As Spoiler Alert (they’re awesome, check them out!) puts it: “In an ideal world, forecasts are fully accurate and excess inventory is a small – or nonexistent – problem for brands. But we live in the real world, and in the real world excess is inevitable.” There are many reasons for overstock: discontinued products, updated packaging, mislabeled packaging, returns & canceled orders, ERP / logistics error, warehouse obsoleteness, etc.

For these reasons, companies are left with excess inventory, which Second Shelf buys in bulk at lower rates and passes on savings to our buyers.

Nope — never. We will not purchase product with any discernable difference in quality; the only thing that might happen is expiration dates are in the near future. All of the excess we buy is simply overstock that didn’t find a home.

We are extremely sensitive to the quality standards our customers have and offer a sample-before-you-buy approach. Also, we are always looking to learn and get feedback. Our goal is to maintain your quality and just reduce the cost through logistics.

We are launching in July 2025 with buyers in the NYC area and sellers anywhere worldwide. Eventually, our goal is to grow our buyer geography.

Let us know what you need! Don’t be shy. We’re investing time into building relationships with companies — if you tell us which companies you like, we will focus on those companies :) Also, if you’re willing and able to make any introductions, that never hurts.

Our target launch date is July 2025. Sign up above to join our newsletter — it will have more information on specifics of buying closer to then.