Bloggers just LIVE for the thoughtful questions posed to them, and Auntie Kate is no exception.
Imagine her delight when this missive from a resale shopkeeper landed on her virtual desktop:
I’m two months into the store and we are doing well….Still the only shop in town, doing lots of advertising, very nice and clean store, reasonable prices, but I can’t seem to turn my consignors into shoppers. What do you recommend? –Hungry for More
I’m so glad you asked.
If you want to get your consignors to drop some cash while they’re in, there’s many ways to do this. First, do you have things they want to buy…and can they easily explore these things?
Are there tempting goodies right next to them? Many consignors come into a shop, go directly to the area you use for dropping off items, turn around and leave. Is your elbow-area full of irresistible little purchases, the metallic bangle bracelets, the hand-painted readers, the scented candles, the vintage brooches?
How about the path they trod? Plotting your consignors’ way through your sales floor, are they passing easily-admired, easily-purchased items coming and going? The one-size shawls, the best-selling books (face-out of course!), the feathered masks for Halloween?
Having things consignors want to buy. Your consignors are NOT your run-of-the-mill customer, in many cases. Consignors are often a little easier with their money, a little more willing to explore alternate dressing/ decor (which is one of the reasons they have “excess” possessions to consign!) so what appeals to the generic resale customer might not be what they will swoon over. You’ll notice I used, above, easily-purchased (no fitting necessary) and colorful pick-up items. Things like these, rather than a standard pair of pants or a shirt, are more likely impulse purchases made on the spur of the moment by your consignor. Always keep in mind that she didn’t come in here to shop, and you’ll see why she might take a little extra coaxing to do so!
How easy is it for her to BUY? If you don’t pay cash, on demand, whenever she comes in, start doing so. Cash, not a check, and none of this waiting until the 10th of next month. Cross her palm with silver, and she’ll be much more likely to grace your till with some or all of it.
Are you insisting she stay RIGHT HERE by you? If your intake procedure involves her presence (or even just encourages it!) stop that right now. Give her permission to explore your shop. Thanks, Ms. B, I’ll just be a few minutes…take a look at those great designer bags over there and I’ll be done in a jif. And take away that stool she can perch on while you work. You want her wandering through the shop.
Are you giving her the bum’s rush? Not allowing her a moment’s respite from her errand running today? If you bustle about, being all efficient and “not wasting her time”… she won’t be relaxed enough to browse. You can tell who really needs to get on with it and who’d love an excuse for 10 minutes’ down time. Don’t hustle her out of there.
Hope these thoughts help you, Hungry for More.
Auntie Kate The Resale Expert 
Hi, Kate, thanks for a great post. I like the idea of paying cash on demand to consignors but my partner is concerned about having a “paper trail” so no one can claim they didn’t receive their payment. I thought we could create a signature log (similar to some pharmacies) but didn’t know if that would be efficient or if it would end up becoming cumbersome. What are your thoughts?
Beth, You BETTER keep a verifiable record of payments. How else will you do your taxes and avoid trouble with the IRS? I don’t know how you do your consignment bookkeeping now, but perhaps reading at least that part of my Manual will save you from jail time 😉
[…] shopkeeper asked for advice on luring consignors into doing a little shopping, as long as they’re in the […]
Hi Donna,
Nice to “meet” you. How many of the ideas in this post have you applied to your shop and what results have you seen?
It’s a perennial challenge, isn’t it, getting more shoppers in? The GOOD news is, more people than ever are open to secondhand shopping, what with the economy. The BAD news is: it’s often the case that used-merchandise shopkeepers are not always ready to address this new market of shoppers who are looking for quality, service, convenience and an up-to-date approach to retailing. Be better than the rest” not only the rest of your secondhand peers, but better than ANY OTHER RETAILER OF ANY SORT.
Fortunately, that’s not hard.
Enjoyed the info on consignors to shoppers. We have clientele of over 9000 consigners—but i’m having a hard time getting shoppers. Could you suggest more ideas. If I could turn more into shoppers it would be great.
I HAVE RECENTLY PURCHASED THE CONSIGNMENT SHOP I HAVE WORKED IN FOR THE LAST 18 YEARS—THE SALES HAVE GONE DOWN OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS SO I NEED IDEAS AS TO H0W TO BUILD THEM UP AGAIN.
ENJOY YOU NEWSLETTERS–THANKS AGAIN
Great! Great! Great! I think this is one of your best blog entries yet 🙂 Thank you!