Take-all deals explained, and how to price the good with the bad

What is a take-all deal?

A take-all deal is a sale in which one buyer takes a seller's entire position, every line and every unit, at a single blended price. The good items and the weak ones come together; the buyer cannot pick only the best. Sellers offer a lower blended price in exchange for clearing everything in one transaction, with one buyer, one payment and one pickup.

The term is short for "take it all". Short definition: take-all. Take-alls are common on truckloads, containers and warehouse clear-outs, and they are where experienced buyers often make their best margins. They are also where newer buyers end up with a back room full of goods nobody wants. For where take-alls fit in a buying plan, see the guide to buying closeouts.

Why do sellers want take-alls?

A seller holding closeouts pays for space, staff, insurance and the cash tied up in the goods. If they sell the best lines first, they are left with the worst ones and the same costs. One take-all buyer ends all of that in one deal. It also means one invoice, one set of paperwork and, where the seller wants discretion, one party who knows about the sale.

That is why the blended price is lower than the sum of what the best lines would fetch alone. The seller is paying you to take the weak lines off their hands.

How a take-all is priced

The seller usually quotes a single number, either a flat amount or a percent of the total retail on the manifest. Do not price it that way yourself. A blended percent of retail treats a strong line and a dead line as the same, and they are not. Rebuild the price bottom-up from the manifest. Why percent of retail misleads is covered in why percent of MSRP can mislead.

How to evaluate a take-all: six steps

1. Get the full manifest. Line by line, with UPCs, quantities, condition and pallet IDs. See how to read a liquidation manifest.
2. Verify the top lines. Check retail and demand for the lines carrying most of the value by exact UPC. No match, no verified comp.
3. Split the manifest into three buckets.
   • Sell: lines you can move through your own channel at a good price.
   • Jobber off: lines you will sell on to another buyer (a bin store, an exporter, a jobber) at a lower price.
   • Dead: lines with no realistic outlet. Price them at what it costs you to donate, recycle or dispose of them.
4. Value each bucket. Expected revenue for Sell, a realistic wholesale price for Jobber off, a negative number for Dead.
5. Subtract your costs. Freight, unloading, sorting labor, storage for the time it takes to clear, payment fees.
6. Take off your margin. What is left is the most you should pay. Offer below it to leave room to negotiate.

Worked example

Letters stand in for the money and counts, because each one comes from the buyer's own manifest work, quotes and records. A take-all of housewares and small kitchen items fills one 53-ft trailer. The seller asks A.

Costs to subtract: freight F, unloading and sorting labor H, and storage W over the months it takes to sell through.

Net value before margin: V − F − H − W.

The buyer sets a margin T for the risk and the cash tied up, so the maximum price is M = V − F − H − W − T. Here the ask A sits above M: paying it would leave a margin of V − F − H − W − A, well short of T on a deal this size.

The buyer offers O, below M, explains the dead stock and the time needed to clear the Sell bucket, and asks for a month to pick up. The parties settle at a price between O and M, with the buyer removing all pallets in one pickup. If the plan holds, the margin is V − F − H − W minus the agreed price, which is at least T.

Look at what moved the answer: the dead bucket, the labor and the time. A buyer who priced the deal on a percent of total retail would have treated every unit in all three buckets as if it were worth the same.

What terms come with a take-all?

Price is only one line of a take-all. The terms around it often matter as much, and they should all be written down before money moves:

• Sale basis. Many take-alls are sold as-is, where-is: you accept the goods in their current condition and location, and you arrange the pickup. Know exactly what that excludes.
• Pickup window. Sellers usually want the space back by a date. If you need several trucks over several weeks, agree that schedule up front.
• Deposit and payment. Larger positions often need a deposit to hold the load and full payment before the goods leave. See deposits to hold a load.
• Variance. What happens if counts or conditions are materially different from the manifest you priced.
• Channel restrictions. Whether any lines carry "no online", "export only" or similar limits, agreed in writing.
• Confidentiality. Some sellers want their name kept out of the resale. That may be covered by an NDA; see contracts and NDAs in closeout deals.

Splitting a take-all with a partner

If a position is bigger than your outlets, you can bring in a partner before you buy. A common shape: you take the lines that suit your channel, a jobber or exporter takes the rest at an agreed price, and one of you is the buyer of record who pays the seller and arranges pickup. Agree the split, the price per bucket and who carries the risk if the load differs from the manifest, in writing, before you offer. The seller still sees one buyer; you have shared the weight of the deal.

How to negotiate a take-all

• Show your split. Telling a seller "these lines cost me money to dispose of" is a reason, not a haggle.
• Ask for specific exclusions. Damaged, expired, recalled or channel-restricted lines are fair to exclude. Asking to exclude every weak line ends the take-all.
• Trade terms for price. Faster pickup, payment on a set date, or taking everything in one move are worth money to the seller.
• Agree variance terms. Write down what happens if counts or conditions differ from the manifest. See manifest accuracy and variance.
• Leave room. Your first offer should sit below your maximum. More tactics: how to make a counter-offer that works.

Risks

Mistakes to avoid

• Pricing on blended percent of retail. Value each bucket separately.
• Treating dead stock as free. It costs money to move and dispose of.
• Forgetting labor and storage. Large take-alls take weeks or months to process.
• No outlet for the middle. Without a jobber or bin buyer, the Jobber off bucket becomes dead stock.
• Taking a take-all bigger than your space. Check the lot format against your dock and warehouse first; see pallet vs truckload vs container.

Who should buy take-alls?

Jobbers and wholesalers with outlets for every grade are the natural buyers; see jobbers and wholesalers. Exporters often take whole positions to fill containers. Bin stores can work a take-all when the mix is mostly hand-sized goods. If you are newer, start with smaller lots, learn your real sell-through, and compare sources in where to buy closeout merchandise.

Some loads on Skyline Dealz Marketplace are offered as take-alls, often by the truckload; members see the manifest where one exists before making an offer. To see them, request access.