While disposing of aged inventory can be a daunting task, Kathy Corey makes the job seem a lot easier. During the The JCK Show ~ Phoenix 2005, the vice president of merchandising for Day’s Jewelers, Waterville, Maine, offered jewelers tips for managing aged inventory:

• Prevent inventory from aging; talk to vendors about return privileges.

• Order fewer items more often and consider just-in-time delivery.

• Clean it, price it right, fix it, move it around the store, or move it to another store.

• Remount or remanufacture the piece.

• Show the piece differently.

• Place signage next to the piece that tells a story about it.

• Give the piece to a new employee to sell because it’s new to that person.

• Reward employees who sell it by way of a contest.

• Donate it to charity and write it off, unless it’s really ugly—it’s a reflection of your store.

• Sell branded products on eBay.

• Melt down gold pieces—the price of the metal is high.

• Host a Special Employee Purchase Day where employees may buy select items at reduced prices.

• Create a bargain-basement section on your Web site and load dated merchandise into that area.

• Mark it down as a last resort.