How To Tell The Difference Between A Liquidation Company and Closeout Buyer.


closeout websites, liquidation companies

Closeouts are available in many product categories, including clothing, home decor, footwear, accessories, toys and more. They are essentially divided into two categories – salvage items and job-outs. The first category we look at is salvage product. Salvage merchandise consists of customer returns, floor damages and samples. Due to this mixed assortment, some items may be damaged – however damageable does not always mean unsellable. This will depend on the product and the damage. That said – the majority will not be damaged. When companies liquidate inventory they caneither have clean goods in original cases or damaged goods. There are many reasons to sell closeouts and overstock liquidators will buy most anything as long as the price is right. Closeout brokers and closeout websites that work with legitimate big box retail stores will likely only be interested in clean original case packed goods. Typically companies like Walmart, TJ Maxx, Burlington and Dollar Tree want liquidation merchandise that is in clean condition with UPC codes and in original boxes.

The second category of closeout merchandise is job-outs. This category identifies items that were already on a retail floor somewhere and did not sell. As a result, their cost has been reduced for a quick sell to another retailer and ultimately, to a new consumer audience. Closeout brokers that handle these goods may sell at liquidation sales or auctions direct to the consumer. When they liquidate inventory that has already been on store shelves they might sell closeouts and excess inventory at flea markets or liquidation auctions. Like salvaged products, there is a chance for damaged goods. But the percentage is much less – often less than 5%, though as high as 10% has been reported from some closeout warehouses. Overstock liquidators prefer to take goods in clean condition because it is easier to resell on closeout websites and ship to Amazon FBA warehouses.


Wholesale liquidators have been playing an essential role in compensating the losses of companies going out of business. They help liquidate inventory when business are either closing down, having to sell closeouts or just get rid of too much inventory. Overstock liquidators sometimes get involved when a business is too deep in dept and is forced to liquidate everything and close down its warehouse. Closeout brokers are more often suitable to situations where a business has too much inventory and is simplylooking to get rid of closeouts and surplus merchandise.The main purpose of these wholesale companies is to buy overstocks, shelf pulls, customer returns, and salvage merchandise from the distributor or importer and liquidate the inventory at lower rates.


Closeout websites can be helpful to companies when they have too much inventory due to order cancellations or slowing sales. These online outlets cater to overstock buyers looking for excess inventory when a company is shutting down a 3PL warehouse, downsizing or selling old inventory. Surplus inventory buyers have become more popular during Covid-19 because there has been an increase in consumer demand for bankruptcy inventory, closeouts, overstock merchandise and inventory liquidations.Other buyers for overstock inventory include closeout brokers, liquidation buyers, closeout merchandise specialists and warehouse liquidation buyers. There are large and small buyers for job lots and most of these closeout warehouses sell their inventory to retailers like TJ Maxx, Dollar Tree, Burlington and Ross.


It is generally better to liquidate inventory rather than let old merchandise just sit in the warehouse. Closeout brokers and other buyers for closeouts should be able to help get a little better return on the dollar. Liquidators often sell to auctions of other closeout liquidators and these businesses may make lower offers than you would like to accept. If your goal is to get as much as possible for your dead stock you may want to contact discount retail stores directly or setup your own closeout website.


Closeout websites have done very well through the pandemic as more people shop from home and avoid going out to the stores. Any excess inventory or closeouts should be listed on your closeout website including quantities available, closeout pricing and any other discounts. Be sure to let your customers know these are limited quantities and when closeouts are sold out there is no way to replace them. This is important to note when selling liquidation inventory as well and closeouts – all inventory is only in limited quantities and when the excess inventory is sold out it is gone for good.


Merchandise USA is a closeout liquidator specializing in closeout housewares, closeout toys, overstock liquidations, excess inventory and obsolete merchandise. We also work with Amazon sellers shutting down 3PL warehouses or moving 3PL warehouses