Start from market value, not cost
Cost price is what you paid. Market value is what a wholesale or discount channel will pay you today. They are almost never the same number, and for clearance stock the gap is usually large.
A useful mental model: a professional clearance buyer pays a percentage of recoverable trade value, not RRP. Recoverable trade value depends on condition, shelf life, channel access, season, and the next buyer in the chain.
The five factors that drive your number
Every offer ultimately comes back to five questions:
- Category — is there an active resale market for this product type?
- Condition — new sealed, like-new, mixed grades, customer returns?
- Shelf life — for FMCG, anything under 6 months trades at a steep discount
- Channel restrictions — can the buyer resell on UK marketplaces, or are they boxed in?
- Volume and consolidation — mixed pallets are slower to move than a clean, single-SKU lot
Why brand and channel control matter
If the brand owner restricts where stock can be resold, the pool of buyers shrinks. That isn't a bad thing — channel-safe resale routes exist and are often the best way to clear premium brands without damaging RRP positioning. But it does affect price.
Be upfront about channel restrictions when you request a valuation. A serious buyer will offer a higher price when they know they can resell through their best route, and a lower one when they have to work inside tighter constraints.
Setting realistic expectations
If you have a stock list with cost price of £100,000 and an RRP of £200,000, the clearance value will almost always be a small fraction of cost — frequently in the 8–20% range, sometimes higher for fast-moving branded lines and lower for old-season fashion or obsolete electronics.
The fastest way to get an accurate number is to send a clean stock list with quantities, condition and location, and a few representative photos. Two-line emails get two-line answers.