Over the past few weeks, I have liquidated over 200+ items from my reselling business in order to make room for newer and more desirable items. Deciding which items should be liquidated can be very difficult at times as I can become attached to some of the items that I am selling. Although I know that this is not an ideal business practice, it does happen from time to time. This is especially true when it comes to items that I know are worth a certain value but the right buyer has not yet come along and the item has been sitting for a while. Today, I wanted to share with you how I am able to let go of these items by providing you with my checklist for liquidating items in my reselling business.
My Checklist for Liquidation
1. How old is the item?– I typically like to have non-luxury items sold within 6 months of listing them and luxury items sold within 1 year of listing them. This does not always happen but in general, I like to follow these guidelines. If an item has been listed for longer than this time period, then it is time to consider liquidation.
2. Is this item something that I would see in a retail store today or in the coming 2-3 months?– This may seem like a random question but it is a question that I believe is important when considering liquidation. When looking at my items, I always ask myself if I would see this item in a retail space within the next 3 months. If the answer is yes, then I will keep the item in my closet and adjust the pricing and/or re-list it in hopes that it will sell. If the answer is no, then I will strongly consider liquidating the item as there is a good possibility that the item is no longer in demand.
3. What are the most up-to-date comps for this item?– When an item has been sitting for a while, I will search for the exact item on both Poshmark and eBay to see what current comps are. If an item is very oversaturated in the reselling market and has a very poor chance of selling in the next few months, then I will liquidate the item. Additionally, if comps are very low for a particular item, I will also liquidate it because I would much rather break even or make a little profit then lose money on an item. If I don’t want to liquidate an item just yet, then I will update an item’s listing to increase its’ visibility on various reselling platforms. In order to do this, I will adjust the item’s price, re-photograph the item if necessary, and adjust the description to maximize its’ chance to sell. [NOTE: One trick that I have started to use to improve my item’s visibility is to look for sold listings of the exact item and then try to use the same keywords and descriptors from those listings in my own listings.]
4. Does this item have a better chance at selling for my asking price elsewhere?– Sometimes, I think that as resellers we become very comfortable selling our items on certain platforms that we forget that there are other options out there for us to explore. Over the last year or so, I have become a big fan of ThredUp. Many people have mixed reviews based on their experiences with ThredUp but if you learn how to use the platform to your benefit, it can be a great passive source of income. After some experimenting, I have learned that I can actually sell some of my items for the same if not for more than what I would sell them for on my main reselling platforms. AND I can do it without having to do all of the work that I have to do on my main platforms! [To learn more about selling on ThredUp, visit THIS post.] Additionally, certain retail brands have resale programs that may be worth sending in your items to. [One that I recommend looking into is Ulla Johnson’s program.]
5. Am I excited/motivated when it comes to selling this item?– Finally, I always like to ask myself if I am motivated to sell a particular item. The more motivated that I am to sell an item, the more likely I am to commit to the effort and time that it will take to sell it. If an item doesn’t excite me, then I am much more likely to let it sit by the wayside which will likely result in it not selling on any reselling platform. This is where it becomes important to know yourself when it comes to your reselling business.
I hope that you find this post helpful! If you have any questions or just want to chat, please reach out!
If you don’t already, be sure to check out my Instagram for more Reselling Tips at @ RecycledRosesGuide (Click HERE) and my Facebook page HERE.
You can instantly shop all of my looks by following me on the LIKEtoKNOW.it shopping app HERE.
To get email notifications for my next blog post and to receive my monthly Reseller Recap (with freebies), sign up for my emails below:
Baci,
