Retailers are making returns harder. A carpet seller taught me why that’s a mistake | Gene Marks
Oct 04, 2026
A standard business practice offsets future costs by funding a reserve for returns – but many small businesses don’t do itIn my 30-plus years of being an accountant I have learned many business lessons from people who were much smarter than me. Jerry Crawford was one of those people. Jerry taugh
t me about product returns.Jerry – who sadly passed away a decade ago – sold carpets wholesale from a nondescript little building in south Jersey. He employed about 50 people and counted many local and national carpet retailers as his customers. When I reviewed Jerry’s books, I noticed a large reserve for “returns”. Continue reading... ...read more read less