If you love buying wholesale liquidations, chances are, at some point you will run across an item with the interior manufacturers tag cut in half, so you’re wondering “why?”... here’s the answer:

Liquidators often have Contracts with stores / brands to buy their leftover stock. Because the store wants to get rid of their extras and because the liquidator survives off buying large quantities of leftovers then reselling them in more affordable, smaller quantities, this arrangement works great for both parties. However, this situation also presents one problem.

Lets say the state of Florida SAKS stores sells 4,000 pieces of this $80 top to BigBrandWholesale.com in Michigan for $8 each:

Big Brand Wholesale could then resell all 4,000 pieces for $9 each. Then a buyer in Arizona could take their $9 purchase to their local SAKS and return or exchange it for an $80 cash or $80 store credit. Now SAKS has lost over $70 on this one transaction. If you multiply this instance by 4,000 bogus returns, SAKS has lost $280,000! And that’s a LOT of money for the company to lose for no legitimate reason. So, SAKS has to come up with a way that they can still sell their leftovers to Big Brand Wholesale.com but also make sure people can’t return them to the store… ah-ha! The interior tag!

By cutting the interior tag in half, SAKS can see that the garment was liquidated and therefore they can refuse to accept the return / exchange from the dishonest “shopper”. This is also referred to as “DeLabeling”/ “De-Labeling”.

DO ALL PRODUCTS HAVE CUT INTERIOR TAGS?

Nope. Absolutely not. Delabeling applies only to specific stores brands and only with specific contracts.

IF THE TAG IS CUT IN HALF, IS IT FAKE?

No. In fact, it’s the complete opposite. Nobody cuts counterfeit tags in half (yet… who knows what will happen by 2024). On that note, if the tag is completely missing; like literally 100% gone and the “Hem Tag” is also cut, you likely have a major problem on your hands. I would STRONGLY advise against selling an item with both tags removed as ANY brand name, even if it has a graphic print on the front that says “GUCCI”. Unfortunately, dishonest sellers can take advantage of REAL sellers contracts. They purchase garbage knockoffs then cut off all tags and try to claim that “it’s to prevent return”. Let me tell you guys this: I have been selling wholesale for OVER 16 YEARS and not once has any company EVER old us to cut off Hem Tags!

Another reason a tag may be cut or marked is because the item was a "Sample". Usually when people hear the word "Sample" they think of the free cheese cube they get when shopping at Costco, but a designer store “sample” is different from what you think when you hear the word “sample”. What this actually is, is pieces the designer used for ordering purposes, web listing (photography, descriptions, etc) and inspection.  It is common for these pieces to have delabeling or interior markings.  I am not specifically sure why, but it is very common. 

HOW COME I CAN BUY THIS ITEM ON EBAY AND IT’S NOT DELABELED THROUGH SOME SELLERS?

The reason for this is because those specific sellers either:

1,) Drove to the store and bought it themselves off a clearance rack because they do not have a contract to buy liquidations (meaning the seller is NOT an authorized third party dealer)

2.) The seller bought it from someone who bought it from someone who bought it from the clearance rack ((meaning none of the sellers are an authorized third party dealer)

3.) It’s knockoff

4. The seller chooses to risk legal repercussions because they are breaking the contract they signed. As crazy as it sounds, some people actually do this!

5.) It could be literally stolen from the store

6.) Or, different stores have different contracts regarding the same brand. Here’s a quick example; Costco does not require any Delabeling when they sell us their leftovers. Costco carries all kinds of frequently-changing brands including Calvin Klein, Nautica, Adidas and more. However these exact same brands are carried at a variety of other stores including:

• The actual Calvin Klein Store
• SAKS
• N*RDSTR*M
• M*CYS
• BL**MINGDALES
• Dillards
• And more

It is always possible that Dillards may require CK merchandise to be unlabeled even though Costco does not. Point being, the point of origin will usually determine the requirements to sell that specific brand

HOW DO I EXPLAIN TO MY BUYER WHY THE INTERIOR TAG IS CUT IN HALF

Honest to Goodness, in 16+ years we have never had a complaint about a tag that was attached being cut in half. Way more people get worked up if the “paper store tag” falls off. But, if you feel you absolutely must address the interior logo tag, simply put into your listing, or explain, “This is an authentic item being sold for an incredibly low price. Therefore I am required to cut the interior tag in half so someone cannot purchase it and return it to the store for full price”. - If someone can’t deal with that, they need to pay double or triple to buy an item with a perfect interior tag. And seriously though, if someone is THAT insane that they care what a tag on the INSIDE of a garment looks like, you might not want them as a buyer because imagine how nuts they’re going to be when the mailman sets the parcel on their porch in the rain.

WANT MORE INFO ON THIS TOPIC?  Next Read:  5 Easy Ways! How to Prove a CLOTHING Item is Authentic When Buyer Says It's Not