Free Tool
Dead Stock & Holding Cost Calculator
Calculate how much unsold inventory costs you in storage fees and opportunity cost. Get liquidation vs hold recommendations for each SKU.
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Formula
Dead Stock Cost = Units × (Monthly Storage Cost + (Unit Cost × Opportunity Cost Rate ÷ 12)) × Months Held
What is Dead Stock?
Dead stock is inventory that hasn't sold in an extended period (typically 90-180+ days) and is unlikely to sell at full price. It silently drains your business through ongoing storage costs, tied-up capital, and the opportunity cost of not investing that money elsewhere.
Industry data shows that 20-30% of e-commerce inventory becomes dead stock. For a business with $100K in inventory, that's $20-30K in products slowly losing value while costing money to store.
True Cost of Holding Dead Stock
- Storage costs: Warehouse rent, shelving, climate control — typically $0.50-$3.00 per cubic foot per month
- Opportunity cost: Capital tied up in unsold inventory could earn 10-20% returns if invested elsewhere
- Depreciation: Products lose value over time — fashion items depreciate 20-50% per season
- Insurance & handling: You pay to insure and manage inventory that generates zero revenue
- Amazon penalties: FBA charges aged inventory surcharges starting at 181 days and increasing over time