Liquidation Value Calculator
Estimate what your excess inventory will actually recover in a B2B liquidation sale. Enter your cost basis, category, and condition to get a realistic recovery range — and what you'd net after marketplace fees.
Estimate Your Recovery
Recovery is expressed as a percentage of your wholesale cost basis (what you paid for the goods), not retail price. Ranges are editorial estimates based on industry norms for manifested B2B lots — actual offers depend on brand strength, manifest quality, lot size, freight lane, and season.
How liquidation recovery actually works
B2B buyers price lots from your cost basis, not your retail price — a common and costly confusion. A lot that retails for $60,000 but cost you $20,000 wholesale will be negotiated against the $20,000. Condition is the single biggest driver: new-in-box, manifested goods can recover more than half of cost, while unmanifested customer returns trade at a steep discount because the buyer absorbs the grading risk. Listing fast matters too — holding dead stock costs storage and ties up capital while seasonal relevance decays.
Want the floor price that still covers your costs? Pair this with the Wholesale Margin Calculator. For verified market context — buyer counts, market growth, returns volumes — see State of Excess Inventory 2026.
Frequently asked questions
How much of my money will I get back liquidating inventory?
For manifested, new-in-box goods, a realistic range is 35–60% of your wholesale cost. Customer returns typically recover 10–25%, and salvage lots 5–12%. Brand strength, manifest quality, and timing move you within (or occasionally outside) these ranges.
Is recovery calculated on retail price or cost?
B2B liquidation buyers negotiate from your cost basis (wholesale cost), not retail. Quotes you see expressed as "cents on the retail dollar" look much lower than cost-basis recovery for the same offer — always compare like for like.
What can I do to recover more?
Three levers: provide a clean manifest (SKU, quantity, condition, retail value per line), list while goods are in season, and sell directly to verified bulk buyers instead of through broker chains — every intermediary takes a margin slice.
What does Forthclear charge?
Listing is free. Forthclear charges a 5% fee only on completed sales, with payment held in Stripe escrow until the buyer confirms receipt.
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