If you’re ready to liquidate your surplus inventory, then most of the hard work is already done. The main thing is you’ve already done your research, you know that you need to take action immediately, and you understand the importance of just doing it.
So here’s the next step in the decision making process:
- Do you want to donate your goods to charity?
- Do you want to participate in an auction, either online or off?
- Or do you want to hire a professional liquidation company that specializes in closeouts, overstocks, and surplus inventory to do it all for you?
Let’s go over these options so you can make a better decision.
Donate surplus inventory to charity
If you decide to donate your surplus inventory just keep in mind that you will only get a small fraction of what your cost would be and you won’t actually get cash for it. It will be a deduction on your taxes, which could take a while for it to materialize, if at all. If you are in need of cash quickly, for whatever reason, then this is probably not the solution that is right for you. But if you are not in need of cash, and a meager return is okay with you, then you could write up a quick press release and turn it into a charity event that could add to your brand and give you some positive press nonetheless.
Just contact the charity of your choice and they will be glad to help you get rid of your surplus inventory. They will probably arrange to pick it up and remove it as well.
Surplus and Overstock Auctions
Online auctions seem to be the most popular solution, but there are many pitfalls that you want to be aware of, which we will talk about momentarily.
If you choose to participate in a surplus auction instead, there are several options available, both online and offline. You can of course, try your luck on Ebay, Yahoo, or any of the thousands of other online auction sites. You may have some luck, but in my experiences it has been very difficult to find individual buyers for large quantities and even harder getting paid by smaller accounts and dealing with the hassle of tracking down and keeping up with all of the checks and balances.
And lastly, you can contact an auctioneer, who for a price would be glad to help you organize an auction offline. This could lend you a bit larger return overall, but could take months or longer to set up and organize properly, with no guarantees. However, this also has some similar pitfalls as an online auction that you should be aware of.
With both offline and online auctions the major downfall is that you are never 100% sure of who the end user is and where your merchandise is going to end up. This can pose major problems for brand and channel control. You are not entirely sure that your brand will be protected or that your own merchandise doesn’t come back to be your next competitor.
Finding the right Liquidation Company
This is my personal recommendation. Not only can they purchase your entire inventory upfront, but they will also load it and remove it for you as well. If you can find the right liquidation company you should also feel safe with your channel and brand control as well. For your “one stop shop” solution to surplus inventory, finding a reliable liquidation company is definitely the way to go.
To find a trusted liquidation company to help with your surplus inventory, go to Inventory Liquidators or call 1-877-279-3353 for your FREE inventory quote today.
