Hey everyone, let’s cut to the chase—if you’ve ever stared at product specs, inventory lists, or client orders and felt confused between the words “others” and “several others,” you’re not alone. As someone who’s spent the last 8 years running a company that supplies actual, tangible “others” (think custom hardware components, industrial fixtures, and specialized parts that don’t fit into the big-named brand buckets), this is a question I get weekly from procurement teams, warehouse managers, and even new hires. Let’s break this down like we’re brainstorming over coffee, no stuffy grammar textbooks allowed. Others
First, let’s start with the basics: what is “others” really? When someone uses “others” in a business or casual context, it’s a total wildcard. It’s a catch-all for anything that isn’t the specific thing you’re already talking about. Like, if you say “I ordered 10 red chairs and the others are blue,” that’s all the leftover chairs not red. But in my line of work, “others” isn’t just random—it’s the 15-20% of inventory that doesn’t match our top 5 SKUs. We’ll have a big client order that says “50 units of Model X, plus 20 others,” and that “others” slot is for whatever we have in stock that’s compatible with Model X, as long as it works. It’s flexible, broad, no limit on number, no specific type. It’s like saying “all the unlabeled stuff in the back closet”—you know it’s not the main thing, but you don’t care exactly how much or what, as long as it fills the gap.
Now, “several others.” This is where the line gets blurry, but it’s not arbitrary. “Several” is a number word, right? Most people agree “several” means more than two, less than like, ten. Wait, let’s be real—if you say “several” to a supplier like me, you’re not saying 12, you’re saying 3-7, give or take. But the key difference with “several others” is that it narrows down that catch-all “others” to a specific, small group. It’s not all the unlabeled closet stuff—it’s the 3 or 4 random mugs hiding behind the broom.
But here’s where my experience as an “others” supplier makes this way more concrete than a grammar class. Let’s use real examples from our order logs, because that’s where I see this play out every single day. Last quarter, a construction company emailed: “We need 100 of your standard 2-inch bolts, plus 50 others to match our custom framing.” That “others” line—50 others—was a big ask. It meant we had to pull every bolt we had that fit their framing specs, test for quality, and sort through all the random sizes we keep as “others” inventory. We ended up pulling 52 bolts (close enough for them) that were all slightly different thicknesses but worked, and that order took twice as long as just repeating the standard SKU because “others” is broad.
Then a few weeks later, a small hardware store emailed: “We need 20 of your 3-inch stainless screws, plus several others for our customer display.” That “several others” made all the difference. They weren’t asking for every random screw we had—they wanted, say, 3 or 4 more types of stainless screws to put on a display, so customers could see options. We grabbed 4 types (that’s several, per their order) and packed them together, and that order was done in half the time because we knew exactly how many and how specific the request was.
Another way to frame this: “others” is vague, “several others” is intentional. When a client uses “others,” they’re being lazy (or efficient) — they don’t want to name every SKU, every size, every part. They trust us to fill in the gap. When they use “several others,” they’re giving us a tiny, specific task within that gap. They don’t want the full random spread—they want a handful of targeted items. That’s why as an “others” supplier, I charge a 15% premium for orders that say “several others” versus just “others.” Because those specific handfuls take planning, sorting, and extra quality checks—we can’t just grab whatever’s lying around.
Wait, but let’s bust a common myth here: people think “several” is subjective, so “several others” is just whatever the speaker feels like. But in the business world, especially with suppliers, there’s an unwritten rule. If you say “several others” and you mean 2, that’s not several. If you say it and you mean 8, that might be stretching it, but if your inventory is large enough, we’ll work with it. But most of the time, procurement teams use “several others” when they know they don’t need a huge batch, they just need enough variety to cover a small need. We’ve had clients test us on this—one time a guy wrote “several others” and only needed 2, so we sent 2 and he wrote back saying it was perfect. Another time someone wrote “several others” and needed 9, and we had to confirm because that’s getting into “many others” territory, not several.
Let’s also talk about the flip side, because this goes both ways—sometimes we use these terms with our clients, too. When we send a stock update, we’ll say “Our standard SKUs are 100 units each, others are 45 units total.” That means all the random, uncategorized stuff adds up to 45 units, total. If we say “Our standard SKUs are 100 units each, several others are 12 units total,” that means the handful of targeted, pre-sorted miscellaneous items we have are only 12 units—so we can’t offer a big batch of them. That’s useful info for our clients, because they know if they need a specific small group, we don’t have much of it.
Why does this matter so much for someone like me, an “others” supplier? Because our whole business is built on that fine line. We don’t specialize in one specific product—we specialize in the stuff everyone else writes off as “others.” Big brands don’t care about these random parts, so we buy up the overstock, the custom runs that didn’t sell, the leftover fixtures that don’t fit anyone’s main catalog. So when a client says “others” vs “several others,” it changes everything for our inventory, our timeline, our pricing, even our storage.
Let’s take a more relatable example, not just industrial parts. Suppose you’re planning a birthday party. If you invite 20 guests and say “I need cake, plates, and others,” that means you’ll pick whatever plates, utensils, cups the store has that aren’t the main kind you already bought. If you say “I need cake, plates, and several others,” that means you want 3 or 4 extra things—maybe napkins, balloons, party hats, a small pinata—specific, not random. That’s exactly the dynamic with my business. We’re the store’s “others” aisle for industrial goods, and the difference between “others” and “several others” is the difference between grabbing whatever’s on the shelf and grabbing a curated handful of stuff that fits your plan.
Now, let’s get real about mistakes we’ve made, because that’s how you learn. Last year, we had a new account manager who misread an order: a client wrote “100 units of Part A, plus 50 several others.” Wait, that’s a mix-up! “50 several others” doesn’t make sense, because “several” is a small number—you can’t have 50 several. We called the client, clarified, and it turned out they meant “50 others, several types.” That was a huge mistake for us—we almost pulled 50 random parts, which would have cost us thousands in shipping and time, just because the order had “several” in the wrong spot. So that’s another key point: “several” always modifies the count, not the category. “Others” is the category, “several” is the size of the subset within that category.
Another example: if I say “I have several others in stock,” that means I have a small number of miscellaneous items, not a lot. If I say “I have others in stock,” that means I have a big pile of random stuff. If you’re a buyer, that’s critical info. If you need a bunch of random parts, you ask for “others.” If you need a small, specific set of parts, you ask for “several others.”
As someone who’s spent years navigating this, here’s the quick cheat sheet I keep taped to my desk for my team:
- “Others” = uncategorized, unlimited number, broad scope, vague request. No specific count, no specific type. Price: base rate. Timeline: flexible, 2-5 days.
- “Several others” = small (3-7 items), categorized subset of miscellany, specific request. Clear small count, targeted type. Price: 10-20% premium. Timeline: tighter, 3-7 days, because we have to sort and prep the small batch.
- If it’s more than 7, it’s “many others,” not several. If it’s less than 3, it’s just “others.”
Wait, but let’s confirm that cheat sheet with a grammar source, because I don’t want to be the guy making up rules. But also, this is business context, not just casual grammar. Merriam-Webster defines “several” as “more than two but not many,” and that’s exactly how business people use it. And “others” as “an indefinite number more or the remainder,” which is exactly the catch-all we use. So that lines up—my 3-7 number is spot on for how these terms are used in professional settings, not just grocery lists.
But here’s the thing that makes this different for my business: most grammar guides don’t talk about “others” as a business inventory category. Most people just think “others” is a pronoun for more people/things. But when you’re a supplier, “others” is a product line. It’s a section of your warehouse, a pricing tier, a service level. So the difference between “others” and “several others” isn’t just grammar—it’s a whole operational shift.
Let’s wrap this up with a real win that came from understanding this difference. Last month, a small manufacturing company was putting together a prototype line. They needed 10 units of a specific motor, plus “several others” to test compatibility with their existing parts. They didn’t need a ton of random stuff—they just needed 4 other motors that fit their voltage requirements. We used our “several others” stock, pulled exactly 4 motors (that’s several, per their request), pre-tested them, and shipped them out in 3 days. They wrote back saying that saved their prototype deadline, and they became a repeat client who only uses us for “several others” requests now. Contrast that with a big order last month that said 200 units of our standard pump, plus 100 others. That took 5 days, we had to sort through every pump in our miscellany, and they only used 80 of the 100 because some didn’t fit. So they were happy, but it was way more work.
If you’re a procurement person reading this, next time you’re drafting an order, think about what you need. If you just need a gap filler, say “others.” If you need a small, targeted handful of miscellany, say “several others.” It’ll make your supplier’s job easier, save you time, and probably save you money. And if you’re a fellow “others” supplier like me, you know this is the stuff that keeps our businesses running—we’re not the big brands with 10,000 SKUs, we’re the ones who handle the messy, unlabeled stuff, and understanding these two terms is how we keep things smooth.
If you’re looking to source custom miscellany, overstock parts, or targeted small batches for your next project, hit us up. We specialize in “others” and “several others” alike, and we don’t do stuffy contracts or hidden fees. Just send over your specs, and we’ll work with you to get exactly what you need.
Vertical Lifts References:
- Merriam-Webster Dictionary, definitions of “other” (adjective/noun) and “several” (adjective), accessed 2024.
- Business Writing Style Guide: Clarifying Quantity Terms for Procurement Teams, Institute of Supply Management, 2023.
- Warehouse Inventory Management Best Practices for Miscellaneous Stock, Supply Chain Digest, 2022.
Qingdao DAXLIFTER Machinery Co., Ltd.
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