Local Retail Leftovers

Local retail leftovers could potentially be free products for anyone resourceful enough to go looking for them and creative enough to acquire them. Unlike free stuff that you might get on Craigslist, these freebies won’t be used; they’ll be brand new.

Have you ever wondered what businesses do with inventory that doesn’t sell? What happens when products are returned; where do those products go? Have you ever walked into Ross and noticed price tags that say “Macy’s” on them? There is an established process in retail that is intended to keep a constant turnover of inventory. The process generally helps retailers keep inventory fresh and new, which leads to increased sales. Yet, it also creates opportunities for savvy freebie hunters.

The Retail Turnover Process That Makes Leftover Freebies Possible

Extreme Couponers are very familiar with the retail turnover process and seasonal sales cycles. They use this information to time the use of coupons effectively to get the highest discounts, and they can often get free stuff with coupons. Most coupon freebies are grocery items and coupons do not necessarily apply other products, such as clothes, tools, home appliances, electronics and other retail items. However, grocery stores are retailers and other retailers have a similar turnover process and the more we understand this process the more we could potentially find freebie opportunities.

If a local business has an item that hasn’t sold at retail price, then they’ll try to sell it at a discount. They may even include it in a promotion or store-wide sale. If the item still doesn’t sell, then they might move it to a clearance section. If it doesn’t sell as a clearance item, then they only have a few options left. But one thing is for sure, they can’t keep it. At that point the item has not only lost it’s money-making potential, it is also costing the store money, because another item in its place would sell and make a profit. They have to clear the shelf and fill it with something that will sell and hopefully keep selling. To get rid of this unsellable item they will either sell it to a second-hand store, donate it to a non-profit for a tax deduction, throw it away, or they’ll give it to you for free!

The amount of time that the store allows the item to sit on the shelf will depend on the store and it will also depend on the item or product. If the item has a an expiration date, sell-by date, or it’s made for a specific season then it will either go on sale or be given away after the date or season is over. However, the fact that the product has lost its money-making potential doesn’t mean the item isn’t useful anymore. There is a difference between a “sell-by” date and a “use-by” date. Also, products which are made for specific seasons will be useful again when the season comes the next year.

Obviously. leftover freebie opportunities are kept secret. The last thing retailers need is for customers to believe that they can get anything they want for free. They don’t want non-employees roaming where only employees are allowed. Some may even have locks on their dumpsters to prevent dumpster divers from picking up merchandise that has been thrown away. Some retailers have industrial shredders that will completely destroy the inventory that is unsold or returned.

On one occasion I was speaking with a former employee of a large retailer of tools, home and garden supplies. I already had suspicions that much of this process is occurring so I asked him specifically what they did with products that didn’t sell. He said that most of the time they marked it down to a penny and then threw it away. This was confirmed by a manager of a local branch, but she mentioned that she also tried to donate the tools to non-profits whenever she could. If you knew the name of this retailer you’d certainly recognize it. However I can’t say which one it is because I promised I wouldn’t. And yes, this retailer often has locks on their dumpsters.

Throwing products away or destroying them may seem wasteful, but out of a long history of evolved policies, retailers have to do this to make money. If they don’t make money then what happens to all the people they employ or the communities that they serve? And consider how wasteful and inconsiderate consumers can be. For instance, return fraud cost retailers over $8.9 billion in 2012.

Even when they give inventory away to individuals or non-profits, the recipients often have to sign a non-disclosure or promise that they won’t mention it to others. They especially can’t disclose store names or brand names if they are selling the items. The stores don’t want to build a reputation that might attract scavengers and ultimately draw away actual customers.

How Can I Get Free Stuff from Retail Leftovers?

Initially, obtaining retail leftovers will seem impossible. It’s never obvious where to find them and most retailers will not respond well if you just seem like a scavenger looking for a handout. They do have other options besides giving the merchandise to you. If they can sell it second hand to other retailers they will try that first to recover any lost profit. If you’re willing to start your own retail operation and pay for the merchandise, then this could be a decent wholesale resource. Yet, there is plenty of excess for these freebies to exist.

The easiest and most discrete method of obtaining these freebies is to dumpster dive the dumpsters of local retailers. While some will have locks, others won’t. Don’t break into any enclosed or locked structures. That would be illegal. Be smart and courteous about this.

In any other case besides dumpster diving, obtaining these freebies will require that you have the nerve to ask for it. But the way in which you ask will be key. Store owners and branch managers are busy at work. If they are particularly busy they won’t want to talk. If you can get them to talk, then you must explain how giving you the merchandise would be valuable to them. They may simply agree not to be wasteful and concede to give you stuff. But perhaps you could be helpful by offering to clear the space for free. That way they don’t have to pay employees to move stuff or prepare it for shipping to another location.

If the retailer is part of a larger corporation, then it’s less likely they’ll be able to do anything for you. A branch manager may or may not have enough authority to decide what happens with products that don’t sell. However, if the store is smaller, more local, or owned by a single owner, then the decision-maker will have more flexibility to decide what happens.

You’ll also have better chances with products that have an expiration date. An expiration date is the reason why dumpster divers frequently find food products when “diving”. The expiration date means it can’t be sold, it doesn’t mean it’s lost all value or that it can’t be used, and there are other products besides groceries that have an expiration date. For example, mulch is sold fresh at home and garden stores. When it’s a day old it’s disposed. Yet, day-old mulch can still grow and you can possibly get it for free. Other products that expire include “freshly-baked” bagels, and unsold pizza at closing hour.

One of the most frequent obstacles you may encounter is the store employees. After all, they work there, so they are probably the first to know when something is offered for free. I’ve never known a pizza delivery guy that didn’t come with a pizza most nights of the week. Yet, this could also make employees a valuable resource if you can figure out ways to make them your networking partner. You must also be willing to settle for items that aren’t necessarily the best items, the name brand, or the newest, most popular items. These are the items that generally don’t sell.

How can you jump the hurdle of second hand stores? That’s an easy one, go to the second hand stores, surplus supply stores, the liquidations stores, and so on to see if they have any leftovers. It’s possible that there is a chain of second stores that buy merchandise from each other in sequence. However, if you’re going to the second hand store directly, then it’s more likely that they’ll give items away instead of trying to sell them second hand, or second hand again (would that be third hand?).

After the option of selling the merchandise second hand, the next best option for the retailer is to donate it to a non-profit for a tax-deduction. While a for-profit entity would be expected to pay for the merchandise, a non-profit would more likely receive it for free. Therefore, the most likely way to obtain these freebies is to establish your own non-profit. I know of at least one non-profit who regularly gets merchandise from local retailers and sells it as a method of fund raising.

You could also potentially find freebies by going to non-retail organizations who may still have turnover from upgrades or re-supply. For example, a local school may upgrade their computers every 3 years. If they do, then you might be able to get some 3-year-old computers for free.