New old stock

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

See also: OEM

New old stock (abbreviated NOS) is a term used in business to refer to merchandise being offered for sale which was manufactured long ago but that has never been used. Such merchandise may not be produced anymore, and the new old stock may represent the only market source of a particular item at the present time.

For example, eBay describes parts for repairing or restoring cars as parts from the original manufacturer for repair or reconditioning on their originally sold product.. Another example is vacuum tubes sold by speciality houses - perhaps manufactured decades ago, but never sold and still in their original packaging.

While damage to the original packaging is common, damage to its contents is generally not acceptable in determining if an item is NOS, as it should be presentable in the same form as when new.

Some people also refer to such merchandise as New Obsolete Stock to further indicate that the parts have not been manufactured for several years.