Couple buy clearance items in Boots and sell them – have made £25k | Personal Finance | Finance
Sam Bayliss and Beth Jones scour clearance shelves in stores such as Boots and Superdrug before listing the products on Amazon (Image: Sam Bayliss/SWNS)
A couple’s side venture earns them £25,000 annually by purchasing discounted clearance stock – including reduced condoms – and reselling the items on Amazon. Sam Bayliss, 24, and partner Beth Jones, 25, hunt through clearance aisles in retailers such as Boots and Superdrug before listing the goods on Amazon.
The duo, who each operate their own separate businesses alongside this enterprise, utilise specialist software to identify which reduced items are highly sought after online before purchasing them. Among their most lucrative deals was a haul of 38 boxes of condoms acquired from a Boots clearance sale for £111.75.
After relabelling the stock and dispatching it to Amazon’s fulfilment centres, the pair shifted the entire batch within a week – generating £124.20 profit.
Sam, who works in online software and resides with Beth in Manchester city centre, said: “We sell everything and anything. We never know what we’re going to sell, as long as it’s selling and we can make a profit.
“With the condoms, we found them on Boots clearance shelves and scanned the barcode using our software. It showed us the sales data and return rates, so we knew they would sell quickly.”
The couple employ a programme called SellerAmp SAS, costing £16.74 monthly, to assess products before purchasing them. The software displays how frequently a product sells on Amazon each month, enabling them to estimate how rapidly stock will shift. Sam said the condoms were likely discounted because the packaging was being updated.
He added: “The expiry dates were still 2027 to 2028, so there was loads of time left on them. During that period Boots and Superdrug had loads of stock because the branding was changing.”
After purchasing the products, the couple affix Amazon-generated SKU labels before dispatching them to Amazon warehouses via UPS collection services.
Sam said: “Amazon keeps the stock until it sells. They give you a shipping label and UPS collects it from your front door.”
The pair, who both run their own separate businesses alongside the venture, use specialist software to research which reduced products are in high demand online before snapping them up (Image: Sam Bayliss/SWNS)
The duo have also earned hundreds from selling Brita water filters after discovering 80 heavily discounted units.
Sam said: “We bought 80 of them and made £637.60 profit after fees. They all sold out within four or five days because the software told us they sell around 9,000 times a month.”
Additional products they have resold include PS5 and Xbox games, vacuum cleaners, skincare items, stationery, computer accessories and washing-up products. Beth operates her own catering business while Sam works in online software, but the pair say their side venture has helped alleviate financial strain.
Sam said: “We are not making millions from this, but if we can put money aside to help with bills it takes the pressure off full-time work.”
The couple now utilise the earnings to pay down their mortgage and cover any unforeseen expenses: “I put this off for so long because I worried about the upfront money and what would happen if it went wrong. But once I started, I kicked myself for not doing it sooner.”
The couple currently spend £30 monthly on an Amazon seller subscription plus their product research software. Despite facing some online criticism, Sam maintains they are simply fulfilling customer demand.
He said: “Some people say we’re contributing to the cost-of-living crisis, but people on Amazon are paying for convenience. If they want it cheaper, they can still go into the shop themselves. We’re very small fish in a very large pond – if we don’t do it, somebody else will.”
The duo are now looking to expand the business further by pursuing wholesale agreements directly with brands and suppliers.
Sam added: “We’re not trying to sell anything to people. We just document what we do because if it helps or inspires someone else, that’s enough for us. I always try to help people because I needed guidance when I started too.”
Sam Bayliss and Beth Jones (Image: Sam Bayliss/SWNS)
Sam and Beth’s top five sellers this year
Nitty Gritty NitFree Comb
Profit per unit after fees: £7.02 (702%ROI)
Retailer: Superdrug Clearance
Braun Silk-épil 9 Epilator
Profit per unit after fees: £59.79 (199% ROI)
Retailer: Boots clearance
Nuby RapidSterilise Portable UV Steriliser
Profit after fees: £14.55 (242% ROI)
Nicorette Microtab 2mg Sublingual Tablet
Among their most successful flips was a haul of 38 boxes of condoms bought from a Boots clearance sale for £111.75 (Image: Sam Bayliss/SWNS)
Profit per unit after fees: £8.40 (152% ROI)
Profit per unit after fees: £21.50 (286% ROI)
Retailer: Boots clearance
