If you’re getting into reselling, the vocabulary can feel like its own language. From liquidation pallets to live sales and profit metrics, resellers use a lot of shorthand that isn’t always obvious at first glance. This article breaks down common reseller terminology in alphabetical order, so you can quickly look things up and understand exactly what people mean.
Whether you’re sourcing from liquidation, thrifting, online marketplaces, or live sales, this glossary will help you speak reseller fluently.
Contents
- Reseller Terminology (A–Z)
- As-Is
- Auction
- BIN (Buy It Now)
- Bulk Shipping
- Casepack
- Cherry Picking
- Claim Sale
- COGS (Cost of Goods Sold)
- Comps (Comparables)
- Cross-Listing
- Death Pile
- DIM Weight (Dimensional Weight)
- Freight
- FTL (Full Truckload)
- Handling Time
- Inventory
- Liquidation
- Live Sale
- LTL (Less Than Truckload)
- Manifest
- Margin
- MSRP (Retail Price)
- NWT (New With Tags)
- NWOT (New Without Tags)
- Open Box
- Pallet
- Race to the Bottom
- Returns
- ROI (Return on Investment)
- Salvage
- Scalability
- Shelf Pulls
- Sourcing
- Tested / Untested
- Truckload (TL)
- Unmanifested
- Velocity
- Final Thoughts
Reseller Terminology (A–Z)
As-Is
Items sold in their current condition with no guarantees. These may be damaged, incomplete, or non-functional.
Auction
A selling format where buyers place bids and the highest bidder wins.
BIN (Buy It Now)
A fixed-price listing that allows a buyer to purchase immediately without bidding.
Bulk Shipping
Shipping multiple items together to reduce the per-item shipping cost.
Casepack
A box containing multiple units of the exact same item. These are popular because they’re easy to price and list.
Cherry Picking
When only the most valuable items are taken from a pallet or lot, leaving lower-value items behind.
Claim Sale
A sale style where buyers comment “claim” during a live sale to purchase an item.
COGS (Cost of Goods Sold)
The total cost of an item, including purchase price, shipping, and sourcing fees.
Comps (Comparables)
Recently sold prices for the same or similar items, used to determine fair market value.
Cross-Listing
Listing the same item on multiple platforms to increase visibility and chances of selling.
Death Pile
Inventory that has been purchased but never listed. Almost every reseller has one.
DIM Weight (Dimensional Weight)
Shipping cost based on package size rather than actual weight.
Freight
Large shipments transported by truck instead of standard parcel carriers.
FTL (Full Truckload)
A shipment that fills most or all of a semi-truck. Common with large liquidation purchases.
Handling Time
The amount of time it takes a seller to ship an item after it sells.
Inventory
All items a reseller currently has available to sell.
Liquidation
The sale of excess, returned, or unsold retail merchandise at discounted prices.
Live Sale
Selling items in real time via live video, often fast-paced and interactive.
LTL (Less Than Truckload)
A shipment that does not fill an entire truck, usually one or a few pallets.
Manifest
A list of items that are supposed to be included in a pallet or shipment. It’s a guide, not a guarantee.
Margin
The difference between what an item costs and what it sells for, typically expressed as a percentage.
MSRP (Retail Price)
The manufacturer’s suggested retail price. Often used for comparison, not pricing.
NWT (New With Tags)
Brand-new items that still have original tags attached.
NWOT (New Without Tags)
New items that no longer have tags.
Open Box
Items where the packaging has been opened, but the product may be unused or lightly handled.
Pallet
A large platform stacked with merchandise. Pallets are a common way liquidation inventory is sold.
Race to the Bottom
When sellers continuously lower prices to compete, often destroying profit margins.
Returns
Items customers have returned to retailers. Condition can vary widely.
ROI (Return on Investment)
A measure of profit compared to cost. Higher ROI means more profit per dollar spent.
Salvage
Damaged or non-working items sold for parts, repair, or creative resale.
Scalability
How easily a reseller business can grow without dramatically increasing workload or costs.
Shelf Pulls
New items removed from store shelves due to seasonal changes, resets, or overstock. Also abbreviated to SRP.
Sourcing
The act of finding inventory to resell.
Tested / Untested
Indicates whether an item has been checked to confirm it works.
Truckload (TL)
A large purchase of inventory that fills an entire semi-truck.
Unmanifested
Inventory sold without a list of included items. Higher risk, often lower cost.
Velocity
How quickly items sell once listed.
Final Thoughts
Reseller terminology exists to save time, not to confuse newcomers. Once you understand the language, it becomes easier to evaluate inventory, spot risky deals, price items confidently, and talk shop with other resellers.
Bookmark this glossary, because chances are you’ll come back to it more than once as your reselling business grows.
