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.
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Auntie Kate The Resale Expert 
omg your story was very inspiring I would love more details and information I’m trying to open a luxury consignment store in Atlanta I need the right guidance and mentors because I want this project to be nothing more then successful
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Thanks, Ebony! Please feel free to visit our Professional Resalers’ Shop at Too Good to be Threw and choose those Products for the Professional Resaler that you believe would help your shop be all you dream it can be!
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Hi Katie,
It was so helpful and inspiring reading your web page. I am in search of starting a Resale Boutique as my second career and passion for design and fashion. Thank you for sharing your story and success.
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Thanks Lisa, I appreciate your kind words! And heck, I’ll share even more: All our Products for the Professional Resaler, starting with Too Good to be Threw Complete Operations Manual for Resale & Consignment Shops and building on that with our dozens of special-focus booklets and PDFs!
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I have a passion for fashion and a buring desire to open a resale consignment shop. I know the step that I need to take for this venture, however I can always use the advise of someone who has been in the business to help me start out of the gate. Thanks Ann
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Welcome, Ann! I’m sure with all the posts here on my blog, the articles and Products on my main web site, TGtbT.com, and my social media contributions, you’ll have more than enough to get started on your new career! Thanks so much for visiting, and I’ll look forward to your participation!
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Omgosh I love this site and you aunty Kate! I just opened up a plus size consignment boutique and I have been in business for 7 months. Will you give me some pointers?
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Welcome, Lani! Best wishes! Lots of pointers on our blog here, our site, and the social media. Let us hear more about YOUR shop.
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Hi! I am reading up & where did you get your initial merch for your start up? I want to open an antique market, but no clue where to start to get vendors.
ideas: ad in free antique magazine at all the antique markets & stores, do you think kijiji ads would be a bit fishy?
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Hi CUD, an antiques market sounds great. Of course, having a market, where you manage vendors who rent spaces and pay a percentage of their sales to you for the management, upkeep, and advertising/marketing is a bit different than consignment, resale and thrift storekeeping, but perhaps the suggestions on my Start a Shop Page on Too Good to be Threw, my website, will help you.
What you are looking for are individuals who would value your services because they “want a store”, but they have limited funds for an individual startup or limited time to man a retail venue. This type of target market is not the same as finding folks who want to consign their merchandise, so your approach would be different as well. Think about where your target audience is: do they read those free magazines or Kijiji? Where else wh\ould you find them? I think you’re in for a lot of face-to-face old-fashioned networking at collectors’ fairs, flea markets, even established antique shops who may well have overflow merchandise they’d like to showcase in a second location… namely, yours!
Let us know how it goes!
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Hello Kate. I looove your story!
I am thinking of opening a resale store that only sells designer clothing and accessories. I want shoppers to feel like they are shopping at a boutique on Rodeo Dr.but pay affordable prices. I would donate a portion of proceeds to charity.
My biggest problem is inventory. How do I find people or celebrities that are donating designer, high end, luxury clothing, purses, shoes etc? I know there are thousands of rich people that clean their closets out, but how do I find them on a continual basis??
Does your manual address this.
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Hi Karees, Building a population of “rich people that clean their closets out” means, first of all, having a business that appeals to them. From Day One, that must be your branding: an elegant shop that provides a service they want and need, and that will, most importantly, sell their items for them. If you are also looking for these people to donate, rather than consign, their lovely cast-offs, you’d do well to connect your business with a local charity that they feel some connection with. In my town, that happens to be the ballet. That’s the socially-aware group.
But first, you want to be confident that such goods will, indeed, sell to the market area you have chosen. Many’s the shopkeeper who wants to sell something that not enough people want to buy… selling ballgowns in a community that wants designer jeans. Or just plain jeans! Doing your homework, researching what your community will support, is the first step. Finding the right suppliers is the second step.
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.Just want to say “Thank-you” for the very helpful information you have provided to me both in your manual (which I purchased immediatley once I discovered it online) and on your websites…I am in the process of opening my consignment shop and have found your advice and experience in the consignment industry priceless…Thank-you for sharing your knowledge and expertise…hoping to be as successful as you have been.
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Well, how nice, Carolynn, that you have found the Manual and our other sites helpful! And that you sent me a thank-you. Best wishes for a great shop! Don’t forget, when you come up against a situation as you develop: The Products for the Professional Resaler are there to help you delve further into consignment and resale issues!
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I too started Second Glance, in Harper Woods, with very little money…9 years later we have two stores (6000 sq feet each!), a huge ebay store, sell closeout merchandise by the pallet, and employee over 20 PEOPLE! And I OWE a lot of my success to KATE and her manuel! My employees joke with me all the time, asking “did KATE tell you that?” 🙂 Thanks again Kate, haven’t told you in awhile, but I am still very grateful! Melissa
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Thanks, Melissa, for taking the time to compliment my Manual and other Products! I hope that soon, you will be able to become a Sponsor Shop on our consumer-oriented HowToConsign.com Resale Directory and Zoomable Map. The site is loaded with potential customer education, and is designed to polish our industry reputation, so I know you’d be supportive of that!
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I use to be! I just always forget to renew! 😦 Too bad it can’t automatically renew! lol Id pay more for a reminder call! Ill get on it soon! 🙂
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Interesting. I purposely avoided setting up auto renewal for Sponsorship at HTC because I personally HATE auto renewals. So much, huh, for going with our gut instincts re what our “customers” want!
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Hi Kate,
I saw your site on a google search, and THANK YOU for doing the online blogs. I very much appreciate the reads.
I recently opened up a children’s consignment shop, but also want to sell half brand new (inventory). The community that I live in is big on consignment, and there are none for children, so of course I opened one up. I had been planning to open this up for just over 3 years, and on a whim on night, decided to look at rental spaces. I found one, and within 24 hrs I had signed the lease and began my new adventure Consigning Children’s Clothes, Toys, Maternity Wear, Baby Gear, etc.
I have only been opened for a short while, and am lost on what to do. I understand the holiday season. Is there anyway you can contact me, and give me some pointers on what you think I should do?
(I have a few -maybe too many- questions to post on here).
I am going to read the KidzBiz shortly.
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Hi Helen, So glad you found my blog here, and I have no doubt that you will also explore my other sites and social media feeds. The Manual, of course, as well as dozens of other Products for the professional Resale will prove themselves to be of great value to you in your development of your business too. I’m sure you’ll find lots of help for your shop as it grows, and I look forward to “seeing” you on our Facebook page, here on the blog, and perhaps, even, your shop on the Resale Directory at HowToConsign.com at some SOON point!
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I just opened a children’s consignment shop with my husband and would really like some pointers!! We have a friend who works for us very very part time but its still been a struggle… I would really appreciate any tips or suggestions that you have!! Thanks!
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Welcome, Amanda, to our industry! Lots of tips, of course, here on my blog. You can use the words in our right-hand column to see various topics; another way is to select categories with the drop-down box labeled What Kate said about:
And these Products for the Professional Resaler will be especially useful to you and your husband: the Manual, of course, if you don’t already have it; Kidbiz; and finally, one of our inexpensive “Lunch with Kate” products, Why We Failed, which is a pamphlet written by the husband of a marital team which opened a childrenswear shop together… so you can keep an eye out for the danger zones!
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I’m working in opening my shop now, I need ideas for my POS system. So many to pick from.
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Hi Becca, Best wishes on your new shop! Prhaps you missed our front page, where the 2 places that are best to post questions are mentioned. I’m afraid your question here on this post will be lost.
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I think I shopped at your shop years ago… living in Columbus and suddenly becoming a single mom – I found I could continue shopping for my two sons – by shopping at consignment stores in and around Columbus (I lived in Hillard)… Today – I have an idea of taking my 30 years in upper management and starting a true consignment store – however, I do want to do a high end store – with a vintage flare in the Nashville area… is this risky, having a focus on vintage, high end styles and furniture?
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Hi Adella, Two things to find answers for: “Is there a (big enough) market (I can attract) for the kind of merchandise I want to deal in”… AND since you want to be consignment you have to consider as well, “Is such merchandise available to be consigned in the area I will cover?” Do close in-person research into such retail in your area, learn consignment backwards and forwards, scour the internet for what others are doing and why (and why NOT!), figure out your particular approach to this market, decide what will make YOUR shop the place to be, and go for it!
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Similar to my story-I opened Revente in 1992 with just $5000.00 and a lot of help from my husband, family & friends. I was my only employee for that first year (and yes, I could only use the bathroom when a trusted customer came in) and knew nothing about computers, so everything was done by hand. It’s been almost 20 years and I’ve added 2 more shops and have fabulous staff.
I wish had known about you and NARTS that very first year!
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thanks
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[…] Good marketing ploy? Or will it backfire, since her shop branding looks so chic as to impress on viewers that she’s “gotta be too expensive”? That happened to me… 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. — from an old post about my hands-on experience here. […]
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Congarats on many successful years in resale. I hope to be as successful as you in this competitive industry.
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I just returned from a 2 week vacation in Hawaii and went immediately to your posts. Congratulations on 35 successful, inspiring years in this industry. I loved the walk down memory lane and send you lots of good wishes for the next 35!
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[…] omt’s start. (also, the most popular message, by far, here on Auntie Kate the Blog.) […]
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Hi, We opened the Consigning for Good Consignment Shop in Milford, NH about a year ago. Two of us came from high-tech jobs, were laid off, and now want to help the community — a portion of donated items goes to charity and you can also consign for yourself.
So, the “for good” in the name of the shop can mean that your once-loved items are out of your life “for good”, or you are doing good by donating a portion of the proceeds to one of our 50+ charity partners. Love hearing the stories, helping people declutter, and saving good stuff from the dump!
I was up at the lake last weekend and saw your shop for the first time! Too bad you were closed…next time. Great story, we hope to be able to pay ourselves soon, its the perfect economy for consignment! -Linda
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[…] have changed from when I opened my consignment shop. And I have dispensed advice on how to open a consignment shop, have had uncountable visits here on […]
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