Apparel cost-per-unit trend

Each point is the monthly median cost-per-unit across priced apparel lots: the middle value, not an average, so one outlier truckload can’t drag the line. Cost per unit is the lot’s price divided by its listed unit count, where the source publishes one, and each month’s figure is the median across that month’s priced lots.

Sparse months render as insufficient data and stay off the chart: a median over a handful of lots isn’t trustworthy. That rule gates the chart, the “Months with data” stat, and the month table above alike.

The lots behind the series come from the nine marketplaces in the feed: Liquidation.com, B-Stock, DirectLiquidation, 888 Lots, Via Trading, BlueLots, GovDeals, Musick, and QuickBidz. Sitewide medians, discount-vs-retail, and closing-time patterns are on the statistics page.

Apparel lots are usually high piece-count and low per-piece cost. Mixed brand returns, seasonal overstock, and shelf-pulls by the case or pallet. BlueLots and Via Trading carry a lot of the apparel volume; department-store returns show up across the auction platforms. Manifests list the size and brand mix, which is what determines sell-through; condition is typically new-with-tag or shelf-pull rather than worn.

Apparel per-unit is low but piece counts are high, so the manifest mix (sizes, brands, season) drives whether the math works, not the headline bid. BStalker shows the per-unit cost where units are listed; it does not grade the brand mix for you.

What goes into a per-unit number, bids, buyer premiums, freight, is covered in liquidation pallet costs explained, and the live lots themselves are on the apparel lots page.