vagueness is information. Second, always convert any offer into dollars per sellable unit before comparing. A 15% of retail salvage pallet usually loses to a 30% of retail overstock case, because you'll sell all of the second one.

Ready to use the words in a real order? Browse the USA FBA inventory — every listing states condition, stock, price and MOQ in plain numbers. If a term here isn't clear in context, ask us before you pay; a supplier that explains plainly is a supplier worth having.

FAQ

Is overstock always better than customer returns?
For new resellers, yes — no testing, no salvage share, predictable sell-through. Experienced buyers price returns low enough to profit, but that skill takes cycles to build.

Does low percent of retail always mean a good deal?
No. 10% of retail on salvage means most of the lot won't sell. Compare dollars per sellable unit, not the headline percentage.

Why do suppliers have MOQs at all?
Picking, packing and shipping have fixed costs. A 30-50 unit MOQ keeps per-order economics viable for both sides — suppliers below that usually aren't real wholesalers.

What does "RTV excluded" mean for my order?
Failed or defective units were returned to the manufacturer before the lot was packed. It raises the average quality of what you receive — a quiet quality signal worth preferring.