We sold our online store last year and I completely underestimated how much of a mess custom packaging and leftover box stock would be. Our buyer wanted everything included, but halfway through due diligence we realized we had about 8,000 units of a custom mailer with our old logo on it. And the vendor had a 12-week lead time on reorders with our new branded version. I ended up eating a lot of cost just to get out clean. Curious if anyone else has dealt with this, especially when you have dies and plates and all that stuff sitting around.
E-commerce Exit
How I handled custom packaging and box stock during our e-commerce exit
Did you transfer the packaging vendor contract or did you just hand over the the stock? We had a similar issue and the vendor wouldn't assign the contract without a personal guarantee.
Honestly the box stock is the worst part. Nobody wants to pay for branded boxes with your name on them.
We had about 5k custom poly mailers. Buyer said they'd take them but then wanted a credit for rebranding stickers. I laughed. Then I cried. Then I gave them the credit.
Custom packaging dies are basically worthless to anyone but you. i learned that the hard way. Ended up paying a local shop to destroy the plates so the buyer couldn't claim they were a liability. Not sure if that was smart or just expensive therapy.
Why not just include the leftover stock as a freeebie and move on? If the buyer wants the business they can rebrand. Sounds like you over-negotiated yourself into a corner.
biscuit_bandit we tried that. The buyer's ops guy got fixated on the fact that the mailers were were "non-compliant" with their branding guidelines. Their branding guidelines were a PDF they made two weeks after LOI. I was not thrilled.
the vendor lead time is the real killer. Everyone focuses on inventory value but not on the fact that new packaging can take a quarter to arrive. If the buyer doesn't have a transition plan they'll be shipping in your branded boxes for months.
Did you end up selling the dies as part of the deal or keeping them? We kept ours and then realized we had no use for them whatsoever
RustyGate had the same thing happe. Kept the custom tubs. They're now in my garage holding holiday decorations.
Honestly this this thread is making me feel better about my own mess. Misery loves company etc.
For anyone wondering what I actually did: negotiated a credit that covered about 60% of the obsolete stock, and the buyer took the rest with the understanding they'd rebrand over the next two quarters. But the vendor contract was the bigger pain. It took a three-way call and a new PO just to get them to acknowledge the buyer as the new account holder.
Next time just burn the boxes. It's faster.