Jacobs Trading Company

What Jacobs Trading Company does

Jacobs Trading Company (JTC), operating as Jacobs Trading, LLC, is a US wholesale liquidation business founded in 1989 by Irwin Jacobs via a management buyout of the wholesale division of COMB (Close-out Merchandise Buyers). Headquartered in a 300,000-square-foot facility in Hopkins, Minnesota, the company purchases and resells customer returns, buy-backs, over-stocks, shelf-pulls, excess inventories, and damaged goods exclusively by the truckload. It serves wholesale buyers including discount stores, flea markets, auctioneers, regional wholesalers, traditional retailers, and internet retailers across multiple merchandise categories (furniture, electronics, appliances, apparel, tools/hardware, domestics, cookware/bakeware, power wheels, rugs, and seasonal specials).

The business operates with no proprietary technology platform; sales are conducted by phone (with a dedicated sales department and a Spanish-language line), supplemented by email/fax 'Hot Deals' notifications and trade show presence. Loads are sealed at JTC docks, de-faced of retailer logos and labels, and shipped FOB on 48-53 foot trailers using contracted national and international carriers, with buyers required to pay within 24-48 hours of ordering and bear shipping costs. The company owns the inventory it sells and runs approximately ten strategically placed FOB distribution facilities across the United States (Minnesota, Wisconsin/Nevada/North Carolina/Texas/New York/Florida/Oklahoma) to maximize logistics efficiency.

JTC generates revenue through one-time truckload merchandise sales to wholesale buyers, with pricing negotiated per transaction and discounts reaching up to 90% off retail on individual items. The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Liquidity Services Inc. (NASDAQ: LQDT), through whose network it connects returns and excess inventory from major retailers (including 7 of the top 10 globally) to over 2.3 million buyers worldwide. Its go-to-market is sales-led through direct buyer relationships rather than digital channels, although a May 2026 partnership with BidFTA Online Auctions signals an initial move into consumer-facing online auctions.

Name

Jacobs Trading Company

Legal name

Jacobs Trading, LLC

Website

https://jacobstrading.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Jacobs Trading Company is a US wholesale liquidation business, founded in 1989 and headquartered in Hopkins, MN, that purchases and resells truckloads of customer returns, overstocks, and excess inventory to discount stores, flea markets, auctioneers, wholesalers, and retailers across the United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wholesale Liquidation Services

NAICS

Miscellaneous Durable Goods Merchant Wholesalers (4239)

SIC

Wholesale-Misc Durable Goods (5090)

akta.pro primary industry

Overstock & Surplus General Merchandise Retail (CRAEAFAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

General Closeout & Liquidation Stores (CRAEAFAA)

Keywords

• Wholesale liquidation
• Truckload merchandise
• Customer returns
• Excess inventory
• Closeout merchandise

Headquarters

HQ city

Hopkins

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices10 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Truckload merchandise sales: Jacobs Trading Company generates revenue through the sale of liquidated merchandise by the truckload. Products include customer returns, buy-backs, over-stocks, shelf-pulls, and excess inventories sourced from major retailers and manufacturers. Sales are made exclusively in truckload quantities to wholesale buyers. Payment must be received within 24-48 hours after an order is placed and before goods are shipped. The company owns the inventory it sells.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Jacobs Trading Company (JTC) purchases customer returns, buy-backs, over-stocks, shelf-pulls, excess inventories, and damaged goods directly from major U.S. retailers and manufacturers, taking ownership of the merchandise. It then resells these goods exclusively by the truckload to wholesale buyers at liquidation discounts of up to 90% off retail, with merchandise de-faced of retail logos and shipped FOB from ten distribution facilities across the United States. Sales are handled by a direct sales team reachable by phone, supported by a Hot Deals notification system for new inventory and special sales events.

Product overview

Jacobs Trading Company (JTC) is a wholesale liquidation business that operates as a single unified offering focused on purchasing and selling customer returns, excess inventory, and overstock merchandise. The company offers two main product lines: General Merchandise Loads (customer returns from major retailers sold as mixed 'as is' products) and Single Category Loads (closeout merchandise including buy-backs, overstocks, shelf-pulls, and damaged goods in specific categories). Products span multiple categories including Furniture, Electronics, Appliances, Apparel, Tools/Hardware, Power Wheels, Domestics, Cookware/Bakeware, Rugs, and Seasonal Specials. JTC sells exclusively by the truckload and serves customers including discount stores, flea markets, auctioneers, wholesalers, and traditional/online retailers. As part of Liquidity Services (NASDAQ: LQDT), JTC leverages a global network of sales channels serving over 2.3 million buyers worldwide.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• General Merchandise Loads (Customer Returns) Mixed 'as is' products returned to retail stores from consumers, drawn from the nation's most well-known retailers and sold exclusively by the truckload to wholesale buyers. Every load is different and contains a wide variety of merchandise.
• Single Category Loads Truckload quantities of closeout merchandise including buy-backs, over-stocks, shelf-pulls, excess inventories, and damaged goods purchased directly from retail vendors and manufacturers, consisting of 'as is' products no longer sold at retail and generally organized into one product category per load.
• Hot Deals Notification Service Subscription-style updates on the latest products or special sales events at Jacobs Trading Company, delivered to registered buyers via e-mail, fax, or phone so they do not miss a single truckload of new inventory.

Named customers6 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• BidFTA Online AuctionscoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 May 2026Jacobs Trading Company partnered with BidFTA Online Auctions to bring online auction services to the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area. Through this collaboration, customers in the Twin Cities gain access to brand-name merchandise including home goods, electronics, and outdoor items sourced from overstock and liquidated inventory at discounts up to 90% off retail prices. The expansion supports BidFTA's strategy to grow its footprint across new markets while enabling Jacobs Trading to reach a broader audience of value-focused shoppers.
• Liquidity Services (NASDAQ: LQDT)flagshipOthersJacobs Trading Company operates as part of Liquidity Services (NASDAQ: LQDT), leveraging a global network of sales channels that serve 7 of the top 10 largest retailers in the world. This includes connections to open-box stores, department store chains, regional wholesalers, global internet stores, and contracted manufacturers, connecting returns, excess inventory, and capital to over 2.3 million buyers globally.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Optoro: Optoro provides returns management and resale-as-a-service for retailers, routing returned and excess inventory to the best resale channel (including wholesale and liquidation). It competes with JTC for the upstream decision of where retailers send returns inventory.
• BoxFox: BoxFox operates an online excess inventory marketplace connecting brands and retailers directly with resellers, focused on case-pack and smaller-lot liquidation. It overlaps with JTC's single-category loads and wholesale buyer base but skews toward smaller lot sizes.
• BidFTA Online Auctions: BidFTA is an online auction liquidation marketplace reselling overstock and customer-return merchandise (Jacobs Trading is its named Minneapolis–Saint Paul supply partner), making it a partial peer both as a downstream retail channel and as a competing auction-format liquidator.

Direct peers

• Liquidation.com (Liquidity Services): Liquidation.com is the online auction arm of Jacobs Trading's parent (Liquidity Services, NASDAQ: LQDT); it sells surplus and customer-return inventory from major retailers via online auctions, overlapping with JTC's wholesale liquidation offering on supply and buyer side.
• BULQ: BULQ sells curated liquidation loads (mixed and single-category) sourced from major retailers to resellers, with online ordering and recurring supply — a direct digital-modern counterpart to Jacobs Trading's traditional truckload liquidation model.
• Direct Liquidation (via Direct Sale): Direct Liquidation aggregates truckload and pallet lots of customer returns, overstocks, and shelf-pulls from major retailers for resale to resellers, auctioneers, and small businesses — a near-identical GTM and product offering to Jacobs Trading.
• 888 Lots: 888 Lots is an online liquidation marketplace selling truckload and palletized lots of customer returns and overstock from name-brand retailers — directly comparable to JTC in both product mix and target reseller buyer.
• B-Stock Solutions: B-Stock runs online B2B liquidation marketplaces where retailers and manufacturers sell customer returns, overstock, and excess inventory by the pallet and truckload — directly competing with Jacobs Trading's truckload liquidation model for the same wholesale buyer base.
• Marubeni Closeout & Overstock Solutions (JP Trading / Closeout Central): Closeout Central is a B2B online marketplace for closeout, overstock, and liquidated merchandise connecting suppliers with wholesale buyers — comparable supply, buyer base, and business model to Jacobs Trading.

Broad incumbents

• Genco (now part of FedEx Supply Chain): Genco, now part of FedEx Supply Chain, is one of North America's largest reverse-logistics and liquidation operators handling returns, recalls, and overstocks for major retailers at massive scale — a broader incumbent that competes for the same retail reverse-logistics contracts JTC serves.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/JacobsTradingCompany
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/jacobs-trading-co

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Jacobs Trading Company