Is Target selling its excess inventory on eBay and Poshmark?
Major retailers like Target offload excess and returned merchandise in bulk to liquidation firms, which then resell the goods through third parties on platforms such as eBay and Poshmark. Commenters point to Bullseye Deals — a seller of Target “salvage” stock via a reverse logistics partner — as an example, and debate how different this really is from Target selling directly, especially in terms of branding, liability, and legal structure. The thread broadens into the economics and ethics of pallet liquidation, cherry-picking inventory, thrift-store practices, and the fine line between informal hustles and rule-breaking in modern retail supply chains.
Relationship between Target and Bullseye Deals
- Commenters highlight that Target sells “salvage” (returns, overstock, damaged, recalled) to a reverse logistics company (Liquidity Services, Inc.), which then supplies Bullseye Deals.
- Target confirms Bullseye’s operator buys its salvage but says Target doesn’t control that inventory.
- Debate over whether this counts as “Target selling on eBay”:
- One side: functionally yes, since Bullseye Deals appears Target-adjacent and sells only Target salvage.
- Other side: legally no; it’s an independent company, no proven exclusivity, and different trademarks.
Liquidation Channels and Pallet Buying
- Multiple people describe buying Target returns/overstock via auction sites (e.g., liquidation.com, Bstock) and warehouses.
- Pallets/boxes can contain a mix of random goods; margins can be good but risky and labor-intensive.
- Some mention specific Target rules when buying directly (defacing/delabeling store brands, no exporting), but others say such restrictions aren’t enforced down the chain.
Rules, Enforcement, and First-Sale
- Discussion around whether Target’s restrictions on resellers are enforceable:
- View 1: Target can only cut off upstream buyers, not end resellers without a direct relationship.
- View 2: there are “supply chain compliance” investigators and warehouse contracts that forbid cherry-picking or rule-breaking.
- Brief debate about how this interacts with first-sale doctrine and broader concerns about increasingly restrictive business practices.
Side Hustles and Cherry-Picking
- Detailed anecdotes of profitable side hustles refurbishing and reselling baby gear sourced from liquidation warehouses.
- “Secret sauce” often comes from personal relationships allowing cherry-picking before auctions.
- Others note cherry-picking is officially forbidden but widely practiced, sometimes with warehouse operators running parallel resale operations.
Thrift Stores, Donations, and Volunteer Perks
- Target excess or damage (including an entire store’s smoke-damaged inventory) reportedly ends up at Goodwill and similar shops.
- Some stores let volunteers pick items first or mark down goods they then buy, raising questions about fairness to donors, customers, and the beneficiary charities.
- Debate over whether this undermines the store’s value proposition versus being a reasonable perk for unpaid labor.
Safety, Liability, and Ethics
- Brief but intense argument over liability when refurbishing strollers or selling used baby gear.
- Most commenters view the legal risk as low, especially in casual person-to-person markets, but acknowledge a difference between business and private sales.
- Broader philosophical side thread: “no rules, only consequences” vs. the importance of social contracts and trust.