The two labels get used as if they meant the same thing, and some sellers fold open box into returns. They answer different questions. One is about the box. The other is about where the item has been.
- Open box: the package was opened. That's all the label promises.
- Customer return: someone bought it and brought it back. That's all that label promises.
- Neither tells you if it works, if it was used or if all the parts are there.
- The program's definition and your own receiving check fill in the rest.
What open box tells you
Boxes get opened for ordinary reasons that have nothing to do with use: a store opens one for display, a receiving team opens one to inspect it, a customer opens one and changes their mind. Some condition definitions say this outright. The Registix Appliance Conditioning Guide's New-in-Box condition allows packaging that has been opened for inspection or display, as long as there are no signs of use or installation and all parts are included.
So an opened box doesn't automatically mean customer-used. It doesn't automatically mean unused either. That the box was opened is the one fact the label gives you.
What customer return tells you
A customer return tells you where the item has been: sold, then brought back. People return things for many reasons. Some never opened the box. Some installed the item and took it out again. Some returned it because it didn't work. The return reason, if anyone recorded it, often doesn't reach the liquidation buyer.
That's why the label alone doesn't tell you the functional state. Some programs say more. The Registix Appliance Conditioning Guide describes its Customer Returns condition as used or showing signs of installation, functional but possibly needing repair. That is one program's definition. Another program may sell its returns uninspected and as-is, leaving the buyer to inspect every unit.
See also: Customer returns vs overstock vs scratch and dent and Tested vs untested liquidation inventory.
Why the difference matters for work and price
The work is different. Open box inventory, in a program that defines it as unused and complete, may only need a check and a clean. Unsorted returns can need a full test of every unit, a parts check, cleaning and regrading, and some of them won't be sellable at all.
The risk is different. A clear open box definition usually narrows the range of what you'll find. Returns usually widen it. Your price should reflect how wide that range is, not the best unit in it.
Questions to ask the seller
- What does open box mean in this program? Opened only, or also handled, displayed or tested?
- Are open box items complete, with all parts and accessories?
- Are returns sorted or graded before they're sold, or sold as they came back?
- Is anything tested, and what does that test cover?
- Is there a warranty on either, and what do the claims and variance terms say?
See also: How liquidation inventory condition and grading actually work.
No universal discount separates open box from returns. What changes is your cost per sellable unit: more testing, more parts and more unsellable units push it up. Work it out as landed costLanded cost Landed cost is what a unit really costs you once it is in your building and ready to sell, purchase price plus freight, handling, parts and the cost of what could not be sold. per sellable unit, from your own receiving records.
- Assuming open box means used.
- Assuming open box means new and complete without reading the program's definition.
- Assuming a customer return came back because it was broken, or assuming it didn't.
- Pricing a load of returns off its best units.
- Selling returns without checking them against product recalls.
Terms in this guide
Sources
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