Stretch Your Marketing Budget with Closeout Promotional Products

If you are nearing the end of your fiscal year, chances are you are reviewing your product sales and business strategies in 2016 to determine what worked and what needs improvement. The same is true for promotional products companies. As factories examine their inventory, many promotional items will appear on closeout lists - offering substantial savings to savvy shoppers.

There are many factors that can cause an item to be placed on clearance. It rarely means that the product is flawed or not valuable as a promotional product. Which means a huge opportunity for you to stock up on some great items at a steal. In fact,  here are a few examples or the most common reasons items become closeout deals.

Individual Colors

Some colors do not sell as robustly as others, so items in certain colors may be placed on closeout while other colors are not. For instance, this cooler/lunch bag is a popular item, especially in the colors of royal, red, and lime. The orange and purple bags did not sell as well, and 50 pieces in these two colors can be purchased at $2.75 each versus the regular price of $6.56. That's a savings of 57% and could be the perfect fit for your company and your budget!

This popular 5" X 7" portfolio is staying in the regular line in certain colors for $5.93 each, but you can purchase orange, red, or lime for just $2.45 each. 

Fabrication Changes

This pullover hooded sweatshirt was offered in 80% cotton/20% polyester material. It is now replaced with a 50% cotton/50% polyester style. The style on clearance can be purchased at only $11.75 each with a one color screen imprint, far below the price for the replacement style. NOTE: Closeouts in garments often have a limited size or color availability so make sure you can get what you need before committing.

Changing Technology

When Apple announced that their latest phone will not accommodate plug-in headphones, some headphone styles with plug-in jacks have gone onto closeout. This retractable ear bud is still very usable by most phone owners and would be a welcome gift. Now on clearance at only $1.89 each, from its original price of $3.76 each, this is a very affordable and useful item for your clients.

Inventory Considerations

• Excess Inventory: some items are put on temporary clearance to get the inventory levels to a more acceptable level from a financial standpoint. 
• Canceled Orders: it doesn't happen often, but there have been cases where an order for a custom-designed item or a commitment for a large quantity of a stock item gets canceled and the product ends up in Closeouts. 

It is true that most items on clearance are slow sellers, but that doesn't mean that they are not worthy of your consideration. By considering closeouts, you can stretch your budget by checking out the various options. 

For help with closeout items that will both enhance your marketing efforts while saving you money, contact me at 847-398-5500 or dona.blunt@newportpros.com.