Excess inventory can be a serious financial drag for any business. But what to do with excess items – no matter what they are or where they came from – can be a difficult dilemma. Selling what you have through normal channels – special sales, for example, or online – may be out of the question. After all, the reason you have the surplus is because your regular outlets haven’t done the job.
And you probably have little patience for continuing to carry the extra load. But there are several tactics that can either net you a cash return on your items, or a nifty tax write-off. And some of those services are places you can buy as well as sell excess inventory. Your five basic choices are:
1) Sign up to sell in bulk in a business-to-business inventory liquidation marketplace.
2) Sell everything at once to an “instant” liquidator.
3) Sell small quantities at sites targeting consumer volume sales.
4) Launch an online sales channel for your business on eBay.
5) Donate qualified items to a charity and earn a tax deduction of up to twice the cost of the goods.
Here’s where you can go to get it done, depending on what goods you have on hand and in what quantities:
• Unload in bulk, business-to-business: Retailers, wholesalers, manufacturers, distributors and others can sell goods via centralized liquidation auctions. For example, Liquidation.com is a B-to-B bulk marketplace through which companies sell all kinds of excess goods. Liquidation.com welcomes inventory from small businesses to sell on this auction marketplace, and has a track record of providing returns higher than other liquidation methods.
• Net instant cash on your excess inventory: You can avoid the bother of auctions by selling to a surplus inventory liquidator. InstantLiquidators.com, MerchandiseUSA.com and Power Retailing (www.retailing.com) all buy a wide range of customer-returned and excess inventory. Excess Technologies (www.excessi.com) is a professional surplus inventory liquidator.
• Open a sales channel for your business on eBay: Opening a business selling account on eBay can be a great way to sell some of your excess inventory at competitive prices. Setting up your business sellers account is free and simple. Be sure to download the 25-page New Business Seller Guide (PDF) which walks you through the process with tips and advice. Visit www.ebay.com/sellerinformation to get started. •
Daniel Kehrer can be reached at editor@business.com.
Beyond Cash Donations: How New Forms of Giving Are Transforming Not-for-Profit Accounting
Evolving Funding Landscape for Not-for-Profits Not-for-profit organizations are being asked to do more with less,…
Learn More
