Liquidating Old And Surplus Inventory. Helpful Hints You May Not Have Considered.


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1. Bundle Items. When trying to sell overstock merchandise it is often helpful to bundle different items into a package deal. Not only does this force your surplus buyers to take more products in bulk, but it also helps you to move more merchandise at one time. As an example, if you are selling closeout pet products and you have a leash, a collar, a dog toy, a bone and a dog bed, you can consider putting everything together as one bundled package and offer it as a lot. This will move more goods than trying to sell one at a time and is helpful if you are trying to figure out how to liquidate inventory. When you sell excess inventory the whole point is to move volume and get rid of a lot of dead stock all at once.

2. Online Marketplaces. If you have not tried to sell overstock merchandise online you are missing the boat. There are many platforms and ecommerce sites you can use to sell excess inventory. Some examples are Amazon, Walmart, Wayfair, Sears, eBay and Shopify, just to name a handful. These are all considered B2C selling tools you can use to get rid of closeouts and discontinued inventory, and they are probably the way to get the most money for products being liquidated. Since surplus buyers often visit these sites looking for deals, there is a good chance that one or all of these will work for you.

3. Wholesale Liquidators. Since selling online B2C is not for everyone, you may want to research how to liquidate inventory to a wholesale liquidator or wholesale closeout buyer. These companies will take larger volume and they are surplus buyers for entire inventories. If you would rather sell overstock merchandise in one fell swoop, rather than one at a time on Amazon, this would be the direction to follow. You won’t get as much of a return selling this way, but you can clear out an entire warehouse quickly and for cash.

4. Promotions/Giveaways. There is another option you may not have considered. If you are unable to sell excess inventory to traditional surplus buyers, you can consider using this merchandise for promotions and literally give it away to your customers. This often creates goodwill and may have a more positive impact on your business than whatever small amount of proceeds you may realize by liquidating. This option is best when you don’t know how to liquidate inventory or you are unable to get any offers to buy your excess merchandise and closeouts. Keep in mind, not all products have the value you may think they do, and sometimes there are cases where there aren’t surplus buyers for what you are selling. It is possible that some surplus merchandise or discontinued products will have to be given away for free to get rid of them.