Marked down goods: how it differs from revaluation and how to manage returns

In retail, situations regularly arise when certain products lose their original value: the season ends, new collections appear, or minor defects or packaging damage are discovered. 

To sell off such stock quickly, entrepreneurs use price reduction mechanisms.

The answers to these questions are related to the special operating algorithm of the markdown mode in Torgsoft.

How does a markdown differ from product revaluation?

The main difference lies in the purpose and the way the changes are recorded in the program.

 Product revaluation — is a change to its base selling price, whether retail or wholesale. Each time the selling price changes, the product is automatically added to the "Revaluation Log", provided that the corresponding setting is enabled. The log records the history, including the date of the change and the old and new prices. This is a standard process for adjusting prices due to exchange-rate changes or changes in the purchase cost.

 Markdown — is a special product status activated by selecting the corresponding "Marked down" checkbox in the product card or while working with warehouse stock. This status is often used together with a product discount, for example when you set a 50% product discount, allowing you to sell problematic or out-of-season products quickly. A markdown does more than simply change the price: it imposes strict rules on the sale and return of the product. When such a product is sold, the system additionally notifies the cashier: a warning "Attention: this product is marked down" appears in the "Sales Warehouse" window.

Why does the program block returns of marked-down products?

The most common question from users concerns the inability to accept such a product back from a customer. According to the Torgsoft logic, if the "Marked down" option is enabled for a product, the customer will not be able to return it after the sale. This is designed to protect the entrepreneur: a marked-down product, especially a defective product or one sold "as is" with a final discount, is usually sold under final-sale conditions without the right to exchange or return.

If the customer nevertheless requests a refund and the program displays an error and blocks the action, this means that the "Marked down" checkbox was selected in the product card at the time of sale. It is impossible to process a return for a sale made while this checkbox was active. To allow similar products to be returned in the future for new sales, the owner must clear the "Marked down" checkbox in the relevant product card before selling it.

How marked-down products interact with customer discounts

Another important aspect is how markdowns work with loyalty programs. Entrepreneurs often ask why the customer’s discount card discount was not applied to a marked-down product. In Torgsoft, the checkbox next to "Markdown" is intended specifically for cases when you do not want the discount set for the product to be combined with the customer’s discount. If this option is enabled, no other discounts will apply to the reduced-price product except its own product discount. This protects the business from the risk of selling a product below cost because several promotions were applied simultaneously.

In addition, the system allows you to configure how marked-down products affect the cumulative discount system. The program settings include a section titled "Products excluded from the amount used to calculate the discount", where you can select "Marked down" from the available options. If this option is selected, the cost of the purchased marked-down product will not be included in the customer’s total accumulated amount required to receive a one-time discount or move to the next cumulative discount threshold.

Summary

• Revaluation — is a change to the current price for regular sales, which is recorded in the corresponding log.

• Markdown — is a powerful sales tool that permanently blocks product returns after the receipt is issued, disables all discount card discounts for that item and, if necessary, excludes it from a regular customer’s accumulated purchase amount.