Revenue shows what comes in. Stock turnover shows how hard your inventory works to get there — and how much capital sits still along the way.
Stock turnover measures how many times you sell and replace your entire inventory in a year.
Many secondhand shop owners look mainly at revenue. That makes sense: revenue is visible and easy to measure. But a shop can post solid revenue and still run short on cash, simply because a large part of that money has been sitting on the shelves for months.
A high turnover means goods move quickly. A low turnover means they stay put. And every euro tied up in stock is a euro you cannot spend on your next purchase.
Watch which figure goes on top. It is the purchase value of what you sold, not your revenue. With margin goods, where the markup can be large, that difference is enormous: divide selling prices by stock recorded at cost and your turnover will look far healthier than it really is.
A secondhand business sold goods this year representing €60,000 in purchase value. Its average stock value was €15,000.
The stock turnover is 4. The shop sold its average stock four times over the year.
Many owners find a number of days more tangible than a ratio:
On average an item stays in stock for about 91 days before it sells. The same information, but in a unit you can actually hang a buying decision on.
There is no universal standard — these are the zones secondhand businesses usually fall into.
Where you belong depends on your sector, your price range and your business model. A shop with fast-moving vintage clothing will reach a turnover above 8 more easily than a dealer in antiques or exclusive design furniture — and that is not a weakness, it is a different model.
Two figures are enough. Both at purchase price, so the ratio holds up.
A supermarket simply reorders the same product. A secondhand business cannot. In your shop, almost every item is unique:
If a piece does not sell for months, you cannot return it to a supplier. There is no second chance through purchasing — only through your own decisions. Active follow-up is not a luxury here.
Trends keep turning. A design chair that is sought after today may be just a chair in a few years.
Both shops sold €100,000 in purchase value this year. The difference lies in what it took to get there:
Shop B achieves the same sales with half the capital. That freed-up €25,000 can go back into buying, into the business, or simply into reserves.
A high margin per item is not automatically the better deal. What counts is what an item earns you per year:
Item A delivers the nicer profit per sale, but ties up capital for a year and a half: roughly €200 a year. Item B earns three times less per piece, but does so twelve times — €1,200 a year for the same space in your shop.
That is why strong secondhand businesses always look at margin and turnover together. Neither tells the whole story on its own.
Often a small number of items accounts for a large share of the capital that is stuck: pieces that have occupied the same spot for more than 90, 180 or even 365 days. As long as you only look at your total stock value, that stays invisible.
So split your stock by age rather than by value. That is the fastest route to a better turnover. Read how to spot and tackle dead stock →
Not every appealing object is a good purchase. How fast did comparable pieces sell, and is there enough margin in it?
An asking price that is too high slows everything down. A small correction sometimes earns more, simply because the piece moves.
Retro jackets and design lamps often turn faster than heavy cabinets. Let those figures steer your next buy.
Beyond the shop: your own webshop, secondhand platforms, social media. More visibility usually means faster turnover.
Tracking hundreds of unique pieces by hand does not work. Let software show what sits longest and what performs best.
Turnover is only useful once you see it move. One measurement per quarter is enough to spot a trend.
Calculating turnover fits on a sheet of paper. Tracking it across hundreds of unique pieces does not. Vintro Pro keeps the underlying figures up to date automatically:
Where to find this in the app: the 📈 Dashboard tab. It holds exactly the figures that fill in the formula above: revenue this month, pieces sold and added this month, Avg. time to sale, Total stock value (cost price), the number of unsold pieces, plus the Best-selling category and the Slowest-selling category. Nothing to count — only to divide.
Stock is not an asset that stands still. It is working capital that ought to turn.
Track your turnover and you see sooner which pieces move the business forward and which only take up space. Not to work harder, but to make the same money earn its keep more often.
Most secondhand businesses sit between 2 and 4. Above 4 is strong, but the right figure depends heavily on your price range and the type of goods you sell.
Purchase prices. Dividing selling prices by stock valued at cost makes your turnover look artificially high.
Not always. A very high turnover can also mean your shelves are too empty and you are missing sales.
Once a quarter is enough for most businesses. Measuring more often rarely leads to a different decision.
Vintro Pro tracks how long each item has been in stock and what it earns — so you can base buying decisions on figures.