Wholesale dress factory overruns are

dresses which were produced by a factory,

and are now being offered by sale.




The dresses could have been overruns because

of an error in an order processed by the factory.




For example, Calvin Klein might have ordered

a dress factory in China to produce

800 dresses, but the factory made a mistake

and noted that 8,000 dresses should be

produced. Now the factory is sitting on

an extra 7,200 dresses!




While that type of an error is hopefully

not common, mistakes do happen,

which is why there is so much factory

overrun merchandise available in the

wholesale marketplace.




Another scenario is where a 

factory figures out the marginal cost

of producing more dresses is minimal.




Let's say a factory receives an 

order from R&M Richards to produce

1,450 dresses in a specific style. The 

cost of the extra material might be

so low that it will pay to run the machines

and produce an extra 50 dresses.

If R&M Richards does not want the

extra 50 dresses then the factory

will try to sell them into the 

closeout marketplace.




One more common scenario

that I have seen is where a

factory becomes accustomed to

receiving similar orders on a regular

basis. Since the factory wants to

maximize the use of its machinery

and employees, it will often produce

dresses in anticipation of

of future orders.




But what could

end up happening is that those

future orders don't come.

The recently manufactured

clothes need to be sold to recoup

the costs that went into making them.




Now there is something very important

that you need to be aware of before

buying this type of wholesale merchandise.




You need to know that if the merchandise

was produced for the brand, or

carries a brand name, or was made

based on any intellectual property

belong to a brand, then you need to

get permission from the brand before

buying it.




The reason is because the factory was

contracted to produce those dresses for the

brand. Therefore, the dresses are the intellectual

property of the brand.




You should always consult with an attorney

when there are legal questions involved.




If you are offered factory overrun dresses

you need to make sure that you are either

purchasing them directly from the designer,

or that you have a release paper from the

designer giving you permission to 

purchase the clothing.




A brand might be interested in selling their

dresses if they invested money in the production,

or incurred other expenses. But if the

brand never authorized the production of the

clothing then I doubt that they would allow anyone to

purchase them, and would actually demand that

the merchandise be disposed of.




And it does not just have to be

clothing made for a brand, it can also

be clothing made for a specific retailer.




Now I don't mean to discourage you

from pursuing this wholesale product

category. 




You can still buy overrun factory wholesale dresses

if you are buying them from the brand, the factory owns its

own private label, or if the dresses are generic clothes

that no one besides the factory has any intellectual property

ownership.




For instance, a dress manufacturer in Turkey 

might have its own label called

Deluxe Fashions. Since the brand belongs

to the manufacturer you would be

able to purchase those dresses even though

they are branded.




Or you might connect with a dress factory

in China through Alibaba. They might

produce generic dresses which can then

either be private labeled, or sold 

with a generic label.




Private labeled refers to the process

of purchasing clothing, or any item

that is not branded, and then adding your

own label on to it.




Many Amazon sellers use this strategy

to add value to the merchandise that they

are selling.




Amazon sellers will purchase merchandise

through wholesale sources listed on Alibaba

and elsewhere, and then add their own labels

on to their products.




If you are going to buy products through

Alibaba you might consider

first taking a look at the vendors

on AliExpress since they don't have

minimums.




You can also purchase cancelled orders.

While this is a slightly different product

category, it's similar in that it

consists of merchandise that was produced

and not paid for,

and now a buyer is being sought for it.




An order could have been placed by a 

major retailer, and the retailer could

have changed their mind, or even rejected the order.




What can happen is that the merchandise

is produced too late for a specific

season and now the retailer does not

want it.




Or the pattern or style is slightly off.

While most people might not notice the difference,

professional buyers, especially department store

buyers, are very particular in making sure

that the dresses meet their specifications.




Now the factory needs to recoup its cost and

will seek to sell the fashion merchandise to another

retailer, importer, exporter, or wholesaler.




If the factory received a deposit for the

fashion that they produced, then the cost

that they need to recover might be a lot

lower. This means that you should be able

to purchase the merchandise at a 

really low price.




So how do you locate these factories?




You can call or email associations that represent manufacturers,

buy a directory of clothing manufacturers, or

search online for clothes manufacturers.




I would recommend either visiting the

factory in person or working with

a reputable agent that can visit,

and even make a deal for the merchandise,

on your behalf.




If these two options are not available

you can always ask for references

and read the feedback from other

wholesale buyers who have dealt with

the manufacturer. 




The commercial attaches at

embassies and consulates

can also help you connect with

clothing producers in their

respective countries. It is the job of

these commercial attaches to 

facilitate business opportunities for

companies for the countries that they

represent.




When I first started my closeout

business I contacted the Pakistani 

consulate and asked them for information

on where I could purchase wholesale socks.




They were kind enough to connect me with

one of the major sock manufacturers in Pakistan,

who conveniently had a warehouse in the United

States, located in

New Jersey.




Although my focus is currently not on socks,

I was able to purchase excess production

and cancelled orders at a rate that

was substantially below the

regular wholesale price that other

businesses were paying for socks.




You might even decide to take

a completely different approach,

and have clothes made for you!