Vendors that provide retailers with a platform for online ordering are often able to offer us timely access to closeouts. This is so much better for us, as their loyal customers, than having these items show up at a TJ Maxx or other discount outlet.  We also appreciate knowing that when we order online directly from a vendor, or through a sales agency’s website, our sales reps usually get credit.

There are several advantages to bargain shopping from your vendors. The first is that you can make a nice extra margin on some products you would normally carry anyway. Blending sale items in at full price with other items from the same line provides some financial cushion when you need to mark other merchandise down on clearance.

We often give our customers the opportunity to get a bargain while still getting full markup ourselves. If an item usually costs $10.00 wholesale, and we buy it for $5.00, we will mark it with a white price tag at $20.00 and then add a red sale sticker for $10.95. If the savings is substantial, we will buy a quantity of sale goods to put aside to add some sizzle to our twice-a-year clearance sales. The selection of markdowns looks better if it’s not all odds and ends.

I’m always on the lookout for very low priced items to give away as a promotion or donation. I recently ordered several dozen dog-themed Swedish dishcloths for $1.00 each, and offered them to a K9 rescue organization for their special event. We use items bought on sale as prizes in our First Friday on Monroe Street spin-the-wheel game.

Our email blasts often feature a free gift to the first customers to come in and ask for one. I look for items that have a wide appeal, and usually also a seasonal tie-in. Popular options have included socks or kitchen towels purchased for $1.00 to $2.00. We find it especially helpful when our vendors allow sorting by price in their clearance lists, which makes it easy to find these very low cost items.

Faire provides companies with the option of offering sale goods, although you need to look individually at each company’s page to see whether they do this. We find it useful to receive an email alert from a Faire vendor letting us know that new closeout list available. This is also a valuable service offered by sales reps for their lines.

A bargain is of course only a good deal if it fits with your merchandise mix, and is of first quality. Bear in mind that whether you sell or give away your discounted finds, in the consumer’s eyes they are part of your store’s brand image.

Happy retailing, 

Carol “Orange” Schroeder