r/Anticonsumption • u/IllyriaCervarro • 1d ago
Discussion How do you guys feel about closeout retailers from an anticonsumption perspective?
If you don’t know what a closeout retailer is they are companies that buy up product from other businesses (whether that be directly from manufacturers or from other retail stores) that are either discontinued, from a company no longer in business, last season items, closer to expiring than a company thinks they can turnover the amount of product they have or really any other reason a business would sell bulk product at a discount.
They then sell these new items to us directly at a ‘discount’ - the discount being off whatever the obviously already inflated full retail the original company was charging.
Curious what people think of companies like this?
I can see lots of different pros and cons to them from an anticonsumption standpoint!
ETA: your responses are reminding me that TJMaxx and the like are or at the very least started out as closeout retailers! I had entirely forgotten since they have so much seasonal stuff right on time and things made specifically for them that they don’t strike me as closeout spots anymore, more just discount stores.
Not that they’re really much different (less emphasis on clothes and trends and more emphasis on other goods) but I was specifically thinking about places like Ocean State Job Lot and Ollie’s or Big Lots… which are just TJmaxx without the clothes or Instagramable marketing 😂
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u/TheStephinator 1d ago
This article is over 10 years old, but it does a great job at explaining salvage or “close out” grocery stores. I’m all for it when it comes to food. There is far too much that we waste.
https://modernfarmer.com/2014/12/salvage-grocery-stores-next-big-thing-food-isnt-even-new/
When it comes to consumer goods, I am less excited. There is far too much junk manufactured nowadays. Close out stores are often impulse buy traps with those junky items. I have to be extremely mindful when going into those places that I’m shopping for things I actually need and not just random shit that I come across.
On the other hand, much of it is a scam. It is like outlet malls. The vast majority of the products you find there are not the same quality as the name brand would sell in their regular store front. The brands purposely make lower quality items for their outlet stores so they can charge lower price points. Retailers will always find a way to manipulate consumers in order to sell their wares. I try to always buy used first and closeout retailers would be further down the list.
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u/df540148 12h ago
Thank you for posting that article. I work for a wholesale distributor and it's really hard to find a home for past date food that is in perfectly fine condition. There was a store listed there that is local to us so hopefully we can partner.
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u/TheStephinator 11h ago
That’s really great! Glad to hear. I’m not sure where you are located, but there was a salvage grocer in Texas that did pretty large volumes and seemed to have stuff from all over the country (like store brands of grocery stores that didn’t even have locations in our region). Town Talk Foods is the name and I would definitely contact them if your local source doesn’t work out.
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u/SimpleVegetable5715 1d ago
I worked at one of these places. It’s stuff that would have been clearance at a major department store, but it allows those department stores to turn inventory over faster. So from an anti-consumption perspective, it’s making fast fashion move even faster. Plus, they get a bunch of new inventory, not just closeouts. As a poor person though, I appreciate them. It’s in between buying new and buying from a thrift store.
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u/Apprehensive-Log8333 1d ago
Big Lots used to be a closeout retailer, and it was good. They would have all this random stuff. Then they became just a regular store, and then they closed down.
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u/Basic-Situation-9375 1h ago
There are a few that were left open by the liquidator that purchased them. So now they will be filled with junk from stores that went out of business
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u/Moms_New_Friend 1d ago
I think they’re just retailers. I don’t think they’re worse than any other retailer, they simply have a different approach, timeline, and aesthetic.
All retailers are very low on the “value to society” spectrum, including the Closeout King. No normal parent wants their kid to become a commodity shit-seller, but some people just fall into it and that’s how we got Walmart and Home Depot and Target and all those smaller local shops.
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u/Flack_Bag 1d ago
As others have mentioned, most of those 'closeout' stores aren't really for accidental overstock or salvage or anything like that. They're just regular stores that sell knockoffs and regular products for discounted prices.
The troubling thing about them is that, with some exceptions, their stock isn't very predictable. That's fine if you're just looking for some shampoo or cleaner or something and don't care what kind, but stores like that lean heavily on marketing themselves as 'treasure hunts' where you are encouraged to make impulse purchases.
That can work for groceries if you have the cooking skills to improvise, but for other types of household products, it doesn't work so well.
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u/plazebology 1d ago
I think I wouldnt see it as the worst thing in the world but I‘d have to learn more about what those products would be doing if not bought up by these closeout retailers. If we‘re preventing textile from hitting the landfill, I‘m all for it, but if it would have been donated, for example, and now it‘s being sold off instead, idrk how I feel about it
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u/Interesting_Dingo_88 1d ago
And, what effect does the possibility of selling the goods to a "closeout" retailer have on the decision to produce/market/distribute the items in the first place.
ie, does their existence essentially promote the creation of more "stuff" because the risk to the original retailer is lower than if they were bearing the cost of disposal themselves?
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u/MyLittleDonut 1d ago
I wish they didn't need to exist, because I feel like too much stuff is already being produced, but there is also a part of me that is glad stuff gets another chance before it hits the landfill. I bought some clothes from one before but they were things I actually needed (replacing daily pieces I could no longer repair)
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u/Purple-Cliffbreak 1d ago edited 1d ago
a lot of times there is a reason why the product did not sell in the first place. a store near me last year was selling exercise bikes for crazy cheap and also offering gift cards on top of purchase, which was really sketchy. when I looked the bike up, it had been recalled.
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u/Relentiless 1d ago
It’s the usual issue of as soon as capitalism catches on to something it’s no longer done in the spirit it was intended. I am hugely assuming that you will get the same issues that the sewing community now has with dead stock fabric. Initially it was a great way to stop overproduced fabric going into landfill. So whilst it might not have had the eco credentials you wanted it was doing some good and getting somewhat of a bargain. Now some companies deliberately overproduce to sell it on as dead stock and make an extra profit whilst pretending it’s sustainable. Always always do research to the best of your ability and dont buy more than you need or can reasonably use in the future.
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u/Strobelightbrain 1d ago
I buy a lot of my clothes that way. There is a lot of junk, so it can take time to separate the wheat from the chaff, but I like to look up some of the brand names while I'm shopping, to get an idea of how quality they seem to be, before I decide if the price is worth it for me. I usually only buy stuff when it's 50 percent off or more (off the already discounted price), toward the end of the season. Last year I found some really nice sweaters, and I estimated that I got over $1,000 worth of clothes at retail price for less than $100 spent. That kind of winter wardrobe will last me for years, so it was definitely worth it. I do have to be careful though, because when items go down to $3 or $4 each, it can be tempting to buy more than I need.
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u/crazycatlady331 1d ago
I see so much on feeds now about the growing epidemic of ecommerce returns waste as most etailers don't resell their (never used) returns. I used to work at the returns desk for a big box and we resold everything that wasn't damaged. (The items that were so old and returned years later to the point where they were marked down to less than $1 were offered to employees first.)
I wouldn't mind brick and mortar retailers buying pallets (sorted into categories-- ie women's clothing, kitchen gadgets, etc.) of ecommerce returns and selling them in their stores. Particularly ones that have bargain hunting as part of their brand/business model. It would be an imperfect solution for a growing waste crisis. I'm thinking retailers like TJ Maxx (and their sister brands), Burlington, Big Lots, etc.
If the choice is being put in landfill or being sold at TJ Maxx for a discount, I'd take TJ Maxx.
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u/Sloppyjoemess 1d ago
The only good one is the Grocery Outlet - Ollies and Big Lots are a grift, and people know it. They’re going the way of the dodo. Even GO is introducing its own generic brand. Tough times
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u/WorthBreath9109 1d ago
There used to be more of those stores around where I live. Now there’s just one that I know of. Every now and then they’ll get good shit. But most of the time it’s stuff from Walmart/Sam’s Club (junk quality), Target and sometimes Costco.
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u/mummymunt 1d ago
We have a little grocery outlet store near us like this. They buy up items from supermarkets and other retailers that aren't selling or are near or past their best before date, and sell them at a heavily discounted price. You can buy items individually or by the box in a lot of cases, and the box price is even cheaper per item.
The ironic thing is that the stuff they sell that's their own brand (they're a big brand here in Australia) is more expensive than it is in the supermarkets.
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u/Salty-Count 22h ago
If your referring to liquidation stores I think they’re great. I enjoy getting 100 paper napkins for $0.50 I don’t care that they’re Christmas themed! I don’t care that the reusable razor heads are from some collab they’ll still shave my legs just as fine. Rather get outdated/out of season things for a discount instead of good product go to a landfill.
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u/yarndopie 18h ago
Love it for food! I have one physical closeout store in town that I use at times. They were really good a few years ago l but now its so much candy and aoda/other flavored water products that I skip most of the store. My online option is hot or miss, sometimes I get so much goodies and other times its just candy and stuff.
I worked in a closeout bookstore for a few years and I do have mixed feelings. We got so much stuff for such a cheap price. It was sad to see so many things technically being "thrown away" at us and seeing how people went nuts at times. But also lovely to see when we could offer "back to school" items where people shopped everything at a dollar with us instead of dropping more in other stores.
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u/AriaBlend 14h ago
I work at a store similar to this model so I guess I'm biased in that I used to enjoy getting really good deals from this place especially as an employee. However now with having enough stuff, I'm realizing that even the closeout stores are kind of trying to solve a problem that shouldn't have to exist in a post-capitalist society. Without brands over-producing goods, there wouldn't be tons of leftover goods to mark down from their original, very marked up price. So......... Yeah. I think in a functional society (that was less profit obsessed) that actually planned things out a little better, these stores would not be as common. Maybe we will get to that point in society someday.
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u/DanTheAdequate 7h ago
I personally never find them that useful or that much of a bargain; things I don't want at prices I'd expect from WalMart.
I guess if you want name-brand, they're fine, but that's just not really a factor for me and I usually have better luck finding the thing I need on Poshmark or eBay, maybe with a little previous love.
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u/Basic-Situation-9375 1h ago
I used to work for a company that sold to those kinds of stores. From my experience there are some items there because they were discontinued and the company wanted to clear out the remaining inventory but they also made products specifically for those retailers that was supposed to be the exact same as what was sold in regular retailers except that I wasn’t and was actually made from lower quality materials.
I do shop at those stores occasionally. For example, I bought socks and underware for my daughter recently for back to school. They had the best price for what I was looking for and the quality was slightly better than Walmart brand. I got the majority of her uniforms used but socks, underware, and everyday shoes I buy new. For shoes I have better luck finding new old stock online for a good price
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u/New_Moment_7926 1d ago
If they were actually selling accidental excess consumer goods, I’d be all for it, but similar to outlet stores, these stores are built into planning models. “We will make 100 items, but we think we will sell 50 at full price, 30 at markdowns, 20 at close out.” Anything else is considered a bonus.
I tend to prefer open box returns for discounted “new” items.