Looking for Ways to Make Sales from Stale Inventory?

Hey, fellow resellers and reseller-ettes! Today, I’d like to touch on a few topics that go over how to deal with stale inventory, and what you can do to get unstuck. Making sales on a regular basis is crucial to our business as resellers, so even those stale items need to count for something, right?

• Related: What’s Selling? – From the Perspective of a Full-Time Reseller

How to Make Sales from Stale Inventory

• Start bundling all the things!
• Relist, relist, relist
• Take updated photos
• Lot items together
• Style your profile images
• Resell locally
• Trade with local buyers or other sellers
• Put items on auction

If you’re trying to find new ways to make money back from your stale inventory, you may want to go at it a few different ways. Decide what is worth keeping around, or donating. Perhaps you’ve just held on too long to some of those newbie items you picked up back in the day, and they’re just hard to get rid of…because you may be slightly attached.

But sometimes, those older items may have more flaws, less appeal, and might even just be out of style. You’ve learned a lot since the beginning! So embrace those new skills and move on to what’s selling better for you. Don’t waste time with duds in the meantime. Let them go!

Sell All The (Stale) Things…Together!

Your first best bet, in my opinion, is to start selling as many bundles as you can. If customers come along and want to bundle up your old items and offer you a lowball deal, just take it and move on to the next one. Now, you’ll have more space for those new, better-chosen items.

This ties in with lotting items together. I look at bundles, as in someone coming into your closet, choosing multiple different items, and then buying them all at once. Lots, on the other hand, are a lot of items that you remove from separate listings, and decide to throw back up together as a larger lot.

Sometimes, this can help clear things out significantly, since more items will be leaving with every package you send. Don’t forget to take the single listings down, though! I repeat, DOUBLE CHECK YOUR LISTINGS!!! We don’t want a double sale on our hands.

• Related: Here’s The BEST Way to Ship as a Reseller

Picture Perfect

Getting a perfect profile picture can take eons of your time. Normally, I just run with the first one and hit upload, but some items do take a little more time here and there. A quick Poshmark search will show you that many of the sellers on that platform are much more particular about their photos.

They style them nicely, adding cute props in the background, or even may pose for the photo with the piece for sale. This takes a lot of extra time, but those cute, professional pics might just pay off next to a boring, dull-lighted one.

Try getting your photos from new angles, or with different lighting, often, our first round may be much darker, or perhaps we missed a significant detail. Be sure to always include all details and flaws in every listing to stay as transparent as possible with your buyers.

Sure, relisting may not always sound like all that much fun…and it usually isn’t. However, it may be necessary to get a fresh batch of eyes on your item, or perhaps a new demographic that didn’t get the chance to see it before. You could always “Sell Similar” on eBay, “Copy” on Poshmark, or perhaps just create a brand new listing altogether.

Trade, Auction, and Think Local!

Trading may not be at the top of your mind, but that’s what this post is for! To remind you that trade goes easily unnoticed, and it would be good to try it out given the chance. Check around with your local resellers and anyone looking for an updated closet. They may just be up for a swap!

Everyone knows about the auction option on eBay, but few people use it anymore. This is a great way to move out your stale items, by dropping down your price and letting them phase out on sale. Even if you are able to get what you paid back for your item, you’ll still stay ahead on that profit/loss form at the end of the year. Think about the big picture!

I’m hopeful some of these tips and tricks have helped you out today! Be sure to implement them in your future reselling endeavors, as they will help keep you out of the stale territory zone. Don’t wait until you have a storage-sized unit full of old, stale items. Start using these tips right away to always stay ahead of the curve.

Happy selling!