Long-form post
The Fed Just Made Your Dead Inventory More Expensive to Ignore
What Indy Retailers Should Do
Read on SubstackFounder dispatches
Margin math from the back room.
John Valenti's field notes on owner-operated retail: what ties up cash, what earns its shelf space, and what to do when the numbers stop moving.
24 recent public entries from Substack
When local retail thrives
What a healthy independent retail street means for a community — and why keeping owner-operated stores open is the work worth doing.
Founder dispatches
The margin files
John's deeper field notes on retail, trapped capital, and building Cash Margin Partners—selected from his live Substack notebook.
Long-form post
People Run the Store. But What Runs the Store’s Balance Sheet?
Carol Schroeder wrote a piece this week that I think every independent retailer should read.
Read on SubstackLong-form post
We got named in a 2026 liquidation platform roundup
eCommerce Fastlane just published a comparison of seven excess-inventory platforms for Shopify and DTC operators, and Cash Margin Partners made the list alongside B-Stock, Liquidation.com, AAA Closeout Liquidators, 888 Lots, Prediko, and Inventory Planner by Sage.
Read on Substack
Founder dispatch
Quick way to think about what we do at Cash Margin Partners: we're basically the StubHub of business inventory.
StubHub matches buyers and sellers of tickets. We match buyers and sellers of excess inventory, helping independent retailers turn the stuff sitting on their shelves into cash, and connecting bulk buyers with inventory they're looking for. No upfront cost, no risk to the retailer, we just make the match happen.
Read on SubstackLatest from John
The public notebook
Short observations, useful links, company updates, and the occasional left-field thought—shown as John publishes them.
Substack note
Cash Margin Partners was listed #1 out of "7 Best Inventory Cash Flow Tools For Indepedent Retailers"
#IndependentRetail #RetailTech #CashFlow #SmallBusiness #InventoryManagement
Read on Substack
Substack note
David Friedberg's Case Against American Socialism
David Friedberg (of All-in fame) has hit the circuit and goes on a jeremiad vs. US tax policy and socialism. Below is a summary of the evangel he has been preaching. I’m with him one-hundy. And he tears Ro Khana a new one. On Sourcery (https://t.co/Dwsa4QXqBa), David Friedberg (argues the U.S. wealth gap is misread: of $183T in household net worth,…
Read on SubstackSubstack note
Over the coming months, our customers and partners will see Cash Margin Partners fully express ourselves on social…
The inspiration for this: Motley Fool. I’ve known David Gardner and his co-founder and brother Tom since we were kids. Nerf Football in the backyard. Tom was a huge Eagles fan, David/me – Skins all the way. It could get heated. We’d stay up all night in their G’town home playing Strat-O-Matic and Dungeons & Dragons. Around 3am, we could hear their dad…
Read on Substack
Substack note
Tim Cook’s last day at Apple.
Apple's stock surged by roughly 5,500% during Steve Jobs' second tenure (1997–2011), while growing by over 2,200% across Tim Cook's nearly 15-year leadership (2011–2026). So, yeah, the GOAT was, well, the GOAT. But the “logistics” guy was pretty, pretty good. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XadNMpvhkzA
Read on Substack
Substack note
Headed to Miami for Damon John/Next Level CEO interview.
Am I nervous? Absolutely. Strategy to prevent the abject face-plant: adopt a persona - or a combination of multiple personas - and occupy that headspace for 1 hour. I can fake it for an hour.Personas under consideration include: 1. Jack Nicholson: combo Jake Gittes + Terms of Endearment character 2. Pacino/GF2 when mtg with Hyman Roth and Moe Green 3. Paul…
Read on Substack
Substack note
Sam Altman & OpenAI set up a large-scale, loosely supervised agent swarm running a real capability eval, without…
https://www.axios.com/2026/08/29/openai-huggingface-hack-investigation-highlights
Read on SubstackShowing 6 of 20 recent notebook entries.Open John's complete Substack profile
CMP Editorial
Worth a closer look
Recent reading, clear source dates, and practical questions for your store.
Retail field guides
The working library
Sourced, practical guides to the numbers behind inventory decisions—what to measure, how to read it, and what to do when the answer is ugly.
- What Is Dead Stock in Retail? A Retailer's DefinitionDead stock in retail is inventory a store bought but never sold across a measured window, usually six months or longer. The units sit on hand at full cost value while producing no revenue. Dead stock ties up cash the…Read the guide
- The Definitive Guide to Excess Inventory: Causes, Costs, and RecoveryExcess inventory is stock a retailer holds beyond what its own sales rate will clear inside a useful window. It ties up cash the owner already spent, and it costs money every month it sits. Recovery runs in four moves:…Read the guide
- 8 Best Retail Inventory Management ToolsRetail inventory management software tracks what a store holds, what it cost, and how fast it moves. This guide ranks 8 tools for independent, owner-operated retailers. Pricing for the original seven was checked on…Read the guide
- How to Calculate Inventory Turnover in 6 StepsInventory turnover is cost of goods sold divided by average inventory at cost, measured over one fixed window. Six steps get you there: set the window, pull cost of goods sold, then record beginning and ending inventory.…Read the guide
- What Is GMROI? A Retailer's DefinitionGMROI, or gross margin return on investment, is the gross profit earned for every dollar tied up in inventory at cost. A GMROI of 2.40 means each dollar of average inventory returned $2.40 in gross margin. The number…Read the guide
- How to Calculate GMROI in 5 StepsGMROI, or gross margin return on investment, equals gross margin dollars divided by average inventory at cost over the same window. Calculate it in five steps: lock the window, pull net sales, subtract cost of goods…Read the guide
- 9 Signs Your Cash Is Trapped in InventoryCash is trapped in inventory when stock sits long enough that the money you paid for it stops circulating. Nine signs give it away.Read the guide
- 7 Ways to Turn Slow-Moving Inventory Into CashSeven tactics turn slow-moving inventory back into cash, and each one trades a different amount of margin for speed. They run from re-merchandising and bundling through a markdown ladder, vendor returns, a second…Read the guide
- The Definitive Guide to Open-to-Buy Planning: Formulas, Templates, and CadenceOpen-to-buy is the dollar amount of new merchandise a retailer may receive in a given month without breaking its inventory plan. The calculation is planned sales plus planned markdowns plus planned end-of-month inventory…Read the guide
- 7 Best Inventory Planning SoftwareInventory planning software forecasts demand, sets reorder points, and holds the buying budget for the season ahead. This guide ranks 7 tools for independent retail, with pricing checked on August 5, 2026. Cash Margin…Read the guide
- 12 Inventory Metrics That Actually Matter for Independent RetailersTwelve inventory metrics carry real decisions for an independent retailer, and each ends in a buy, hold, mark down, or liquidate call. The first six are sell-through rate, weeks of supply, days on hand, dead stock ratio,…Read the guide
- How to Liquidate Excess Inventory in 8 StepsLiquidating excess inventory takes eight steps, starting with a sales-by-SKU export and ending with a closed transaction. In between you qualify the goods, price the position, set a floor, choose a channel, and build the…Read the guide
- 6 Established Places to Sell Excess Inventory and One Proposed CMP OptionExcess inventory sells through four kinds of channels. This guide ranks six established channels for independent retail and documents the proposed CMP Exchange separately, pending production acceptance.Read the guide
- The Definitive Guide to Retail Cash Flow: Where the Money Goes and How to Get It BackRetail cash flow is the money moving into and out of a store's bank account over a period, usually a month. Money in comes from sales, and money out goes to inventory, rent, payroll, card fees, freight, and debt service.…Read the guide
- How to Find Dead Stock in Shopify in 7 StepsFinding dead stock in Shopify starts with the full inventory catalog, a clearly documented sales window, and reliable unit costs. Use Shopify's inventory reports as supporting evidence, then reconcile the exports by v…Read the guide
- 7 Best Cash Flow Forecasting Tools for Independent RetailersCash flow forecasting software projects money in and money out over a set horizon, usually 30 to 90 days or 13 weeks. This guide ranks seven tools on one question: does the forecast account for cash sitting in unsold …Read the guide
- 7 Retail Operations Tools Independent Store Owners Actually UseRetail operations software runs the store rather than the stock: staff scheduling, task execution, audits, returns, and loss prevention. This list covers seven tools that work at one to five locations, ranked by fit f…Read the guide
- 7 Best Shopify Apps for Retail Operations TeamsShopify apps for retail operations handle the running of the business rather than the selling of the product: automation, pickup and delivery, customer support, shipment tracking, wholesale ordering, and page building…Read the guide
- 7 Inventory Management Tools for Trades and Field Service BusinessesInventory management software for contractors tracks materials that move on trucks and job sites rather than sitting on shelves. This guide ranks seven tools on van stock, consumables, tool tracking, and whether the v…Read the guide
- 9 Markdown Tactics That Move Dead StockA markdown is a permanent price reduction taken to move stock that has stopped selling. These nine tactics cover when to take the first one, how deep to go, how to sequence the next, and the point at which discounting…Read the guide
- Markdown vs Liquidation: Which Recovers More Cash?Markdowns sell dead stock to your own customers at a reduced price. Liquidation sells it in bulk to a third party at a lower price per unit but far faster. Markdowns recover more per unit while demand still exists in …Read the guide
- 7 Best Cogsy Alternatives Now That Cogsy Has Shut DownCogsy has been discontinued. Its own domain now redirects to a notice saying so, while its Shopify App Store listing stays publicly listed at $199 a month. This list ranks seven verified alternatives, checked against …Read the guide
- How to Build a 90-Day Cash Recovery Plan in 9 StepsA cash recovery plan converts inventory that isn't selling back into cash over a set period. These nine steps size the problem, rank it by the money each line holds, assign a route to every item, and put dates against…Read the guide
- Inventory Planning vs Inventory Management Software: What's the Difference?Inventory management software records what you have right now: quantities, locations, movements, reorder points. Inventory planning software forecasts what you should buy next, from demand history, seasonality, and le…Read the guide
- 8 Ways to Free Up Working Capital Without a LoanWorking capital is current assets minus current liabilities, and in a retail store the largest current asset is usually inventory. These eight moves release cash the business already owns, by converting stock back int…Read the guide
- 7 Best Inventory Planner Alternatives for Independent RetailersInventory Planner alternatives are tools that forecast demand, flag excess stock, or recover the cash sitting inside it. This list ranks seven, checked against their live pricing and integration pages in September 202…Read the guide
- 7 Best Prediko Alternatives for Retailers Who Sell Off a ShelfPrediko alternatives are inventory planning and recovery tools that work outside Shopify's walls, report in dollars, or cost less than a banded subscription. This list ranks seven, verified against their live pricing …Read the guide
- 7 Best Shopify Dead Stock Reports for Finding Trapped CashA Shopify dead stock report identifies inventory that has stopped selling and, in the better tools, prices it. This list ranks seven, checked against live App Store listings and documentation in September 2026. Cash M…Read the guide
- 7 Best Shopify Inventory Report Apps, Compared on What Each One ReportsA Shopify inventory report app pulls stock, cost, and sales data into views Shopify's admin doesn't build for you. This list ranks seven, verified against live App Store listings, vendor sites, and documentation in Se…Read the guide
- Inventory Liquidation Companies Compared: Fees, Fit, and LimitsAn inventory liquidation company converts unsold stock into cash, either by auctioning it to resellers or buying it outright. This comparison covers liquidation services, a buy-side-only marketplace, and CMP’s separat…Read the guide
- 6 Closeout Buyers and CMP’s Inventory Planning ToolA closeout buyer purchases excess or discontinued inventory outright, takes title, and resells it through its own channels. This comparison covers six closeout buyers and CMP’s separate inventory-planning tool, with t…Read the guide
- 6 Inventory Turnover Calculators and CMP’s Trapped-Cash EstimateAn inventory turnover calculator divides cost of goods sold by average inventory to show how many times stock cycles in a period. This comparison covers six ratio calculators and CMP’s trapped-cash questionnaire, with…Read the guide
- The State of Independent Retail in the DMVRetail employment across the Washington metro area fell 0.63% over the year to July 2026, to 253,700 jobs. Total employment in DC and Arlington fell 4.5% over the same rough period. Retail is holding up better than th…Read the guide
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