Lost Stock - Information

Preferences

The clothes we buy are all cancelled lines from major retailers in the UK, European and global markets. When you order from Lost Stock, you can select some preferences to help us decide what items to put in your Lost Stock box - or you can choose to receive a surprise parcel.

Because the clothes we have available are cancelled lines from major retailers, we use your preferences as a guide, and we try to match what goes in your parcel to the best possible items in the categories you have chosen. When we started, we had more specific preferences in our options, but it became clear early on that available stock would vary quite a lot depending on what had been cancelled, so we reduced the options to make it possible to match as many items to the preferences as possible.

We use your chosen preferences as a guide for our buying team to ensure we get stock available in each category, and as a guide for the algorithm we use to put parcels together. Lost Stock is mystery shopping that makes a difference, and as such we cannot guarantee that what is in your box will always match your preferences.

Cancelled stock

Lost Stock only buys stock that has been cancelled from major brands and retailers. This means that the selection available is limited to what has been cancelled, and this varies over time, as we fill Lost Stock boxes with currently available pieces, and as new lines are cancelled by retailers.

To date we’ve bought products that have been cancelled by 23 brands to provide to consumers.

The problem with cancelled stock is ongoing - it existed before Coronavirus, it is still happening now and it will continue into the future. This is why we have expanded our offering to include kids’ clothing and autumn/winter wear, as there are still plenty of manufacturers receiving cancellations of products they have already produced, causing a devastating impact for the factories and their workers.

In some cases, retailers may re-instate lines they have previously cancelled, especially after mounting pressure from consumers and media. This is out of our hands and is a positive thing as it means workers are being paid by the original brands.

In the rare cases where this happens on a product where Lost Stock has also bought part of a line, these goods may now be on sale by a brand or retailer. Due to how the retail industry operates, the price of these garments may or may not be the RRP that they were originally destined for and which we used to create your Lost Stock box. We do not buy any lines directly from a brand or retailer.

We always use the RRP for the items that has been provided by the factory as a guide to ensure that you get great value in your Lost Stock box.

Autumn/Winter collections and other Lost Stock boxes

Whilst stores are now open again in many countries, demand for in-store shopping is still significantly reduced - in some regions by up to 50%. There are ongoing cancellations for many factories. Just one example is a factory which contacted Lost Stock with over 270,000 cancelled pieces of knitwear that were destined for the UK market. That is why we have launched new Lost Stock boxes like our Autumn/Winter collection and our Lost Stock for Kids offering. Depending on what stock is available from cancelled orders we are considering other options to continue to support factories and workers.

The factories we work with

The majority of factories are based in Bangladesh. We have also bought stock from a small number of factories in countries such as China and India to broaden the product range we have available in our boxes and also match items as much as possible to chosen preferences. To date we have partnered with a total of 50 factories for the products we have bought so far.

Each Lost Stock box supports a worker for a week through our partnership with SAJIDA Foundation, but also provides much needed revenue to the factories suffering after order cancellations. In total, around 67% of the value of each Lost Stock box goes to these two areas. See our transparency page for more details.

We ensure that all the factories we work with are registered and have certification proving they adhere to acceptable working practices and conditions.

What to do if you don’t like what’s in your Lost Stock box

If, despite our best efforts to create a new way of shopping and put together a great product that also makes a positive impact, you don’t like your Lost Stock parcel, then just let us know. We’ll find a solution that works for you. Our customer service team can help if you contact support@loststock.com or click here.

Please be aware that we only buy cancelled lines, so we can’t offer all the same options that traditional retailers might do - but we are a small team keen to make a difference, and we’ll be happy to help resolve any issues you may have with your Lost Stock order.