FACTORY SECONDS AND SURPLUS
How to Inspect and Price Minor-Defect Clothing Lots
A lot of factory seconds or surplus can run to hundreds or thousands of new pieces in a few styles. You rarely get to check every piece before buying, so the decision rests on a sample.
This is different from grading used clothing garment by garment, which the quality inspection checklist covers.
SAMPLE THE LOT
Check enough pieces, from everywhere.
A sample estimates the quality of the whole lot. It does not show that any particular unchecked piece is free of faults.
- Take pieces from different cartons or bundles, styles, sizes and colours, not just the top layer.
- Decide the sample size before you start, and record every piece you check.
- Treat the result as an estimate. A different sample would give somewhat different numbers, and rare faults can be missed entirely.
ABOUT AQL
What acceptance sampling can and cannot do.
Many garment buyers and inspection services use acceptance sampling by attributes, set out in the international standard ISO 2859-1 (2026 edition). The buyer chooses an acceptance quality limit (AQL) for each class of defect; tables then give a sample size for the lot size and inspection level, and the number of defective pieces at which the lot is accepted or rejected.
- It is a decision rule for accepting or rejecting a lot, not a measurement of every piece. An accepted lot can still contain faulty pieces.
- The AQL is the level of quality the buyer chooses to tolerate, not a promise of how many faults the lot contains.
- It only works if both sides agree in advance on the standard, the inspection level, the AQL for each defect class and what counts as each defect.
- Seconds lots are faulty by definition, so the useful question is often how many pieces fall in each band, rather than pass or fail.
DEFECT BANDS
Sort each fault into one of three bands.
Write down what belongs in each band before you start, so every piece is judged the same way.
Minor
Seen only on close inspection and does not affect wear: a slub, a loose thread, slight shade variation.
Major
A buyer would notice, or it affects use: a misprint, a wrong size label, an open seam, a stain.
Critical
Unsellable as clothing or unsafe: large holes, a broken zip that cannot be replaced, a needle or pin left in the garment.
HYPOTHETICAL EXAMPLE
From a sample to a lot estimate.
Hypothetical figures, not a description of any lot. A lot of 2,000 pieces; 125 pieces are checked, and each is placed in its worst band.
Scaling the sample shares up to the lot gives an estimate of how many pieces fall in each band. Excluding the critical band, the estimated sellable yield is 1,952 of 2,000 pieces (97.6%), but only 1,280 (64%) with no fault found; the yield at each price matters more than the overall figure.
Hypothetical example only.
| Band | Pieces |
|---|---|
| No fault found | 80 (64%) |
| Minor | 30 (24%) |
| Major | 12 (9.6%) |
| Critical | 3 (2.4%) |
| Band | Pieces |
|---|---|
| No fault found | 1,280 |
| Minor | 480 |
| Major | 192 |
| Critical | 48 |
HYPOTHETICAL EXAMPLE
Price by band.
Hypothetical prices in units of your own currency, set from what similar items sell for in your channel: 120 with no fault found, 90 with a minor fault, 40 with a major fault, and nothing for critical faults.
The total is gross sales if every piece sells at those prices. It is not profit: selling costs, the lot’s landed cost and pieces that never sell still have to come out of it.
Hypothetical example only, not a forecast.
| Band | Units |
|---|---|
| No fault (1,280 × 120) | 153,600 |
| Minor (480 × 90) | 43,200 |
| Major (192 × 40) | 7,680 |
| Critical (48 × 0) | 0 |
| Total | 204,480 |
SET YOUR PRICES
Five steps.
Start from first-quality value
What similar items without faults sell for in your channel.
Discount by band
Deeper for faults a buyer notices or that affect wear.
Repair only where it pays
When the time and materials cost less than the price gained; see simple repairs.
Disclose every fault
In the listing and photos; see writing better listings.
Check the lot price
Compare what the lot can realistically return with its full cost; see break-even quantity and landed cost.
NEXT STEP
Checking stock before you buy?
Where a sample is available, it lets you check a description before a larger order. Ask about sample terms when you enquire about clothing or factory surplus bales.
Hypothetical figures for illustration only, not a forecast or a promise of returns. Defect bands here are working categories, not a formal standard.