One of the most frequent questions I get when doing training on inventory management is, “What’s the difference between a “Bulk item” and “New item?”

For me, the best way to approach this is to think of a “Bulk item” as a place where similar items that will all be sold at the same price, are located. Whereas, “New items” are a specific size, style or model of items that will be restocked over and over again.

So let’s look at some examples of each:

Used video games. There are some popular titles that you will want to price individualy to sell at a premium, but there are far more titles that will be priced lower to sell quickly. You may want to create bulk bins for each price point at which you sell games. When you do that in your store and software, you can then pull games into the correct bulk item location and it will simply add to the quantity on-hand. Processing the sale will be as easy as scanning a barcode kept at the counter for the video bulk bin anytime a patron wants to buy a selection of games.

Scrap is a specialized bulk location. When Jewelry is selected as the item type and “Bulk item” is checked, a scrap bucket will be created. This scrap bucket is a location that is used to store jewelry and precious metals until sold to the refiner.

Ammunition is a product that has widely variable prices and will be stocked over and over. When ammunition is added to inventory, “New item” should be checked, the Quantity, Max Quantity, and Re-Order Levels need to be entered.

This would also be used for items such as guitar strings, alkaline batteries, cell phone accessories and any number of other items that a shop may want to keep in stock.

The Inventory report #4, Inventory Re-Orders-Primary Vendor, is used to generate a list of items that need to be ordered. If the Max Quantity is set to “0”, that tells PawnMaster you no longer want to order more of the item and it will not be listed in the re-order report.

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