Turn Your Back-to-School Surplus into Cash

Summer’s drawing to a close, and for most retailers, the back-to-school rush has already come and gone, leaving them wondering what to do with their overstock school supplies, from laptops to clothing. A recent Forbes article estimated that parents will spend nearly $1,000 per child on school supplies this year, and most of them will not spend that entire amount at once. This means the buyers are still out there, but where? How do you best connect with them?

Reach Buyers Through Secondary Marketplaces

Thanks to a steady stream of media coverage from respected outlets such as The Washington Post, Las Vegas Review-Journal, Money Magazine, and more, secondary online marketplaces are quickly becoming go-to sources for buyers of bulk school supplies and savings-conscious parents. By making your goods available on these marketplaces, you can capture your share of this market and turn your overstock school supplies into cash.

Select the Right Marketplace

Generally, you can sell your overstock goods in bulk through B2B online channels or direct sales, or as individual items through B2C marketplaces. Which channels should you choose? It depends on your items and goals, but often a mix of channels is best. For high-value items such as tablets and smartphones, B2C channels help you capture the highest percentage of recovery for individual items. For lower-value items like apparel or notebooks, selling them by the truck or palletload through B2B marketplaces or direct sales is often the best route to maximize total recovery.

Find the Right Buyers

Whichever online marketplace you select, make sure it’s committed to promoting your items through multichannel marketing efforts. These can include organic and paid search advertising, custom email marketing to a proprietary buyer database, social media, and targeted online advertising.

Getting Started

To learn more about selling your surplus inventory on the secondary market, read our ebook, How to Sell Your Surplus Inventory. This ebook provides a proven guide to help you sell your overstock goods.

Or contact us for more information on how we can help you with your surplus assets.