We’ve talked before about the various forms our resale industry can take. It can be quite illuminating to view the recycling of gently-used good clothes, previously-enjoyed home decor, and the like from a slightly different angle.
What could you learn from such resale angles as these?
Here’s a site where you exchange, by mail, things you don’t like for things you do. Reminds me of Paperbackswap, which I use all the time, without the ISBN numbers. Similar sites, many of which seem to be in hold, strat-up, or less-tan-active status (an opportunity for you?) : Size Exchange , Clothing Swap , Rehash .
There’s even a Clothes Swap category on Meetup.com.
High-schoolers use a consignment sale as a class project.
Other retailers use them as promotional events.
Charitable groups raise funds through them.
Universities use them as eco-aware events.
Specialty “swaps”: Holland MI, which prides itself on its Tulip Festival, organizes a Costume Resale event.
There’s even web sites which round up garage sales in your area. Not to mention CraigsList and local sites.
What aspects of these sales and swaps could you put to use in your shop?
And then, of course, there’s the yard sales, tag sales, garage sales, rummage sales and church bazaars which draw attention, traffic, and consumer dollars away from your shop.
Auntie Kate The Resale Expert 
[…] some Riffs on Recycling I gathered: would these attract previously-unmotivated people into your shop? Or maybe some […]
Personally I take advantage of things like the church bazaars to pull in potential customers and consignors. I just did an event today, cost $10 for rack space or a table, I took a rack full of clothing, offered it for half off the tag price if the customer gave me their name, address and email address to put on my mailing list.
I made back the cost of the space and then some by the end of the day, gained a LOT of interest from people who may not have had the opportunity to hear about me otherwise, and as I was leaving had a lot of people approach me with offers like “I’ll give you EVERYTHING I’ve got left for $XX Store Credit” – It took me two trips to get everything back, and one lady is dropping stuff off tomorrow, and I know almost all of it will sell for well over the approximate $1 a piece in store credit it cost me. Store Credit means they will DEFINITELY be into the store, and may bring friends 🙂