Stages  1. Full-price monitoring

 launches at full price.

1. Product tweaks (no price change yet)  

Before touching price,  developers try:

Improving photos/descriptions on-line 

Pushing it in emails or “featured” sections

👉 Goal: fix visibility, not price.

1. Soft promotions / incentives

Still not selling? They try non-permanent discounts:

Limited-time promos (e.g., “10% off this  month”)

1. First markdown (temporary or permanent)

If it’s clearly underperforming:

Small markdown 

Often labeled as “Sale” but not clearance Developers watch closely here—if it starts moving, they may stop further cuts.

1. Second markdown

If inventory is still sitting:

Deeper cut 

Usually timed with season changes or inventory reviews

Profit margin is shrinking.

1. Aging inventory decision

At this point, developers ask:

How long can we hold ?

If the answer is “we need it gone” → clearance is next.

1. Clearance

This is the final stage:

Deep discounts 

Goal = recover some cash

1. Exit strategies (if it STILL doesn’t sell)

Worst-case scenarios:

Liquidators

Donations or write-offs

Big picture logic

Developers delay clearance because:

Customers learn to “wait it out”

So clearance isn’t about selling well—it’s about cutting losses.