Working With A Closeout Company

I wanted to expand a bit more about the types of things you should look for when choosing a company to handle your overstocks.

Again, I want to say that I believe in competition. At DVA, we have to earn our stripes every day with our customers.

But having been in this business over 25 years, I’ve seen a lot of people have bad experiences before they come to us.

So, from someone who knows…here are a few things to ponder when you are choosing a company to work with on your closeouts and inventory issues:

-Make sure the company you work with will take all of your inventory.

You may talk to people who are interested in your product but claim they can’t handle the volume that you have. Believe me when I say this will cause you more trouble in the long run. You will still have half (or more) of your inventory on hand and will need to complete the sale process twice. In the meantime, you’re paying the costs of storing the rest of your inventory.

-Make sure that whoever you work with will pay 100% cash in advance.

I talked about this in my previous post, but just want to reiterate it. Any company that claims to be able to handle your closeouts should be able to cover the deal in cash. For legitimate companies, this should not be an issue. You will be amazed at the excuses people come up with for not paying you – but believe me you don’t want to hear them.

-Ask them to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)

A lot of companies get nervous when asked to sign anything. A Non-Disclosure is a pretty simple document. It won’t inhibit anybody’s business. And, if the company is willing to sign an NDA without hesitation, it shows that they respect your business and appreciate the issues you face. That is someone you would want to work with again.

-Get a contract.

I feel like I don’t really need to say this to most people. It’s pretty obvious. Anything that you want to be sure of you should get in writing. One of the benefits of a solid contract in our industry is that you can include a DO NOT SELL list that specifies any retail channels that you don’t want your product placed in. Any reputable company will be willing to include this in your contract.

If you have any questions about any of these points or would like to discuss your particular situation, please feel free to contact me directly.