Liquidation Strategies For Selling Surplus Inventory From Retail Stores

Having an inventory liquidation sale doesn’t have to be a big deal. It’s easy to find closeout companies who will buy overstock items or other surplus inventory you want to get rid of. You can also try to get the job done on your own with one of these liquidation strategies:

1. Clearance Sales. Have strategic markdowns on items and have an inventory liquidation sale. It can be a flat discount (50% off everything in the store) or you can mark down certain things and certain days, it can be a 50% off sale only on Thursday, it can be buy one get one free after 3PM, etc. Be creative and keep it interesting. This may help the liquidation process. The goal is to motivate your customers to buy overstock items and closeouts. Be creative.

2. Move It Around. Just because a customer has been in your store many times does not mean they paid attention to all your merchandise. You have to constantly move things around and change the look of your store. This is especially important in the liquidation process because it keeps your store looking fresh and new. If you are going to have an inventory liquidation sale you have to always move products around and refresh endcaps and shelving units. As things sell out, bring out more products to fill in.

3. Bundle Items. Sometimes all you have to do to get rid of three dead items is bundle them together and sell them as one unit. Closeout companies do this all the time to get rid of old inventory and it can be very useful for retail stores. It is possible your customers will buy overstock items once you bundle them in a way that it looks like a new product at a low price.

4. Call A Liquidator. You can always call closeout companies to see if they will buy overstock items. In many cases, closeout buyers won’t buy from retail stores because the quantities are too small, but you never know. Depending on how much you have this may be an outlet for you. Typically when retail stores want to get rid of overstock inventory, the liquidation process is different from when a distributor or importer is trying to sell closeouts. Not all closeout buyers are the same and they often buy differently.

5. Give It Away. You can always use overstock merchandise as a freebie and give it away to the people who will appreciate it the most. Your customers! Everyone loves something for free and if you are having trouble getting rid of merchandise with an overstock sale, you can give it away as a perk. Sometimes the goodwill you will get from your customers is better than the results from the liquidation process.