Firesale

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A major event featuring a rapid sale of merchandise at greatly reduced prices to expedite inventory clearance occurs during this situation
2. An event in which products are sold quickly at very low prices to clear stock as fast as possible
3. A short-term sale offering significant price reductions to swiftly move inventory

Etymology: A fire sale began as a literal event: a shop or warehouse had burned, and whatever goods survived were sold off quickly, often at steep discounts, before they spoiled or lost all value. Because the stock had to move immediately, the phrase came to mean any hurried clearance at reduced prices. The sense is metonymic, with the cause (the fire) standing in for the result (the urgent, distressed sale). The first use of the phrase dates to the 19th century, when merchants who had lost stock to a blaze, or who could no longer store goods after their premises burned down, had to sell at once or lose the value entirely. The original sense was therefore about damaged or endangered merchandise rather than about discounting as a marketing tactic.

Synonyms: clearance sale, discount sale, liquidation sale, bargain sale, stock clearance