Making Million Dollar Connections
Making Million Dollar Connections (WHSL Market Week in Louisville)
We’re in Louisville, Kentucky—home of Muhammad Ali, the Louisville Slugger, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and (if you ask me) the real star of the show… bourbon. The city’s beautiful, the architecture is insane, and it’s honestly a great place to visit.
But I’m not here for sightseeing.
I’m here for the Wholesale Marketplace Trade Show—and if you’re in liquidation, you cannot afford to miss events like this.
Why this trade show matters (and why you’re making excuses)
Here’s the difference:
There are trade shows out there that are mobbed with thousands of random sellers.
This one is directed only for liquidation.
That means you’re not fighting crowds of unrelated vendors. You’re in the same room with:
contract holders
truckload and pallet sellers
auction platforms
software companies
resellers and bin store owners
the “who’s who” of the industry
This is where real relationships get built. And in liquidation, relationships are everything.
People always tell me, “I’ll go next year.”
Cool—so you’re going to put your business on hold for a year because you didn’t want to travel and meet the people who can change your business?
Stop it.
The real value: making the right contacts
I say it all the time:
Don’t be afraid to travel in this business.
Go visit bin warehouses. Go visit distributors. Go visit contract holders.
Because you don’t know who that one person is going to be that:
changes your supply chain
gives you a better deal
opens a new revenue stream
introduces you to your next big connection
That’s the whole game.
Who we ran into at the show
This is what trade shows do—you meet operators at every level.
Jana (Best Bargain Bin)
bin store in the Chicago area (Fox Lake, IL) + selling on Whatnot
Jerry Seliner (STL Liquidations)
truckloads of furniture + general merchandise (St. Louis, MO)
Daniel (Raloz/Raldos Wholesale)
San Antonio, TX (especially helpful for Spanish-speaking buyers getting started)
Talian (Incredible Deals)
brokering loads + opening a massive bin store in Georgia (Stone Mountain) with 150 bins
Colton Carlson
one of the “Young Guns” making moves and building real relationships in the industry
Matt Lavell (WHSL Market)
emphasized that exhibitors are vetted and the show focuses on real education + legitimate booths
And that’s just scratching the surface.
The secret weapon: meetups (this is where the action happens)
The show is great.
But the meetups are where things get real.
Every night, different organizations host events where you can:
grab free food/drinks
talk to people casually
build trust faster than any email ever will
hear what’s actually happening in the industry
That night’s meetup was hosted by HighBid, an online auction platform.
And this is where I’ll tell you the truth:
Get off your ass. Go talk to everybody you can.
Make some connections. Make some deals.
That’s why you’re here.
My bin store philosophy (and why people go out of business)
At the meetup, I shared what I run and what I believe:
I operate multiple bin stores—different sizes, different models—and I still believe the same core thing:
1) Fill the bins “over the top”
People will buy as much good product as you give them—if you tell them about it.
2) Don’t marry your inventory
Inventory is a commodity. Use it that week to make money.
Then move on.
Throw out what’s left. Sell it in mystery boxes. Sell it however you want—just don’t leave leftovers sitting in bins.
The stores that “leave it in the bins” and pretend it’ll magically sell later?
Those are the ones I hear about going out of business.
3) Marry your supplier
Your supplier is everything.
You’ve got to lock down supply, and that means:
having storage for weeks ahead
avoiding the weekly “scramble game”
becoming important to your supplier (buy volume, be consistent)
If you buy one load every couple of weeks, you’re nothing to them.
The big buyer comes in and says “I’ll take them all” …and you’re done.
The platform talk: “Swing the bat”
We also got into the mindset you need to survive long-term:
You can’t hit a home run without swinging.
That means:
get on every marketplace you can
compare deals
look for value
learn what loads actually sell in your market
One buyer interview nailed it: he spends at least an hour a day searching loads and reading manifests—because opportunity doesn’t find you. You find it.
The lesson of the whole trip
The 2025 Wholesale Liquidation Trade Show wrapped up with the same point I started with:
If you want to be successful in liquidation, you have to be around successful people.
You have to meet them. Talk to them. Build real relationships.
Because these aren’t “networking events.”
These are million-dollar connection events—if you actually show up and do the work.
Location, Rent & Why Bin Stores Are Destination Spots
Stop making excuses.
Get to the trade shows. Get to the meetups. Meet the people who can change your business.
And then go out there and make some money.
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