What Does a SKU Fully Consist of?

8 Minute Read

Part 2 of SKUs!

Hello and welcome back to the wonderful world of SKUs! Today I wanted to touch a little more on of what we went over in the post from March 22nd. If you missed it, I recommend reading What is a SKU and Should You be Using Them? first, and then reading Part 2 (today’s post!) after you’re finished, as it will all make more sense.

So far we’ve gone over how I’ve managed to get my bin system in order (at least for the way I prefer it that is). So, today we will dive a little deeper into the rest of the “SKU,” and explain what the rest of it means. This is just my own personal system that I developed. If you plan to or are already making your own, do what works best for you! It doesn’t have to be exactly the same as mine, like I said previously, this is just what has worked best for me thus far.

Don’t shy away from changes! If you see something better, or more manageable, by all means please take that route instead! The point of having a SKU system to begin with, is to make your life easier and more efficient. Do what works for you!

What Does My Own SKU Consist Of?

My SKU’s will look something similar to this:

• NF – AG
• qD –
• AV – B
• JF – HG

This may look a bit confusing to you, but I can read it quickly and easily at this point. For awhile though, I had to refer to my charts to reference which letter meant what! This took a little time, so if you want to get faster at it, just study it a few times!

So, the first letter is my COG (cost of goods), the second letter is the month that I listed the item. Notice I say listed, not purchased. I used to note when it was purchased, but sometimes if I got behind in my inventory, and a big pile started stacking up, it could take me months to get to that item. If I ever wanted to go back and see by the SKU how long it took to sell, this would be skewed, lol, skew, sku…anyways! So instead, I started keeping track of the month I listed it rather than when it was bought.

Why the Hyphen?

The hyphen or dash in between, is simply to separate the two rows of letters. This makes it easier and quicker for me when glancing at it, to know which bin to go to, and I don’t have to sit there and go all googly eyed deciphering my cryptic message.

So, as you probably guessed, my third (and sometimes fourth) letters, are the bin letter that the item is in. I wasn’t the most organized in the beginning as I’ve mentioned before, so at times I’ll have EEE or AAA.

This is because instead of switching to AA, AB, AC, AD, AE, etc. after I ran out of bin space for BB, CC, DD, EE, FF…you get the point, I didn’t think about the ABCDEFG system. I recommend doing that instead of starting into triple letters, because one, it takes more space, and two, you’ll start getting googly eyed at that as well. Trust me from experience!

But wait! Why is one SKU different!?

Now, you may be saying to yourself, but the middle SKU above is listed without a bin letter! Yes, that’s correct. This is how I like to leave my SKU as if:

• I have an item that is too large for a bin, i.e., a large sweater, a coat, a pair of tall boots.
• If an item is hanging, or placed in a separate area because it has an awkward or large shape, i.e., plush or games.
• If an item is breakable, or to be placed on a shelf instead of a bin.

The last part I wanted to mention about the SKU, is the fourth bullet point above in the last section. The “bin” letters say, “HG.” Now, I definitely don’t have that much inventory yet, so I am not to the H’s. This makes it easy though, if a more awkward item is still small enough to fit in a bin, that I call “Hard Goods.” The abbreviation of course then “HG,” simply means, “Hard Goods.”

Related: What Exactly are “Hard Goods?”

Miscellaneous Items and Their Homes

Mostly, I resell clothing, shoes, of all styles and sizes. However, I do like to sell some other items, in other categories. These call for their own line of separate bins. I have one for each of the following:

• Plush
• Hard Goods
• Yarn
• Wooden
• Books
• Electronics
• Hats
• Accessories
• Jewelry
• Body/Face (creams, lotions, etc.)
• Belts

Yes, I really do have this many bins! I have one large shelf for these bins, which also houses my light box. Then, I have three other large shelving systems, for all of my clothing. I then use my two closets available to hang all of my coats and larger sweaters. And as for purses or bags of any kind, I have two hat racks they hang on.

Where Do I Keep These Lists?

So when I first started keeping these lists, I was trying to decide whether to write them down, or make them digital. Eventually I decided on keeping them in my phone, on my Wunderlist App. Now, if any of you have had this app, you’ll know that is now known as “To-Do.” It was able to convert all of my notes onto this new version, which is what I still use today.

Keeping it on my phone proved to be most convenient, especially since I work from multiple rooms in my home. And, it always helps to have it with me when I need it, and normally, we usually have our phones on us at all times!

I have 3 lists to be exact, one for COST, one for MONTH, and the third is an older, obsolete or optional one. It is for STORE/PLACE OF PURCHASE.

The third I used to use more often, but found it to not be as important for me anymore. It was definitely helpful in the beginning stages of my journey, as it helped me to determine which stores seemed to have better inventory for me to pick up. This is something I suggest doing as well if you are just starting out, it can be very helpful!

Will This Work for You?

Like I said earlier, this is just the system that has proved to work best for me over the last few years. It took a few trials and errors to develop, but I’m pleased to say that I can work with everything much easier now that I have an organized and kept up system.

Whether this exact system will work for you or not, is simply up to your judgement. If you’d like to try it out and see, let me know how it goes in the comments below! I’d love to hear all about what changes you made, or if you’re going to give it a go.

Thank you for reading and stopping by today! I hope everyone has had a beautiful and prosperous first quarter! Stay safe, healthy and happy my friends! Talk to you soon!

-Shelby

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