The liquidator is trying to minimize overall cost and maximize overall sales. They probably don’t have the time, energy, or manpower to do a micro-level cost-benefit analysis on each SKU in inventory.
The liquidator owns all the merchandise; if the original buyer (say, Borders or Circuit City) had an easy-returns arrangement with the wholesaler/distributor, it no longer applies. (The arrangement was probably for credit towards future purchases anyway!) So trying to sell it back would be difficult, hence costly, and would certainly be at much worse terms than the product was sold originally – now the wholesaler/distributor has to sell it again at the standard discount!
I was a manager at a Borders that went through liquidation. The guy who ran our liquidation – and it was one guy for a $4 million store, with a nicotine-stained moustache and a flip-phone, one step up from a carney or telemarketer – gave some attention to a few high-end/high-demand inventory (or fixtures), but only insofar as displaying them prominently to sell them as quickly as possible before the discounts dropped.
I’m still using Irish Spring that I bought in 2011 to take with me when I moved to China. Proportionally the amount of money that my company spent on containers moving them back and forth across the Pacific is probably more than the value of the soap.
I still have some hot pepper sauce and some canned chiles as a result of that “prepper” purchase, and some deodorant, too, I think.
While I understand you, we’re doing math based on the assumption that somebody uses 3 bars of soap in a month, therefore, in 10 months will have used 30 bars. Obviously, this example does not apply to you and would not be a good purchase. Pick whatever low-cost, non-perishable item you use multiples of in a month for your own example. And, yes, if you have to ship shit around, you can account for that, too.
I personally would just buy stuff that I actually need and use, and not care about expensive vs inexpensive items, as most likely my truly “need” items that are used constantly are going to be low-to-mid-priced ones, like pantry staples and cleaning supplies. I can easily rack up a couple hundred dollars worth of those items at 40% off and actually use them and justify them vs. big ticket items, which are more likely to be on my “want” but not “need” side.
Purchase dry goods that are highly discounted, and then donate to a local food bank. You get a tax write off, the food bank gets lots and lots of paper towels and feminine hygiene products. Sure, you’re not actually saving money, but everyone in happy at the end.
Our grocery store has a closeout/whatever area.* Just a couple months ago a whole lot of stuff appeared there. Not just on the shelves but stacked up in carts. Later I overheard one employee ask another if all this stuff was from the store that was shut down who confirmed it.
Some of the stuff is still there. Wonder when they’ll finally just toss it.
Anyway … they do move stuff from a closing grocery store to another. But the OP involved a whole chain shutting down so not much of an option.
I browse it but rarely find anything worthwhile, even at a discount. In this case, though, Mrs. FtG bought a bunch of canned stuff for her soups.
With all such seeming “deals,” it’s a matter of knowing what you really use, knowing what is perishable, and knowing what it really sells for.
I rarely bother to go to Going Out Of Business sales anymore, because as a couple of people already said above, most of them are essentially fake. The most valuable and least perishable merchandise that the store USED TO sell, was already returned for partial credit to it’s source vendor. Only returned items with damage were left. And having to dig through the TONS of garbage that the professional liquidators trucked in, to find the rare actual bargain, wasn’t worth the cost to me in time and exhaustion.
