Dead Stock: How to Spot It Before It Eats Your Cash
Every store has a shelf of things that seemed like a good idea. The difference between a small mistake and a cash problem is how quickly you notice — and what you do in the first month.
4 September 2026 · 2 min read
Dead stock is quiet. It does not announce itself; it just sits in the storeroom while the money you spent on it stays unavailable for the products that are actually selling. By the time it feels like a problem, the cash is usually long gone.
The short version
- Check at 30, 60, 90 days
- Zero sales at 60 days = a decision
- Clear early, at a small loss
- Write down why it didn't sell
The 30/60/90 check
For each product, note the date it went live and the units you hold. Then ask three questions on three dates. The answers sort the catalogue into three piles without any spreadsheet wizardry.
| By day | If it hasn't sold | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 30 | Nothing, or one unit | Fix the listing: photo, title, first paragraph |
| 60 | Still nothing | Bundle it, move it to a lower-traffic category, or discount |
| 90 | Still nothing | Clear it. At cost if necessary, then stop reordering |
The stock you don't clear is the stock you can't replace
Money tied up in a product nobody wants is money not available for the product everybody does. Clearing at cost is not a loss; it is converting a frozen asset back into cash you can use.
Before you discount, check the listing
Plenty of “dead” stock is just badly presented. A product with one dark photo, a vague title and no size information will fail no matter how good it is. Fix those first — it costs nothing and sometimes saves the product entirely.
The free fixes
- Photographed in daylight, on a clean background
- Title includes what it is and who it's for
- First line answers the obvious question
- Listed in the category buyers actually browse
- Mentioned once on the channels you already use
- Paired with something that already sells
Clearing early
- Cash returns while the product still has some value
- Space and attention go to what sells
- You learn the lesson with a small amount of money
Holding on
- The loss grows as the product ages
- Storage and counting time keep costing you
- The same mistake gets repeated next season
Then write one line about why it happened — wrong size range, photographed badly, priced above the market, bought because it was cheap. That line is worth more than the money you recover, because it is the only thing that stops the next order from repeating it.
Run the store from the back office, not from memory
Orders, stock and customers live in one place in a Tokoo store — so the weekly check takes minutes, not an evening.
See plansFrequently asked questions
How do I know if a product is dead stock?+
Give it 60 days from going live. If it has no sales by then, treat it as a decision: fix the listing, bundle it, or clear it. Waiting a year only makes the money harder to recover.
Should I sell dead stock at cost?+
Often yes. Recovering your cash so it can buy something that sells is worth more than a margin you will never realise. Clear at cost, and spend the recovered money on a product with proven demand.
How do I avoid buying dead stock again?+
Order small on anything unproven, note why each failed product failed, and only reorder the ones that sold through. Most dead stock is a volume problem — too much of something the market had not yet confirmed.
Sources
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