Beauty product liquidation without damaging your brand

In health and beauty, brand protection is the main thing sellers worry about. A cosmetics or fragrance brand spends years building a price point and a counter presence. One badly placed parcel of cheap stock can undo that in a month. So the question sellers ask us isn't just "what will you pay?" It's also "where will it end up?"

We have been buying and selling excess stock for over 30 years, including cosmetics, hair care, personal care, fragrance and gift sets. We buy the parcel ourselves and resell it through our own network, and we place it where you tell us it can go.

What health and beauty stock do you buy?

We buy most cosmetic, personal care and fragrance lines, in any quantity:

• Fragrance: perfumes, gift sets, testers and vials
• Cosmetics and skincare: make-up, body butters, lotions and balms
• Hair care: shampoo and conditioner
• Personal care: toothpaste, razors and blades, nappies and baby care
• Gift sets: bath and body, grooming and baby gift boxes
• Health lines: vitamins, fish oil and pharmacy items

We buy from brand owners, distributors, importers, retailers and administrators and liquidators, anywhere in Australia, New Zealand and overseas.

What makes beauty stock easier or harder to sell?

The date, the condition of the packaging, and whether the labelling suits the destination market all matter.

Packaging condition is valued more highly here than in most categories. A dented box of washing powder still sells. A perfume with a torn cello or a scuffed box loses a lot of its appeal, because the buyer's customer is often buying a gift. Photograph the packaging honestly.

Dates matter more than people expect. Many personal care and health lines carry expiry dates. One parcel we handled included Sinoclear, ovulation tests, fish oil and vitamin D, with dates ranging across more than a year. Buyers looked at each line separately. That's normal, and it's why a list with a date against every line helps. See our page on short-dated stock.

Health products can carry extra rules. Vitamins, medical tests and other therapeutic goods have their own regulatory requirements. We don't give regulatory advice. Check with your own adviser what applies before stock is sold on.

How do beauty brands protect their brand when clearing stock?

You set the rules before we buy, and we follow them. That's our first guarantee: "We strictly follow your guidelines in relation to pricing and distribution locations." The fourth matters just as much here: "We speedily and discreetly convert your stock into cash at the highest possible price, without damaging your market position."

Here's how that usually works for a beauty brand:

1. You name the no-go channels. That might be particular retailers, pharmacy groups, regions or online marketplaces.
2. We choose the buyer to suit. Overseas buyers, discount chains, charities and wholesalers each want different things. We match the parcel to a buyer who doesn't compete with your regular trade.
3. Export where it fits. Sending the stock offshore takes it out of your home market altogether.
4. Repackaging or de-branding is possible if you ask for it, for example breaking up gift sets so the branded box never reaches a discount shelf.
5. We stay discreet. We survey the market quietly, without broadcasting your brand or your problem.

We go into this in more detail in our guide to protecting your brand when clearing stock. If you want to know who the buyers actually are, read who buys excess stock in Australia.

What should I send you?

A stock list spreadsheet and photos let us start the market survey straight away. For health and beauty, include:

1. SKU, product name, shade or scent, and size
2. Quantity for each line, and the carton configuration
3. Expiry or best-before date for each line or batch
4. Cost or RRP, if you're happy to share
5. Photos of the front and back of the pack, the outer cartons and any damage
6. Testers and samples, listed separately
7. Location of the stock
8. Your rules: channels, regions or price floors to respect

Collection is flexible and agreed per parcel.

Real health and beauty parcels we've handled

These are real parcels. Pricing stays confidential.

• 17,000 perfumes plus 7,000 vials, covering 9 brands and 130 different items.
• Premium gift set overstocks from an online gift company: body butters, balms, grooming kits and baby gift boxes.
• A variety parcel of toothpaste, nappies and feeding bottles, including over 10,000 units of toothpaste and over 1,400 packs of nappies.
• Sinoclear, ovulation tests, fish oil and vitamin D. We offered to split this pharmacy parcel where the quantities were too large for one buyer.

The gift set parcel shows something useful. Sets often aren't complete by the end of the season, with more of one item than another. Buyers can still use the individual items, and some put together their own gift boxes.

What are the alternatives?

There are other options, and sometimes they suit better.

• Staff sales work for small quantities and keep everything in-house.
• Donation is a good fit for sound personal care. Programs such as GIVIT match donated goods to people who need them.
• Online marketplaces move small lots but put discounted stock right in front of your customers.
• Selling the parcel to us gives you one offer, prompt payment as agreed, and your channel rules followed.

When you're ready, send us your stock list or call John on 0411 430 047.