"I Had No Idea We Would Become a Leader in Liquidating
Overstock, Closeout and Excess Inventory"

In 1985, while in my final year at NIU, I was beginning to wonder exactly what I was going to do with my life. I had a major in journalism, a minor in advertising, no game plan, no strategy, and no desire to work at a traditional 9-5 job.

While trying to figure this out, I heard about a company in Downtown, Chicago that was shutting down its warehouse and going out of business. They were a wholesale dancewear distributor incorporated in the 1960's, and after many years they found themselves in a difficult overstock situation. The building was filled top to bottom with consumer goods, and the company needed to liquidate everything quickly and shut down their warehouse. I met with the owner who was retiring to Florida, and on a handshake we made an agreement that would change my life forever.

Although I had no idea what was going to happen, I bought their entire excess inventory with money I had been saving since childhood. I rented a U-Haul truck and moved the inventory from an old multi story building back to my parent's house, where the living room was converted into a make shift warehouse. With a little confidence and a lot of faith I managed to graduate college, liquidate everything within a few months, invest the profits into more wholesale merchandise, and begin building this company. Today we buy all categories of overstock, excess and closeout merchandise, and major corporations turn to us when they are in need of liquidating their surplus inventory.

Some of our categories include closeout toys, closeout housewares, closeout giftware, furniture closeouts, excess sporting goods, overstock glassware, surplus housewares, overstock stationery products, closeout pet products, and excess lawn and garden merchandise. We are closeout buyers for any great deals we can pass onto our customers.

Although there have been speed bumps (and a few collisions) along the way. We grew from a living room, to a small storefront, to a 2,700 square foot garage, to a 7,000 square foot space, then 10,000 square feet, then 30,000 square feet, and today we occupy more than 100,000 square feet of space. We have been selling closeouts throughout the U.S., Canada, South America and Central America for almost 40 years. We are one of the most respected closeout liquidators in the industry, and I am grateful to everyone who helped us along the way. If you are shutting down a warehouse, ceasing business operations, or just getting rid of dead inventory, consider making us your partner for selling excess inventory.

Thanks to our excellent customer and vendor relationships, in 2026 we are celebrating 42 years in business.

-Jay Lazar, President

Everything you just read is 100% true. We are liquidation buyers and overstock buyers.

My name is Jay Lazar, and I founded this company in the house where I grew up almost 42 years ago. My story above is true, and although it's brief, that's pretty much exactly the way it all happened. The only constant through all these years has been change, and the pace of that change has accelerated most recently as Amazon has taken such a dominant position in retail while traditional brick-and-mortar stores fight harder than ever just to keep their doors open. I have no way of knowing exactly where the closeout industry is headed, but as long as companies continue to overbuy and make purchasing mistakes - and they always will - I believe there will be tremendous opportunities for closeout buyers like us. We make the liquidation process easy by working with vendors as true partners, buying overstock and surplus inventory from importers, distributors, and 3PL warehouses that are shutting down or liquidating their stock. If you're going to sell to a liquidator, make us your first call. We are excess inventory buyers who are ready to move your surplus merchandise quickly, and our goal is to make the entire process as easy and painless as possible. Whether you're an Amazon seller drowning in long-term storage fees or a company shutting down a warehouse, we are here to help.

Buying closeouts is the foundation of our business. It's all we do.

Being among the most active closeout inventory buyers in the country means we are always on the lookout for great wholesale deals. We spend every single day searching for wholesale novelty merchandise, Halloween closeouts, closeout Christmas merchandise, wholesale home décor, closeout toys, overstock apparel, retail liquidation merchandise, wholesale bulk merchandise, and a wide variety of other overstock items. If you've been wondering where to liquidate inventory and haven't found the right partner yet, the answer is right here. If you're liquidating pet products or conducting a general merchandise liquidation, we'd love to be one of your buyers. Our business model depends on our ability to consistently offer customers outstanding closeout values on everything from dog supplies and bulk craft items to overstock clothing and dollar store merchandise. If you're closing your business, moving to a smaller warehouse, or simply need to free up space, please give us a call today. We know this process inside and out, and we can help you move merchandise quickly and efficiently. We're ready to buy closeouts every day of the week, and we genuinely look forward to working with you.

What is a closeout sale, and what is a closing out sale?

These are questions we hear all the time, and they're worth answering clearly. A closeout sale happens when a company needs to sell off excess, discontinued, or slow-moving merchandise - often quickly and at a significant discount. A closing out sale is similar in nature but typically refers to a business that is winding down operations entirely and needs to liquidate inventory to settle debts, clear a warehouse, or simply close its doors. In both cases, the goal is the same: convert unsold merchandise into cash as efficiently as possible. As experienced inventory buyers who have been doing this for more than 40 years, we understand the urgency involved and we're built to respond fast.

Why work with us when you need to sell excess inventory or liquidate inventory?

Our reputation is one of the greatest advantages we bring to every deal. We've been buying closeouts and wholesale surplus merchandise for more than 40 years, and in this business, a reputation for paying quickly and dealing fairly is everything. Our longtime vendors know they can count on us, and new suppliers reach out to us regularly because word travels fast. As both bulk buyers and us wholesale inventory buyers with decades of experience, we buy liquidation pallets, bulk items, wholesale online deals, wholesale pet products, sporting goods overstocks, and all kinds of pallet liquidations. We're one of the largest wholesale liquidators in the country, and if you need to sell overstock inventory fast, we have the capital and the customer network to get it done. We've been doing this since 1984, and over the decades we've developed the experience, relationships, and know-how to make inventory liquidation go as smoothly as possible.

Let's be honest - there will always be inventory that's hard to sell. Maybe it was the wrong product for the market, the packaging didn't connect with buyers, or you simply ended up with more than you could move. Whatever the reason, needing to liquidate inventory is a normal and necessary part of doing business, and Merchandise USA has been helping companies through that process for more than 40 years. We buy closeouts across every product category, and our team is ready to review your merchandise and make you a fair offer.

Do you attend trade shows? So do we - including the closeout show circuit.

One of the ways we stay connected to vendors, suppliers, and fellow industry professionals is by participating in the closeout show circuit. These events are where relationships are built and deals are made, and our presence at these shows reflects our commitment to being active, engaged participants in the wholesale and liquidation industry. If you've met us at a show, you already know how we operate. If you haven't, we'd love the opportunity to connect - whether in person or right here through our website.

What exactly is a closeout, and why sell your surplus to inventory liquidation specialists like us?

There are lots of reasons a product ends up as a closeout or overstock. Most often, it comes down to being introduced to the wrong market, launched at the wrong price, or hitting shelves at the wrong time - any of which can lead to disappointing sales and a growing pile of unsold merchandise. That's where we come in. As dedicated closeout buyers and inventory liquidation specialists, we buy in bulk at liquidation pricing and move product to our established customer base quickly. We frequently purchase discontinued inventory at deep discounts because markets shift constantly, and what sold well last season may be a dead end this season. Sporting goods closeouts come our way often because demand drops sharply outside of peak summer months. Halloween and Christmas overstock are also a regular part of what we do, simply because seasonal categories are unpredictable and timing is everything.

But no matter what time of year it is, we are always buying. If you overbought, if you're downsizing your warehouse, if you're closing your business entirely, or if Amazon's long-term storage fees have made it too costly to hold onto your inventory any longer, we are the excess inventory buyers you've been looking for. We move fast, we pay fairly, and we make the process as straightforward as it can be. If you're ready to sell excess inventory or sell overstock inventory, give Merchandise USA a call today.

Merchandise USA is a wholesale liquidator with more than 40 years of experience as trusted closeout inventory buyers and bulk buyers of closeout and abandoned merchandise in every category. If you're looking for reliable us wholesale inventory buyers who can move quickly and pay fairly, we'd love to hear from you. Visit our website to learn how to submit your inventory and get the process started today.