Liquidator or sealed bids: which excess inventory buyer pays you more?
A liquidator gives you one number, and you have no second number to set it against. With sealed bids several screened buyers place a bid at the same time without seeing each other's, and you decide beforehand who may take part and where the goods may and may not be sold. The difference comes down to three things: price (competition between buyers pushes the bid up), control (you choose channel and country) and information (you see how many buyers there are and what they offer). Below is how each works, what each pays, and the ten questions to ask any buyer before you say yes.
How a liquidator prices
Liquidators, jobbers and stock traders buy for their own account and resell, usually within weeks. They price in one of three ways:
| Method | How it works | Indication | For which stock |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per kilo | Weighed, regardless of brand or size; often goes to export or kiloware | Agree a rate per kilo; divide by the actual units per kilo to compare per-unit prices | Condition B and C, remnants, no brand value left |
| Per unit | Fixed price per unit per category | Agree a rate per unit for the actual category and condition | Mixed lots, broken size runs |
| Percentage of cost or RRP | State both the percentage and its base: cost price or recommended retail price | State both the percentage and its base: cost price or recommended retail price | Branded stock, condition A |
Per kilo
- How it works
- Weighed, regardless of brand or size; often goes to export or kiloware
- Indication
- Agree a rate per kilo; divide by the actual units per kilo to compare per-unit prices
- For which stock
- Condition B and C, remnants, no brand value left
Per unit
- How it works
- Fixed price per unit per category
- Indication
- Agree a rate per unit for the actual category and condition
- For which stock
- Mixed lots, broken size runs
Percentage of cost or RRP
- How it works
- State both the percentage and its base: cost price or recommended retail price
- Indication
- State both the percentage and its base: cost price or recommended retail price
- For which stock
- Branded stock, condition A
The liquidator takes the risk off your hands and wants to be paid for that. That is legitimate. The problem is not the liquidator; the problem is that you have no second bid, no view of what happens after the sale, and no way to say "Poland yes, the Netherlands no".
How sealed bids work
- Your lot goes on the platform with category, quantities, sizes, condition, photos and the conditions: which buyer groups (own stores with label, physical outlets, EU wholesale, online outlets, outside the EU, by the kilo), which countries, and whether an online price may become visible.
- Only buyers who meet those conditions see that the lot exists. Your brand name stays hidden. Every buyer has been checked by the Unworn team before their first lot.
- Buyers bid within a fixed window, without seeing each other's bid. You see every bid, including the payment terms each buyer proposes.
- You accept, or you do not. Only on acceptance does that one buyer learn who you are. The buyer pays through a protected payment (the payment institution) and the goods are released once the money is in.
The marketing example with four bids between €13,600 and €16,200 illustrates a spread of about 19 percent. It is an example, not evidence of a realised transaction or proof that multiple bids always produce a higher price.
The difference in one table
When a liquidator is still the better choice
For small quantities or an urgent sale, a direct buyer can be practical. Compare the actual timing, net price and agreements. A trusted existing buyer may already be the right route; there is no fixed minimum quantity that makes one route better.
Checklist: ten questions for any buyer
- 01In which countries will you sell this?
- 02Through which channels: own stores, marketplaces, wholesale, export?
- 03Will an online price become visible, and if so where?
- 04Does my label stay in or come out?
- 05Do you resell to other traders, and do my conditions travel with the goods?
- 06How is the price built up: per kilo, per unit, percentage?
- 07When is payment made and how is it secured?
- 08Who arranges and pays transport, and from which moment is the risk yours?
- 09Do I get a document stating what happens to the lot?
- 10What happens if part of the lot does not match the list?
If a buyer will not answer questions 1 to 4, you know enough.
Frequently asked questions
A trader who buys lots of goods for their own account and resells them, usually to outlets, marketplaces or exporters. Also called a liquidator, jobber or stock buyer. The buyer takes on the risk and earns the difference.
A bidding round in which several buyers submit a bid at the same time without seeing each other's, within a fixed window, after which the seller can accept the best bid or decline them all.
No. The brand receives the full accepted bid. The buyer pays a premium on top of the bid, falling from 10 percent to 5 percent as the order grows.
Every buyer is checked by the Unworn team before their first lot, on company details, business type and channels. Buyers who sell outside the agreed conditions are removed from the platform.
Always. A bidding round commits you to nothing.