Guidance on how to close down my eCommerce and retail outlet

[timetoclose]

Hello Everyone,

I hope everyone has had a great Christmas.

I would like some help / guidance / direction on how best to close down my eCommerce and retail outlet.

Located in Birmingham, for many years we sold thru the store and online (ebay/amazon), sadly due to the passing of my partner during covid, I have decided to call it a day.

I now have a dilemma of how to clear everything we have as fast as possible, I was very much in charge of buying the products and my partner used to look after the sales and pick, pack, post operation, having to try to establish sales channels to clear the goods is not something I want to do, I did think of advertising in Bargain Pages only to discover they have long gone...this will give away my age.

I am now stumped on how to sell everything, ideally to a good home, someone who can make use either in starting a business or expanding what they already have.

Lots of great stock to be had, if anyone is interested or know's of someone who may, please do reach out, ive made a list of products that are in stock and will be priced to clear:

> Mobile Phone Accessories (Cases, Chargers, Cables, Parts, etc)
> CCTV Cameras (Internal, External, Overt, Covert, Cables, Connectors, Dome Cameras)
> Laptop and Computer Accessories (Stands, Cables, Connectors, Thermal Paste, Macbook Protective Covers)
> Cables & Connectors (HDMI, VGA, Micro, Mini, DisplayPort)
> Mobile Phone Repair Parts (LCD's, Batteries)
> Computer Speakers / Bluetooth Speakers
> All manner of Spy Gadgets
> One off product samples
> GPS Trackers
> Car Dashcam
> SATA and IDE Hard Disk Boxes
> Mobile Phones (iphone 5s, Nokia 6, android)
> Tablets (Android Tablets)

I dont think thats all of it by any stretch, but it will give you a good idea.

Also lots of packaging materials, padded envelopes, boxes, tape, bubble wrap, franking machine, ink, data printers, warehouse racking, tote boxes - basically everything you would need to run an ecommerce and real life operation as we did.

If anyone would like more information please feel free to contact me and I will help as best I can.

If anyone can point me in the right direction that would be great and very much appreciated.

Kind Regards
Khalid

 

[ChrisCallaghan]

Hi @timetoclose ,

I'm sorry to hear about the reasons behind wanting to close. This can't be an easy decision.

To help us answer your question, the first thing for us to check (and possibly for you to check): is your business your solvent? If you cease to trade, would there be any unpaid debts? Have you considered things like time left on any the lease for your retail premise? Any sevices the business has signed up to, e.g. insurances, card machine sevices, phone and internet etc? Do you have any staff who would be owed money if you made them redundant?

Can I also ask how the business is setup? For example, is it a limited (Ltd) company?

 

[japancool]

Have you considered selling the business as a going concern?

 

[Deleted member 335660]

Hi Khalid,

My condolences for your loss.

We shut our retail outlet at the end of October and found best source of interest on our equipment and furniture was via my wife’s Facebook pages and groups.

We had a bit of a sale in stock but as we are continuing with online site, it was not a priority.

However we do use Facebook to sell off odd items of stock quite successfully. I guess it depends on how much stock you have. You could try a competitor to see if they would be interested.

 

[Lucan Unlordly]

You could try approaching one of the big retail/industrial auction sites like BIDSPOTTER to get a feel for what sort of return you could get at auction.

 

[timetoclose]

Hi @timetoclose ,

I'm sorry to hear about the reasons behind wanting to close. This can't be an easy decision.

To help us answer your question, the first thing for us to check (and possibly for you to check): is your business your solvent? If you cease to trade, would there be any unpaid debts? Have you considered things like time left on any the lease for your retail premise? Any sevices the business has signed up to, e.g. insurances, card machine sevices, phone and internet etc? Do you have any staff who would be owed money if you made them redundant?

Can I also ask how the business is setup? For example, is it a limited (Ltd) company?

Hi

Thank you for your reply.

Nothing is owed to anyone, nothing outstanding, no staff, it is a limited company.

 

[ChrisCallaghan]

Hi

Thank you for your reply.

Nothing is owed to anyone, nothing outstanding, no staff, it is a limited company.

Awesome. In that case there has already been a lot of sensible advice given.

If you want to get rid of the stock quick, may be worth contacting local auction houses, otherwise I'd explore the advice given by others on this thread.

 

[Lisa Thomas]

Hello Everyone,

I hope everyone has had a great Christmas.

I would like some help / guidance / direction on how best to close down my eCommerce and retail outlet.

Located in Birmingham, for many years we sold thru the store and online (ebay/amazon), sadly due to the passing of my partner during covid, I have decided to call it a day.

I now have a dilemma of how to clear everything we have as fast as possible, I was very much in charge of buying the products and my partner used to look after the sales and pick, pack, post operation, having to try to establish sales channels to clear the goods is not something I want to do, I did think of advertising in Bargain Pages only to discover they have long gone...this will give away my age.

I am now stumped on how to sell everything, ideally to a good home, someone who can make use either in starting a business or expanding what they already have.

Lots of great stock to be had, if anyone is interested or know's of someone who may, please do reach out, ive made a list of products that are in stock and will be priced to clear:

> Mobile Phone Accessories (Cases, Chargers, Cables, Parts, etc)
> CCTV Cameras (Internal, External, Overt, Covert, Cables, Connectors, Dome Cameras)
> Laptop and Computer Accessories (Stands, Cables, Connectors, Thermal Paste, Macbook Protective Covers)
> Cables & Connectors (HDMI, VGA, Micro, Mini, DisplayPort)
> Mobile Phone Repair Parts (LCD's, Batteries)
> Computer Speakers / Bluetooth Speakers
> All manner of Spy Gadgets
> One off product samples
> GPS Trackers
> Car Dashcam
> SATA and IDE Hard Disk Boxes
> Mobile Phones (iphone 5s, Nokia 6, android)
> Tablets (Android Tablets)

I dont think thats all of it by any stretch, but it will give you a good idea.

Also lots of packaging materials, padded envelopes, boxes, tape, bubble wrap, franking machine, ink, data printers, warehouse racking, tote boxes - basically everything you would need to run an ecommerce and real life operation as we did.

If anyone would like more information please feel free to contact me and I will help as best I can.

If anyone can point me in the right direction that would be great and very much appreciated.

Kind Regards
Khalid

Sorry to hear about your partner.

Happy to recommend an agent who will take a lot of the stress away and handle the valuation and sale for you.

DM if of interest.