B-Stock expands its offerings to solve all your resale problems.

If you’re a professional in retail or manufacturing, you probably know how returns issues and excess inventory can impact your operations and bottom line. The reverse logistics processes required to get these items out of warehouses and distribution centers can include receiving, recataloging, inspection, repackaging, and transportation. Additionally, the traditional liquidators used by many organizations tend to rely on manual processes and are inflexible in the pricing or products they will accept. This means that you will need to develop and manage relationships with multiple brokers and wholesalers to keep excess inventory circulating. Depending on the size of your business, this could become a full-time job in itself.

All of these factors combine to make doing business so time-consuming and resource-intensive that many businesses may conclude that liquidation isn’t even worth the trouble. Unfortunately, this is when perfectly good items get thrown away or destroyed. Fortunately, there is a better way.

B-Stock has expanded its solutions to offer merchants a full suite of B2B recommerce solutions. We are proud to now offer the following services in addition to our traditional auction format:

• B stock futures market
• flash auction
• direct placement

Each of these has a unique purpose, making B-Stock the most powerful and versatile B2B recommerce platform on the market. Let’s take a closer look at each item.

spot market

This is something you may already be familiar with. Our flagship sales model, the auction-based spot market, can accommodate high volume returns, obsolescence, seasonal, slow-moving scratches and dents, or even inventory.

Once you know exactly what items you want to get out of your warehouse, submit that listing to B-Stock’s team of auction experts. Create a listing on your custom store for all qualified buyers to see, and set the auction to start at a predetermined time when bidding begins. After time expires and the highest bidder wins the lot, we raise funds and send a purchase order. Once you have arranged shipping with the buyer, payment will be released when the carrier notifies you that your order has been shipped.

So why use this model? There are several key benefits:

• Competition-Focused Recovery

Competition increases selling prices. This means the highest willingness to pay. When potential buyers find out in real time that their bid was higher, they often end up spending a little more than they intended, and bidding wars are always good for the bottom line.

You can move as much inventory as you need whenever you’re ready. No need to be tied to schedules or quotas. While it is clear that it is best to have a reputation as a reliable supplier of high-quality goods, there are no strict expectations for spot market solutions.

Our large global network of buyers means there will always be a buyer willing to pay top dollar for your items, and there will always be more waiting to fill that spot. The store is as open as you want it to be. Sell ​​to everyone or handpick only the people you want to bid on your items. You may also want to bring in your current clearing partner.

A lot of research and effort will be put into developing your brand and making sure your customers perceive you in a specific way: fun, trustworthy, classy, ​​sustainable, etc. However, as your products move through multiple layers of brokers, brokers, and other intermediaries, your products may start selling in places that don’t agree with your intended brand perception or customer experience. Additionally, depending on where your items arrive, you may be actively discouraging shoppers from purchasing new items from your website or preferred retail partners. B-Stock allows you to require buyers to sign agreements governing where and how you will sell your products to prevent the secondary market from encroaching on your primary sales channel.

We have a full listing team on staff to review, polish and publish your manifest prior to auction. These experts know what buyers want to see and, working with dedicated account managers who are your daily contacts, they’ll help you optimize your listings based on your business goals. Additionally, overall marketing is constantly working to build demand and attract additional relevant buyers.

futures market

While the auction model is easily scaled with all the efficiency-driven features and data-driven insights that B-Stock offers, the futures marketplace is designed with very specific use cases in mind. This solution allows high-volume brands and retailers, such as apparel suppliers who tend to rely on large discount store chains, to organize their inventory seamlessly, predictably and quickly by the truckload. This solution is ideal if your business has a stable inventory of the same type each month.

Our experts connect your organization with relevant buyers and then draw up a contract between the two parties that outlines the products to be sold, delivery schedule, price, and more. During the term of this Agreement, all transactions will be tracked through the Platform and our staff will assist you in the event of any dispute regarding this Agreement.

Specifically, the benefits of this model include:

Unsold and returned inventory has already been addressed before it becomes a problem. Please submit your inventory as soon as you have packaged your estimated items for shipping and we will notify the buyer as soon as possible. All terms are pre-negotiated, so from this point your stock will leave our warehouse within as short as 24-48 hours.

Pre-negotiated terms not only speed up the reverse logistics process, but also lock in the resale price. This means that the organization is guaranteed a known recovery rate over the life of the contract.

The standard term for a futures market contract is 12 months or longer, so you can be assured that most common surpluses will be paid out at least a year in advance. This is certainly a relief to any accounting department.

• Improved forecasting and resource management

Fixed pricing isn’t just about getting your cash back for peace of mind. The greatest value of this solution is the certainty it provides for planning purposes. Companies can order, market, forecast and budget with confidence without having to burden their carrying capacity with the same unsold inventory month after month.

The auction model is flexible and profitable, but requires several steps on the part of the seller. You don’t have to submit photos, optimize your draw, communicate with multiple bidders, plan logistics and shipping, or worry about payments. Bypassing these steps can result in much less stress for employees within your department.

Flash Auctions and Direct Selling

Sometimes circumstances mean you’re holding on to valuable, salable items that wouldn’t normally sell. Perhaps a workspace renovation, downsizing, consolidation or relocation has left you with a truckload of office furniture that’s perfectly fine and rarely used for your clothing business. Or, market anomalies, purchasing errors, or business experiments may leave you with several pallets of packaged food left in your outdoor store. Or, you may have a large, damaged device that needs to be removed as quickly as possible without straps.

To handle the occasional issue with these atypical and unexpected lots, you can take advantage of B-Stock’s flash auctions and direct sales.

When using the Flash Auction solution, you contact your account manager and let them know about any special, atypical, or one-off lots you would like to sell. Even if they don’t know where to start looking for buyers, they will quickly identify and approach a few relevant buyers and invite them to a very exclusive one-time auction.

On the other hand, our direct selling solutions with our account management team approach a single, qualified buyer with an offer to purchase part or all of a lot without the need for a contract or listing.

Although less common than spot or futures market solutions, these alternative sales models meet specific requirements, including:

Don’t want irregular or one-off lots that confuse or distract regular secondary market buyers? It’s not a problem. Items sold through flash auctions and direct sales will not appear in your public store unless you specifically request them, preserving your image and keeping your online presence uniform and clean.

• Access beyond the average buyer

Perhaps you don’t mind open, publicly visible auctions taking up space in your store. Regardless, you won’t attract the attention of interested buyers. Fortunately, our experts will know exactly where to find the demand for your lot.

• Complete sales in hours, not days

When you get stuck on something you don’t normally deal with, you feel like you can’t get rid of it fast enough. In this case, your account manager may suggest a flash auction. Since these events are only open to a small number of relevant buyers, there is pressure to act quickly and decisively to win the product within a narrow bidding window.

With a direct selling model, B-Stock representatives extend a standing offer on the product in question directly to certain qualified buyers. They can leisurely accept or make a counteroffer. Either way, there’s no need to close a deal without knowing exactly where your goods are going or what price you’ll get for them.

conclusion?

Regardless of the category, condition or quantity of your products (even if they are not in regular stock), B-Stock can advise you on the right combination of resale solutions to help your business succeed.

question? Want to know more? Contact us today.