I was in a non-profit thrift store the other day, and they were doing many things right… but they missed what I think would be a wonderful opportunity to cultivate the

“treasure-hunt”

aspect so many shoppers love about thrifts… and they’ve missed an opportunity as well to

maximize display space

and the resale store could even

increase the perceived value

of their merchandise with one simple sign.

Open Here.

Almost all those donated cabinets, armoires, and so on they use for display space have closed doors on the bottom half… and when I opened the doors (I am a VERY nosy customer!) these spaces were barren.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be invited, by a simple sign, to

Open Here

and discover a cunning little themed display? It could be something as simple as some items in related colors, like this turquoise group of books, vase, pitcher and doorstop; a group of related items such as all the 25th Wedding Anniversary items received; even an out-of-season holiday display. Or choose a theme: fairies or photo frames or garden accessories.

If your volunteers don’t have any interest or talent in creating appealing little vignettes, you could always change the “Open for a little surprise” sign to “Open for foreign-language books“, “Open for party decorations” or any category that you have which might not be tops in popularity…

.

And finally, you can do this on a big scale… when you have some big-scale things to display, as in this old wardrobe, [temporary] home for other merchandise!