How to Free Up Warehouse Space from Bulky Home Goods Inventory

For retailers, warehouse space is at a premium. Every precious square foot can be used to house goods that will make you money or store out of season or customer returned inventory. Smart sellers understand that warehouse inventory that isn’t moving is wasteful and will drag the business down. And when it comes to large, bulky home goods inventory that isn’t selling and taking up too much space? That’s a problem.

If your business primarily deals with small items like cell phone accessories or jewelry, warehouse inventory management is a little easier. These products don’t take up too much space and offer a decent markup, so even if they’re not moving quickly enough, it may be okay to hang on to them for a while.

But if you sell large appliances, furniture, or other bulky home goods inventory items, quickly moving products through your warehouse becomes very important. Excess bulky stock does more than just take up space. It also makes it more difficult for you to access the products that are selling, slowing down the process.

Don’t think it’s a big deal? Read up on the woes of Loves Furniture, a furniture seller that filed for bankruptcy after only a year in business, largely due to warehousing and logistical failures. As a retailer, how do you avoid these warehouse problems while still maintaining a healthy inventory? Let’s start by looking at the types of home goods inventory that can really clog up your warehouse.

Bulk Home Goods Inventory

Cute little boutique home goods shops that sell throw pillows, vases, and wall hangings are great. But if you’re really in the home furnishings business, you’re going to need a lot of inventory space. Home furnishings are some of the largest inventory items in retail. Here are some of the biggest home goods inventory items that may be clogging up your warehouse and slowing down logistics:

Furniture

Just one sectional sofa can take up a lot of space alone. Having it in stock in several colors and configurations means you’re going to have to devote a lot of warehouse space.

Appliances

Think refrigerators, ovens, and dishwashers. Not only are these items bulky, but they are also really heavy.

Consumer Electronics

While pocket-sized is big in some electronics categories, it’s not a one size fits all. If you want to sell large screen televisions, you’re going to need a lot of space.

Exercise Equipment

Come January 1st each year, retailers all over the country want to get in on the fitness space. If you don’t have a lot of warehouse space, stick with yoga mats and resistance bands and skip the treadmills, connected bikes, and weight benches.

Garden and Outdoor Goods

Grills, playhouses, patio furniture, riding lawnmowers, and plenty of other outdoor goods can take up a lot of space in your warehouse if you’re not careful with inventory management. Furniture takes up a lot of space, so you don’t want to hold too much of it in your inventory. But how do you know what stock level is appropriate for your business? To calculate this, you’ll need to ask two questions.

• How long does it take to get new inventory sent to your warehouse?
• How many units can you reasonably expect to sell in that time frame?

If you’re storing a year’s worth of inventory and it only takes a few weeks to replace it, you need to rethink your warehouse and inventory levels.

Free Up Warehouse Space with Liquidations Auctions

So what do you do with excess bulky home goods inventory that’s just taking up space? Whether it’s furniture, appliances,  or home and garden goods, letting it sit around and clog up your warehouse is a bad idea. Dumping it in a landfill will free up warehouse real estate, but you won’t get any return on your investment and it’s incredibly injurious to the environment. You could also sell it off in bulk to a few of your liquidation contacts, but you’re also just accepting the price your contacts are willing to pay. What’s a retailer to do?

Fortunately, there’s a great way to unload vast amounts of unwanted inventory of all sorts while keeping it out of landfills and recouping some of the capital you invested. Liquidations auctions can help you clear out warehouse space quickly while getting you the highest recovery for your excess goods.

In a liquidation auction, you don’t have to sell individual items. Instead, unload that excess inventory by the truckload to clear out space quickly. Or set up LTL (less than truckload) auctions if you don’t have as much dead stock to clear out.

Not to mention, the online auction format means buyers will compete for your products, driving the price up. Partner with an experienced online auction platform like B-Stock and you’ll gain access to a global network of vetted, business buyers waiting to bid on your goods along with auction strategy and the expertise you need to get the most return on each auction lot.

Want to learn more about liquidating your excess and bulk home goods inventory with B-Stock? Start with our handy sellers’ guide, then request a demo so we can help you explore the possibilities.