When it comes to selling idle inventory or purchasing needed parts, most dealers are faced with many options and it can be difficult to know what to use when. In order to discover the best match for your dealership needs, we’ll start by breaking down the two main resources for parts sales: Parts Brokers and Purchasing Analysts. Parts Brokers like NADPE, Dealermine or Cash Discovery are often unaffiliated third parties who look for the perfect match for each buy or sell request by maintaining lists of haves and needs. They inherently have more flexibility, less structure and they typically charge a fee for each successful transaction. On the other hand, Purchasing Analysts, like USD Parts or Young Automotive Parts are organized entities that purchase and sell parts in bulk. Parts Analysts typically have the ability to hold more stock with large warehouses and thus are able to buy parts in batches or sell at bulk pricing. While they don’t charge a fee for transactions, they incorporate their cost of business in their quotes for bulk buys and sells. Now that we’ve got the basics established, lets go a bit more into how each provider works. 

Parts Brokers

Parts brokers are essentially the Realtors of parts sales. They hold lists of needs and haves to connect buyers and sellers and take a fee for each successful transaction. With operations varying in size, brokers often cannot guarantee they will find the perfect match, but they have great flexibility in finding the highest bid giving you the best shot at breaking even on parts sales.  

Purchasing Analysts

Purchasing Analysts are usually authorized distributors for  various manufacturers and thus have an extensive inventory and the ability to buy and sell in bulk transactions. Because they are usually part of a larger operation or network and typically have large warehouses, they can make offers on large lists of inventory, provide bulk purchasing pricing, and are generally more dependable if you need to offload inventory quickly or regularly. 

When deciding which of these options is best for you, it’s important to investigate what your end goal is. If you are regularly flushing obsolescence in your inventory and prefer to offload regularly and in bulk, Purchasing Analysts might just be the right match. Because they are able to purchase in bulk, you may be able to get a higher return for a chunk of inventory then you would attempting to sell through Parts Brokers. Plus, by streamlining the purchase to one company, it’s easier to predict returns on your inventory and general obsolescence costs in your operation.  For buying and selling specialized parts or smaller batches of parts, a Parts Broker is likely your best bet in getting the highest possible return or lowest bid on an offer. Their flexibility allows for a greater range in pricing which can work in your favor for specific parts. 

One final note: manufacturer programs often complicate the choice of part resale. If you’re on a manufacturer program, send us a message to find out how to get rid of obsolescence while avoiding penalties and staying compliant. Want to learn more about how PartsEdge helps Parts Managers and their teams manage obsolescence in their inventories? Send us a message.