How to open a (wildly successful) consignment shop

September 23, 2007 by Auntie Kate of Too Good to be Threw

Today is my anniversary. On September 23, 1975, I opened One More Time, gently-used good clothes, in a blue-collar neighborhood of Columbus Ohio. Doesn’t seem that long ago. That’s my father, there, with the broom. He also painted my “coming soon” sign (which went upthe literal MINUTE I signed the lease) and was the owner of the Ford station wagon (1969 vintage if I remember correctly) that’s reflected in the shop windows.

I had, in reserve that September day, all the money I had in the world (less than 3 months’ expenses for the shop); a father and step-mother willing if necessary to feed me; a boyfriend willing if necessary to pay my apartment rent; and a whole lotta moxie.

I talked the landlord into taking half the rent for the first 6 months, then taking 1 1/2 the rent the remaining 6 months of the lease. Figured (correctly) that would help my cash flow.

When, a few weeks after opening, several customers mentioned that they had been hesitant to come in because the window displays made the shop look expensive (one of my past jobs had been as a window trimmer), I started doing the windows less perfectly. I didn’t know where to buy price tags (this was pre-Google, remember!) so I used little squares of paper safety-pinned to the upper left chest. I found a lot of peach index cards on sale, so for the first couple years, all my financial records were in peach. Sales counter? Door on frame, sided in plywood, created in BF’s garage (and believe me, he was no finish carpenter!)

Now one thing you have to realize is: back then/ there: NO ONE had a clue as to what consignment MEANT, yet alone how it worked. A whole buncha time was spent explaining the whole idea. By me, in between everything else! Dressing room? I replaced the door to the storage closet tucked under the staircase that led to the upstairs offices with “saloon doors”, swinging half-height shutters. Layaways? In the bathroom. Which I had to WAIT to use (remember, I worked alone) until a friendly pair of local secretaries (Nancy the blonde and Mary the brunette) stopped by every lunch-hour to relieve me for 5 minutes!Excited to start your own shop? Check out TGtbT.com’s Start-a-Shop Page, and get The Manual!

A part of any profits I made, those first few months, went to the Grandview Cab Co. because my old red-and-black Toyota often refused at 8am to transport me from my German Village apartment to my Grandview Heights shop.

Yes, my parents fed me more often than not (my step-mother made her charity festive by bringing me lunch disguised as a “shop picnic”… her AMC Gremlin would pull up outside and my taste buds would perk right up), but The Boyfriend never did have to help out with my living expenses (and yes, he’s STILL The Boyfriend).

A year after opening, I had two (very) part-time employees (both of whom became full-timers and stayed on for 8-9 years longer) and I was able to buy a house. A modest house, yes, but houses should be modest.

Eight years later I began publishing a newsletter for consignment, resale and thrift shop owners. A few years after that, I wrote the first edition of Too Good to be Threw, The Complete Operations Manual for Consignment Shops (Note: Updated every few years, the Manual is still the MAIN resource for shopkeepers, I’m proud to say!))

Twenty years after I opened the shop I sold the business to my manager of ten years and retired at the ripe old age of 48, only to start a career as the web hostess of Too Good to be Threw, TGtbT.com (as you can see, I thought the name was too good to be threw as well!) One More Time is still growing and prospering under the guidance of Chris, who not only succeeded at shopkeeping, but who fulfilled a dream of hers: to serve as president of the industry association!

So if you doubt you can make a success of a small (mine started out at 750 sq ft) shop on an even smaller budget, remember me, way back when people didn’t even understand consignment!

Get the Manual. The best expenditure your consignment, resale, or thrift can make, at any stage in your business growth.

Get emails from this blog! That’s https://tgtbt.blog/follow/ )

Posted in Shopkeeping talk | Tagged consignment, HowToConsign.com, starting a consignment shop | 98 Comments

98 Responses

on February 9, 2010 at 7:55 pm Devon

thanks for all the encouragement my family has been talking starting some like this and this site is rich with information and wonderful colorful and brave people who enjoy being in business for themselves and doing something they love.
on October 16, 2009 at 5:06 pm Joyce

Sorry I meant to say I “wouldn’t recommend a consignment shop”
- on October 16, 2009 at 6:22 pm Auntie Kate
  
  Thanks, Joyce, for your comments. I will assume that when you mention that you recommend a thrift shop, you’re assuming that people will simply give you things to sell. Great idea…if you are funding a charity. I am not sure what you mean when you say “you lose money on consignments”, I know quite a few people who have not only made a good living, but become very well off running consignment shops. Including myself.
on October 16, 2009 at 5:05 pm Joyce

very good information only I would recommend a consignment shop just recommend a thrift shop, you lose money on consignments, put pen to paper and do the math. Not worth it.
on September 23, 2009 at 2:41 pm A business plan in 3 words: funny thing, it worked. « Auntie Kate The Resale Expert

[…] show HIM… it was I’ll show myself. To read more about how I started my shop, read How to Open a Wildly Successful Consignment Shop. Photo from […]
on August 17, 2009 at 9:01 pm mary h nettles

Hi Auntie Kate: I would like to open a successful consignment shop, as you have done and learn more about the business I was layoff my job after 25 yrs of services and now I am in need of a new career . and having ,a consignment shop would leave me into something different and new and a challenge as an older person. you had vision and a dream and , You make it Work! togoodtobethrew
on August 17, 2009 at 8:58 pm mary h nettles

Hi Auntie Kate: I would like to open a successful consignment shop, as you have done and learn more about the business I was layoff my job after 25 yrs of services and now I am in need of a new career . and having ,a consignment shop would leave me into something different and new and a challenge as an older person. you had vision and a dream and , You make it Work!
on June 29, 2009 at 12:07 am rick hirsch

Hi Kate,
I just moved in to a town in the midwest from the east coast and am considering opening a consignment store. There are none in this town of 22,000 people (two colleges) and am wondering if there are any sources that would provide me with the average yearly sales based on demographic data.
Your book looks amazing and it I proceed, will definately buy it.
Thanks,
Rick Hirsch
- on June 29, 2009 at 11:31 am Auntie Kate
  
  Rick, your friendly federal govt has all the demographic stats you need and most likely, it’s on the i-net…trick is, finding it. Start with the FirstGov link on my links page at TGtbT.com and proceed from there. And when you find it, go to our Sharing discussion board on TGtbT.com and “share” a more exact link!
  Now, if you are trying to figure out how much your shop will make based on how many people are in your arrea, you won’t find that…because there are way too many variables. What will you seel, how much does your market want it, how you will advertise, even your shop hours affect all that! Of course, in the manual we talk about all that, and knowing whatever stats are available is always useful…but there ain’t no crystal balls. Two colleges though…MOST helpful, if that’s the market you want to target.
  Best wishes on your new venture, and see you on Sharing.
on January 19, 2009 at 2:48 pm Is now a good time to open a consignment shop? « Auntie Kate The Resale Expert

[…] Posts How to open a (wildly successful) consignment shopHow to open a consignment store: Second Hand is First Rate when you aim for Resale Success!CPSC’s […]
on October 1, 2008 at 3:38 pm Giving your customers more than they’d planned on off your $1 rack « Auntie Kate The Resale Guru

[…] Manhasset LI NY in the 1950’s. It was a creation of my father, Ed Grauer, whom you’ve read about. I “inherited” the phrase in 1975 when I opened One More Time in Columbus Ohio. Betcha […]
on August 7, 2008 at 9:35 pm Almost 3000 people want to know… « Auntie Kate The Resale Guru

[…] …how to open a (wildly successful) consignment shop, according to the statistics on my blog. Even thought that post is almost a year old, it’s still the second most sought-after topic. (The first most? Whatever’s the latest post.) […]
on November 25, 2007 at 10:16 pm stacie in sarasota

Thank you so much! You have given me hope that it is POSSIBLE to start with next to nothing financially…I hope to have my store open within a year…
on November 9, 2007 at 3:06 pm Arlene

What an inspirational story. Thank you so much for sharing.

Please let me know if I can link this story on my blog.
on November 3, 2007 at 10:03 am Auntie Kate

Great topic for Sharing: how to build a team in your shop. I’m going to copy your remarks over at our discussion board under the topic Customer Service, at http://www.tgtbt.com/w-agora/index.php?bn=tgtbt_customerservice

so we can get some different approaches! Thanks for raising the subject!
on November 3, 2007 at 9:17 am Karen

Kate, one of the things that inspires me so much about your story is that you were able to recruit employees who stuck by you. I am a fairly new shop, and can’t pay “top dollar” yet, but I have the most awesome woman working working with me…she really is an asset to the store. How do I nurture her commitment to the job and retain her for the long haul? She LOVES working at my shop…we both live in the village where the shop is located, and she does love being in the heart of the village. Your advise greatly appreciated!
on October 18, 2007 at 9:43 am How to love to go to work every morning (even if sometimes it’s all 7 mornings) « Auntie Kate The Resale Guru

[…] 18th, 2007 by Auntie Kate Today would have been my father’s birthday, so, in honor of him, an artist, today’s Quotation of […]
on September 30, 2007 at 10:28 pm Jody

Thanks for sharing your adventure. It’s so good to hear success stories!
on September 24, 2007 at 5:01 pm patricia

Thanks Kate!
Hearing about your success made me only want ot work harder at becomming my own success!
I consider you the be all and end all of this industry so thank you for sharing your humble beginnings and showing me that you don’t need to be fancy to ba success.
Patricia
on September 24, 2007 at 3:39 pm April

WOW! I love reading about how you began! Seeing pictures was a special treat!!!

How awesome!

I am with Dottie, we certainly are the ones who are receiving the gift!!
on September 23, 2007 at 6:55 pm Dottie

What a lovely peek into the beginnings of your shop Kate.

Happy Anniversary, but we (your “students”) are the ones that have received the gift!
on September 23, 2007 at 6:35 pm Nanci

And it’s my birthday today – so wow! Even more to celebrate!!

I loved the nostalgic walk back through your first shop. What a humble launch into a career that you have made so rich and significant for all of us. Thanks for the infinite inspiration!