Look for customer service information on the brand’s website. For example, if your favorite pair of Nike sneakers has been discontinued, you can contact Nike to see if they provide a way for customers to purchase them directly. Search a company’s website if you cannot find the discontinued product in stores. Sometimes, brands will continue to sell things online that are not available in their stores or through their retailers. Wait a while, then check again. Even if a product is all out of stock on a company’s website, sometimes companies keep back a bit of extra stock to fill warranties or replace defected products, and then release it for sale if it is not needed. This can take a while. . . for instance, if a product has a one year guarantee, it will be at least a year before excess stock is released for sale.
If you’re not sure if your brand does bring it back campaigns, contact a customer service representative through their website (often found by clicking “Contact Us”) or through a Facebook message or Tweet.
Follow the company on Twitter and Facebook. Then, tweet or post on Facebook using the company’s handle or a hashtag and the company’s name. It helps if you can get support from other customers. The product was likely discontinued for a reason, and a company needs to believe that bringing it back will be lucrative. On Facebook, this means you’ll need to make your post public in order for both the company and other customers to see it. Ask your friends to re-tweet or share your post or to directly send their own to the company. For example, if you are hoping that Revlon will bring back their Outrageous brand of shampoo and conditioner, you might tweet: “Mourning Outrageous shampoo at every shower, all these years later. Will it ever come back @Revlon?” Be polite. Framing your request in terms of how much you love the company and want to stay loyal to it, rather than blaming the company or questioning their motives, is more likely to be successful.
While Googling the product’s name is likely to turn up results at these websites, the search engine’s algorithm means that its not always reliable, so it is best for you to conduct separate searches at each website. Compare prices and products available. Depending on the discontinued product you are looking for, there might be a large range. For example, on eBay you can find Burt’s Bees discontinued products from $3 to $40. Don’t just buy the first one you see; often sellers know that brand loyalists will be willing to pay more for discontinued items and jack up their prices to take advantage of your desperation. Shop around to find the best price.
Look for sites such as Discontinuedbeauty. com or Buymebeauty. com for beauty and health products,[1] X Research source and Discontinuednomore. com for electronics, fragrances, china and other items.
Look for endcap displays (located on the end of each aisle), orange or red clearance sticker prices and advertisements that certain items are discontinued. Stock up on what you want.
Check your local newspaper as well as your city or town’s Craigslist site. You can also post your own ad on Craigslist or with your local city’s Freecycle program (register at Freecycle. org).
You can also search Facebook for groups and pages dedicated to the brand or product type, where people swap and sell their own items. Beauty brands in particular tend to have cult followings online, and can be a goldmine for discontinued items. Just remember to shop smart, and don’t purchase used items unless they can be sanitized, since cosmetics and other personal items can harbor bacteria. [2] X Research source
Avoid purchasing perishable or expired food or other items with expiration dates that have passed. Doing so can be dangerous to your health. Beauty items like nail polish might not technically expire, but they do change texture and consistency over time, so buying something that has been discontinued for more than a couple of years might not be a good idea. Be sure you know why the item was taken off the market in the first place. Usually items are discontinued because they are not good sellers,[3] X Research source but some items are taken off the market due to safety concerns. These items are often “recalled” by the manufacturer. You should be able to Google the product name and variety to find out if there is any particular reason behind its discontinuance; otherwise contact the company’s customer service.
If you purchase a discontinued item in store, at a garage sale, or at a flea market, be sure to check that the product is still sealed. On websites, be sure the product description says “sealed,” “factory sealed,” or “unopened. " If it does not specify, contact the seller before purchasing. In some cases, you can sanitize a used beauty product. This will only work for products that are solid like solid perfume, lipstick, blush, eyeshadow, and some others, but it could also change the texture or consistency of the product, so do so at your own risk. To sanitize solid perfume or lipstick, dip a cotton pad in rubbing alcohol and wipe off the entire exposed surface. To sanitize solid eyeshadow or blush, wipe off the top layer of the exposed surface with a tissue, then spritz with rubbing alcohol from a spray bottle and let air dry. [4] X Research source
Some brands also announce when they plan to discontinue a product line, so subscribe to favorite brand’s e-mails and follow them on Facebook and Twitter to keep abreast of changes to their product lines, stocking up when necessary.
