Every year in the second half of the year, with frequent and fast-paced major sales events, many cross-border sellers find their warehouses accumulating ever-growing stock of leftover inventory. The reasons are actually quite simple.

First, the promotional cycle combined with the inertia of inventory preparation. For events like Amazon Prime Day, Black Friday, and the Christmas season, sellers often prepare inventory months in advance. However, even slight deviations in demand forecasts can easily lead to inventory buildup.

Second, high return rates cause inventory to flow back into the market. The online return rate in the US market has consistently remained between 15% and 20%. According to ClickPost's 2024 e-commerce return statistics, the overall return rate for US e-commerce was approximately 17%, with apparel reaching over 25%. This means that for every four items sold, one might be returned.

Third, clearing out slow-moving goods is difficult. Cross-border leftover inventory often involves multiple warehousing locations and high shipping costs. Without suitable local US warehouse support, clearing out these goods is inefficient and costly. Over time, this leftover inventory becomes a "dormant asset" tied up in accounts.

Overstock is more than just "inventory"; it's a matter of capital and turnover.

Many sellers view overstock as a warehousing issue, but more accurately, it's a capital turnover problem. Accumulated overstock will:

Occupy storage space and cash flow, affecting new product procurement;

Increase warehousing and logistics costs, especially when overstock is scattered across different overseas warehouses;

Miss promotional seasons, leading to difficulty in relisting and low price recovery rates.

Against inflationary pressures and persistently high logistics costs, sellers who cannot efficiently handle overstock may miss the next round of sales opportunities.

Three Efficient Ways to Handle Overstock

Sellers can address overstock from three aspects: "categorization, cost reduction, and accelerated turnover."

1. Categorization and Differentiated Treatment

Classify overstock according to its condition and value:

Items suitable for relisting should be reintroduced to the market after quality inspection, cleaning, and repackaging; Items with packaging defects or minor damage can be cleared out at a discount; Severely damaged or out-of-season items can be destroyed or returned to the domestic market.

2. Clearance Sales to Release Inventory

Utilizing US market promotional periods (such as Black Friday and post-Christmas clearance sales) for local discounting reduces shipping costs and speeds up payment collection.

3. Centralized Processing in US Local Returns Warehouses

For cross-border sellers, sending surplus stock to local US return warehouses is the most efficient method. Professional warehouses provide services such as quality inspection, cleaning, relabeling, repackaging, and sorting for warehousing, helping sellers reactivate their inventory.

Which US overseas warehouse can accept surplus stock? U-Speed US returns warehouse is recommended.

In the US market, U-Speed's return warehouses are trusted by many Chinese sellers. Its well-established return warehouse network and strong processing capacity provide sellers with a one-stop solution from return quality inspection to surplus stock reuse.

1. Warehouse Scale and Processing Capacity

Eastern US (New Jersey) Returns Warehouse: 7250 square meters, daily processing capacity exceeding 20,000 orders.

West Coast (Los Angeles) Returns Warehouse: Also 7250 square meters in size, with a daily processing capacity exceeding 10,000 orders.

Both warehouses are equipped with forklifts, light and heavy-duty shelving, fire monitoring, 24-hour security, and CCTV systems, providing sellers with a safe and standardized storage environment.

2. Professional Team Operation, Leading Efficiency

U-Speed employs a "dual-team" model: a Chinese management team leads the business, while a Chinese-American team executes operations, supplemented by professional customer service. Return quality inspection can be completed within 2 days, and returned goods can be shipped out within 3-5 days. This response speed is especially important when dealing with large volumes of end-of-line inventory.

3. Integrated Service Chain

In addition to returns, U-Speed also provides local US logistics services such as first-leg shipping, warehousing, drop shipping, and end-of-line inventory processing, forming a complete closed loop. Sellers only need one service provider to complete both forward and reverse operations of cross-border logistics.

Key Steps Before and After Handling Overstock in Warehousing

To ensure efficient handling of overstock, sellers should pay attention to the following before and after warehousing:

Confirm warehousing standards in advance: including outer box dimensions, SKU details, and whether quality inspection or secondary labeling is required;

Plan a tiered approach for overstock: distinguishing between shelf-ready, clearance-needed, and obsolete products;

Coordinate shipping times with the warehouse in advance, considering US clearance sales such as post-Thanksgiving promotions and year-end discount seasons;

Regularly review warehouse reports: adjust subsequent inventory replenishment strategies promptly based on quality inspection and inventory turnover data.

These seemingly minor details can significantly improve the efficiency of overstock handling and reduce warehousing and labor costs.

Handling cross-border overstock is not daunting; the key is finding the right pace and partners. For overstock stock accumulating in the US market, choosing a reliable and efficient return warehouse is the first step for sellers to restore cash flow.

U-Speed, with its powerful processing capabilities, stable team, and fast delivery from its two major return warehouses in the East and West US, has helped many sellers reorganize their inventory before the peak season. If you're also struggling with excess inventory, consider U-Speed's US return warehouse service. It offers a more professional way to get your excess inventory back in stock.