Have your say!
I invite you to “comment” to this post if there are ideas and concerns you wish to share with your consignment, resale, and thrift peers. I do hope, as well, that you’ll answer the concerns of others here. You can even choose to reply to a specific comment (old or new) if you want to add your viewpoint.
See? Auntie Kate clicked “reply” to answer Tissa (so did Rene), and tpresson “replied” to Rene. (Click the graphic to enlarge)
Our industry is all about helping others…
as we would wish to be helped. The latest comments are at the end of the list, and you can “reply” directly to ANY comments, new or older by clicking the “reply” word directly above the poster’s gravatar/image.
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Auntie Kate The Resale Expert 
We have our 3rd anniversary coming up. It seems like just yesterday I was shaking in my boots signing my 3 year lease! I feel like we should do something for our 3rd year which is next week. However we are so, so busy as it is I really don’t want to overwhelm the shop with a special. I feel like increasing our traffic too much will result in customers not being served as well as I would like. What a great problem eh? Any ideas on something that won’t be to crazy?
Hey, Wendy, you have the same problem I had… an anniversary that falls at an inconvenient time of year! I salute you for realizing that having some sort of promo when you can’t handle it is worse than none.
I suggest, seriously, you MOVE your anniversary to a time of year when you can do it justice (and so you can build traffic when you’re slower.) Who says it has to be a certain date? “We, like our favorite clients, don’t follow the crowd… so we’re celebrating our 40th month of business (that’s 3-1/3 years!)” or something along those lines.
Wow this area has gone quiet….not much chatter! I look here everyday while I do my planning for my shop. I love the conversations, gives me hope and ideas as I work to build my business plan. My husband has forced me to do it so that I remain focused and assure I have a sound strategy for success. The shop owner who sent me to this site is going to get a thank you from me tomorrow. Headed to her shop to tell her THANK YOU….any suggestions on a gift that would be appropriate? I thought a nice floral arrangement, in the mist of her busy Saturday might be nice. I will check tomorrow to see your comments! Also I have changed the name of my shop at least 5 times since August….finally got one I like….is that normal?!
Hi Bridgette,
So what did you decide to gift this helpful, anonymous shopkeeper with? Here’s a couple of thoughts, in case you haven’t gotten around to it yet:
* A gift certificate. For a nice dinner out for her and a guest. Or something else that you know she likes.
* A promise to enter a (good, natch) review of her shop on the many, many review sites. One here this week, another there another week… to help her raise her shop’s visibility on the web.
* A Sponsorship of http://HowToConsign.com, which will raise her visibility even more, if she doesn’t already have her shop listed.
Hi Kate!
I visited the shop owner last Saturday and gave her a gift certificate for a massage…..however I like your last suggestion! That would have been even better!
A great gift would be a covered diaper wipe case. My sis-in-law and myself make these and could help you out or show u how.
I want to use one of Auntie Kate’s recent blog suggestions of giving a small gift to customers, such as new moms (we meet a lot of babies on their way home from the hospital!!) or valued customers. Any suggestions as to what to give? I have a maternity and kids store, so want something related.
I give out a little packet of sample goodies (a baby skincare line that I sell in my store) and I throw in a $5 gift card to my store.
Can anyone offer a timeline for closing a ladies consignment store? How far out from the closing date should I stop taking consignments? I am notifying all consignors now (Sept. 28) that the store will close Nov. 30. Know that I will need to liquidate racks, equipment etc., when should I request consignors pick up unsold items? Thank you for any advice you can provide.
Susan, Where you located at? I am in the process of opening my store and if you are selling things for the store, racks, equip. let me know… mysistersclosetllc@aol.com
Katie,
Look I’m all dressed up now
I might take a peek and if it looked hopeful offer them a place to put the best of what they have on hangers we would hand them.
These are dicey moments. Were the items sad and we told them to go away and iron them all, wouldn’t they be enraged when they came back and we refused them?
OK, so I’ve been in business a long time–17 years. All our literature says we don’t take consignments in plastic bags. It also says this on our website, and we tell people on the phone when they call. But still–when a new consignor arrives with their clothes in a trash bag, I cannot bring myself to say “I’m sorry, but you’ll have to bring your things back in after they are in a box, or paper bag.” Do you think I would lose new consignors by sending them back out the door with their garbage bags, or should I be firm and just tell them like it is–NO PLASTIC BAGS? Looking for advice–thanks!!
Kerri,
The problem we have is with the garbage bags is that they can’t balance on the chair we use so it kills my back to lean over to the floor. I also don’t appreciate digging blindly:) So, what we do is dump them into an empty clear bin. Go through and dump them back in the bag.
After, we let them know that the next time it would be GREAT if they could bring it a different way and we let them them know it will benefit them by us processing it faster.
For us, since we are resale I believe if we send them away they’ll just drop it at the Value Village. Of course on the other hand, since it is kids stuff there will be someone right behind them with good stuff. I have never found great stuff in a garbage bag, never, not once. Okay stuff, but never great.
Hi Kerry, After one year in business we finally put an end to the plastic bags as well. What has worked for us is having several totes available for the connsignor to purchase right there at the shop. We buy all different colors and tape the receipt to the inside. We don’t up charge, just ask for amount on the WalMart receipt. And we allow them to pay with the profits from their goods. Not everyone takes us up on the offer, but I feel a whole lot better offering a solution. My main front end girl is very artistic so when they choose to purchase the tote she writes their name all over it in really cool and fun ways. Now we are seeing our totes coming back again and again.
what kind of POS system does everyone use? do you use a thermal printer for your tags? and I was at platos closet the other day and noticed they had some kind of system that helped in knowing the value to pay for and item… what ya think it is?
Amy, we use ConsignPro and love it. For our first 6 months we used BCSS. We switched and are so glad we did. One of my customers used to manage at Plato’s Closet. She told me about their chart for pricing goods. We have since come up with our own chart and it has simplified our lives greatly! I have two shops and use a thermal tag printer in one of them and just s plain Lexmark printer in the other. Each has its advantages!
Thanks Christa! That sounds like a perfect excuse to get a smart phone! Keep me posted on your meeting with the rep!
Does anyone have a sample consignment business plan? I am starting to draft from a template for general business, but it would be nice to have one that is more geared toward the consignment industry. Your help is always appreciated!
Many thanks!
Hi Martina,I invite you to explore our web site, where you can download a consignment agreement with all the discussion about why each point will build your business; or you could add the entire manual and many other references to your business library. The best investment you could make in your future success. Have a look, too, at all of the free articles and ideas and links available to all on http://TGtbT.com !
Thanks Kate! I have the manual….lots of information in there. Spent the entire weekend tagging pages and highlighting information. I have been on your website now for 9 days, and will look to see if I can find the consignment agreement. Is it a PDQ? If so, I can order that as well. Since I am fully funding my business, I will be writing the plan to put the structure on paper. But I was looking for a format or outline of some sort that would be relevant to consignment, so that I can make sure address things appropriately.
What kind of consignment software do you use? I tag everything by hand and use a spreadsheet to track consignors and sales. My business has exploded and I need to save time somewhere!
Hi Betsy,
I have been meaning to tell you that we are looking into that web-based inventory program. It is http://www.cashierlive.com we are meeting with the rep on the 1st so I will know more but it sounds like we can run everything through the computer and all the stores will then “talk” to eachother. Our credit cards can then go through the computer also using an app which should really cut down on credit card fees. Two of our stores have horrible cell phone reception however if any of you have good service you can use your smart phone for cc’s: http://gopayment.com/.
Sure hope that wasn’t the program Walgreen’s was using on Saturday when they couldn’t even ring up CASH sales when I was there!
Definitely check craigslist! I got my fixtures on there, or if I heard of a local business closing I would call them. I have tagging guns from both ebay and store supply and I much prefer the store supply guns- worth the extra couple of bucks. I get my tags from SSW, too, but my sister-in-law (who has 3 consingment stores) just prints her own. I got hangers from Old Navy- they throw them away each night- and Walmart, who recycles them, which means they still waste resources. For bags, I use used plastic bags. I have a whole network of people who bring me their bags. When I really need some, I just hit the recycle bin at Walmart or the grocery store. A lot of my printed items I got from Vistaprint when I first opened, since I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted and I could get them “free”.
Where is a good place to get supplies? tags? hangers? racks? signs? shelves? and does anyone use a thermal printer for their tags? what about pos? what do you use?
Storesupply.com eBay and used in my area was the way to go. I got most my fixtures used in the classifieds, I get tagging guns from eBay and cute tags and other things from store supply. I pay more for my bags from Nashville wraps. They are so cute and 100% recycled plastic which is important to our image of recycled goods. People love them! I don’t get them personalized but they have out colors and I include fliers in most of them!
Name, Name, Name
I have secured the location and have stock coming in everyday. I really need help finding a name. I am opening my resale store for Modest Apparel for Junior sizes on up. I have had huge success in this through our church, as I have been in charge of our church’s Modest Apparel Sale for 10 years now and we have it several times a year but it was on a consignment type payment. So I have lots of customers already waiting on me to open. but I really cant find a name,,, something that really pops!! HELP
They’re calling me crazy. I bought bright green paint for the walls and aqua blue for the trim work. I honestly think someone fired a shot-gun into one of the walls considering how many holes I patched today. I got $100 off a month this year for doing these type fixes. They aren’t expensive, just time consuming. I just hope my landlord doesn’t regret telling me any color I want when it comes to paint. The colors together will brighten the room. They’re what I call happy colors, they just make you smile. The lady who mixed the paint for me told me that they made her feel ‘tropical.’ Others are telling me that there is no other green (literally) store in the area. I tell them I don’t want to be like every other store in the area. I’ve bought the paint, spackled today, will sand tomorrow morning and should be painting by noon. My biggest nay-sayer (my mother) saw the colors today and fell in love with them. There’s nothing wrong with standing out, right? Any quick tricks for sanding three large tubs worth of dry wall spackle? Other than replacing the walls, that is. 🙂 I hope everyone is having as exhausting and happy day as me!
is this where I saw the 3 “C’s” to know how to buy for resale? I cant find it again.
Amy,
Awww yes you’ve come to the right place. The 3 C’s are Current, Clean and Cute. This is a simple way for consignors/suppliers to remember your store rules on what to bring in. Current – 2 years from purchase date, Clean – well clean and wrinkle free and Cute – Anthing from one of the fabulously trendy mall stores. Those are my store details… insert your store details with panache`.
Thanks Kim!! I couldnt find it and with my brain running a million miles a minute, I couldnt even figure out if I really had read it our just dreamed it.
SIGNAGE
I have been away from my business, Clothes Circuit for two months now and find myself having “bus-man holiday” moments in the local resale stores in our vacation locale. I am struck over and over at how poorly some shop owners use the available space above their premises or at the curb to announce what they do.
To my mind, he words “Consignment” or “Resale” need to be prominently shown so that people driving by can be enticed to explore. I ache to think about how many of us come to work each day and essentially waste all our otherwise good efforts because we have not adequately broadcast those words in the largest font feasible.
Note from Kate: This is such an important issue, that I’ve turned Irene’s comment here into today’s, 9-18-11, blog post… with pictures in FULL COLOR! Go see! https://auntiekate.wordpress.com/2011/09/18/shout-it-from-the-storefront/
Thank you Kate for re-publishing my comments about signage.
How chagrined I felt to realize that, while I had changed our logo for the website and print, I had resisted re-doing our sign so that it might have the exact same cleaner graphics that a graphic artist had come up with 4 years ago. Being an off-price, frugal person just got in the way. My major to-do when I return to Dallas will be to change that major sign over the door from an old logo to our new.
But for your offering me an platform to be a smarty pants, and your reacting with the post, I might have rocked along without this needed change. Still learning after 28 years.
The cost I resisted 4 years ago was $2500, I will report back when I learn the cost today.
Maybe it’s more appropriate to put up a sign thanking those that do clean up after their children. I know I certainly appreciate it when they do. If you want a touch of humor, add a bigger sign next to it with an arrow pointing at it saying, “Please read this sign.”
Good way to approach this: “Catch ’em doing RIGHT”… and hopefully, that will shame those doing wrong into changing their behavior. 😉
Thanks guys, great input. I am thinking I will put, “Thank you for helping your kids clean up when they are done playing.” And I love the read this sign idea:)
What about something to the effect of “Please clean up after your children or you will be assessed a $5 cleaning fee”? Funny, but gets the point home. (When I told my husband I wanted to hang a sign like this in my store he thought I was seriously going to charge a $5 fee.)