<p>Reducing food loss is crucial for global food security and supply chain sustainability. This study examines how advance selling strategies impact food loss and profitability, with a focus on consumer perceptions of product quality deterioration. Unlike traditional models assuming perfect consumer knowledge, we distinguish between effective and perceived quality deterioration, recognizing that consumers often make decisions based on perceptions that may not reflect a product’s true condition. We analyze consumer behavior across high, low, and constant valuation scenarios to understand how perceptions influence purchasing decisions and reduce food loss. The results show that the hybrid selling (HS) model minimizes food loss most effectively when effort costs remain below a critical threshold. However, when effort costs exceed this threshold, or when the appearance change period is long, the pure advance selling (PAS) model becomes more effective in reducing food loss. Compared to the pure spot-market selling (PSS) and PAS models, the HS model consistently results in lower food loss, especially when consumers highly value product quality, although it may not be the most profitable model under certain conditions. Robustness tests, including shared quality information and nonlinear deterioration rates, confirm the effectiveness of the HS model. The findings suggest that improving consumer awareness and perceived value can reduce quality-related losses, enhance inventory management, and improve both profitability and sustainability. This research offers actionable insights for retailers seeking to reduce food loss and improve supply chain efficiency.</p>