I feel sorry for small consignment shops. Really. I feel their pain about the lack of space, about the logjam of summer clothes still in-date and fall consignments pouring in. Really, it can be a time of year when you just wanna bar the door.
But seriously, this message, on a shop’s web site, on August 23? Think that’s doing their reputation any good?
Especially since 4 of their 6 web pages are exclusively about bringing things IN, and only on their home page do they appeal to shoppers.
So I visited their Facebook timeline (which is only linked at the bottom of one of their 6 pages) to see what’s up, and sure ’nuff, no status updates posted to “come on in!” to BUY, no incentives, and even
more telling to me,
not a single FB photo of new incoming since mid-July (suppose they’ve been turning away people since THEN?)
What this tells potential customers: “No longer accepting”….? Guess I better find another shop to partner with.
What this tells me: They need to concentrate their efforts (on their site and in their FB postings) on selling. They probably should be vigilant, as well, about their pricing… because turnover is the ONLY way to solve overloads.
Stopping intake, even for a day, is not.
Putting “no longer accepting fall and winter” on your site, at the very start of the biggest selling period, is not a business tactic I’d choose.
Auntie Kate The Resale Expert 
I have a question about phone answering. Would appreciate your opinion.
I had to turn off voice mail service.. It held up to 75 messages. Every morning I came to the store I would have it filled up with messages. Had to make a choice between running the store or listening to messages. And all day our phone rings like it’s the White House. Mostly it’s consignors wanting to know how much money they have and then what exactly and when we sold, and why other items not sold yet. I feel that I’m wasting my time on comforting consignors when I could actually make sales. We tend to ignore the when we’re busy with customers at the store. And then consignors complain that it’s hard to reach us. I do encourage them to “keep in touch” via email. They also get detailed spreadsheet with status of their accounts with checks. Let’s just say when I hear the phone ringing I just want to smash it against the wall. The question is how do I handle nonstop phone calls and keep sane? Thank you:)
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I know the feeling! Have you investigated the software programs that post a consignor’s into online? Perhaps that might cut down on the additional job of “phone concierge”. But isn’t it nice that your clients feel so comfortable with you? 🙂
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Hi,
at first, it was very difficult for me to reject items. I felt the need to explain to consignors why I wouldn’t accept some things. The more you explain – the pushier consignors become. Very fast, my store overflowed with questionable merchandize. I had to put a stop to it. I started by telling myself :”today I’ll take only 50% of the items brought in for consignment”. Quickly, I learned to be very picky. Now, I generally pick about 30% of what’s coming in. I don’t explain anymore “why”. I go thru the pile, pick what I want, and say “this I’m keeping, and this is going back home with you, thank you”.
My “Mistakes” end up in $1 clearance section. It’s lot easier than trying to return those items to consignors. We used to spend hours searching for unsold items at the end of contract, and then consignors would never pick up and bags with returns would pile up up to ceiling. Now, if consignors wants something back, they are welcomed to come and find it. I do few minutes “weeding” daily to pull “mistakes” and send them to $1 section. It helps to get rid off unwanted items quickly. Valuable items stay until sold in less it’s out of season. I used to print tags with multiple markdowns. It actually hurt the sales. People would see all these different prices and wait to buy. Also the dates on tags give bad impression. “Ohh, that dress has being here for a month now…” Now, I print single price tags with no dates showing. This way customers don’t know whether this item just came in or 5 weeks ago and they don’t wait for markdowns. Twice a year, at the end of summer and winter, I run clearance sale for one weekend to make space for new merchandize. This Valentine’s Day and the following weekend, I’ll have 50% OFF on all sweaters and coats. Customers know that this is rare event at my store and will buy anything and everything. Clearing the space and don’t have to deal with returns of unsold items. I remember dealing with returns of unsold is one of the most unpleasant, time-consuming, and unrewarding activity. I’m happy that I found the way to leave it behind. I don’t believe that it turns consignors away. There were 5 consignment shops in my town, only mine still in business. I credit it to not wasting time on what doesn’t make money. After all, we are in business to make money:)
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Thanks for sharing your thoughts and methods, and happy that your business is doing well!
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This blog is, hands down, the best medicine! I came home overwhelmed by new consignors in a tiny shop, to read these notes, realize I must be more selective, and am ready to face tomorrow!
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Thanks, Sandra, glad to help! I hope that you love your involvement in the industry as much as I do mine.
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I think I’ve mentioned the green, yellow, red designations I use. Green means it’s going out the door so mark it up the next time it comes in because we can get more out of it. Yellow means the pricing is just about right to stick to about where it’s been. Red means we’re pulling a lot of this brand/size combination, so price it lower the next time it comes in. I use Simple Consign and it will let me do a search of inventory between dates. I copy and paste that into a spread sheet and then highlight what designation an items in. You find the craziest things with this. For instance, in my area, I can sell Aeropostale tops in sizes Medium and up for over $8 and they’ll walk right out the door, but the same brand in a Size Small I’m lucky to get $5. Why? The market. If I was busting at the seems would I stop taking the 2XL White Stag tops that I sell for $5 that walk out the door or the Small Aeropostales that will sell, but take longer because I have fewer women buying smalls? Bye, bye Aeropostale. I tend to keep my two 25% and 50% clearance racks stuffed to the brim, so I haven’t had too much issue with overstocking but if I did I would start turning away red designation brand/size combinations until the store got back to normal…no use tagging something that you’re pulling a boat load of anyway.
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Thanks Eileen, your 3 levels of how to take/ what to price (or what to take/how to price) I’m sure really simplify matters for accepting staff, and force both you and your crew to pay closer attention to what’s actually making the shop viable!
I’m sure a lot of shopkeepers will clarify their thinking with your guidance.
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[…] most commented-upon blog entry in 2012 was this one, about a shop which stopped taking fall and winter items on (or even before!) August […]
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As you mentioned, markdowns are the perfect time to see what is no longer selling wee. Those are the first things you stop accepting if you’re overrun. Also, cut out the cheaper brands second. The higher quality they see in your store, the more of it you will receive (eventually).
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Thank you all so much for posting this entry as well as the comments. I have been debating opening a consignment shop in my area and am still looking at the possibilities. These words of wisdom are great for a newbie like myself!
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You’re welcome, Amy. It’s always nice to get a variety of opinions, even if you don’t know those who contribute. Kinda like taking a poll! For the real decision-maker re a new career, though, please take the time to read and absorb all you can, from all our sources. Here’s an up-to-date list of consignment, resale, and thrift education.
PLEASE don’t be like the several folks I’ve spoken with recently, whose main regret was that they started their shops, chose a location, set policies… without reading the Manual first!
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I consider myself an “exceptional shopkeeper”, as evidenced by my 11 profitable years and 3 thriving stores, and I DO have limits! We set limits in our 2nd year in business and now have a “well oiled machine” that almost runs itself. What we learned is that without limits consignors overwhelmed us with items no store would ever take. The result was disappointed consignors and very tired staff members.
We have a 30 item limit and it works great (there is no “limit” on their first visit). When a consignor comes in for the first time we do our “5 minute walk”. We walk them around the store and show them the type of things we accept (labels, styles, material, price range, in-style, etc.). Then we “play” the consignor! That’s right, we ask the consignor to pick the items they think we’ll accept after seeing our inventory. It’s really a blast and the consignors really get into it. Of course we help them out a little but there is no better way to “train” your consignors.
We also use to accept items in bags (we’re a women’s store). We changed that in our second year too! We have a “cleaned, wrinkle free, on hanger policy”. Our theory was that consignors would not bother to clean and press an item that was obviously damaged, worn or out of date. Guess what, we were right. Now our consignors only bring in their best items and we have retired our steamer! No more bags to stuff in the back room or trip over behind the counter. And no more customers seeing their future “treasure” arriving in a plastic garbage bag!
We have one other “limit”. We accept consignments 7 days a week and appointments are never required but we do not accept consignments during our sale events. We remind our consignors about this policy in our emails and rarely have consignors show up on sale days. However, if they do come in we never turn them away.
Our policies, or “limits”, have helped us build a successful, smooth running business that’s fun to run. No “limits” are fine for the local Goodwill that has a large store, accepts everything and has plenty of help but not for us.
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Thanks Ronnie for a “peek” at your shop! Sounds like you have it all together, in that you have, in effect, no limits and no “no intake” times. Certainly not accepting incoming during a sale event is understandable to consignors, and 30 piece limits don’t even apply to the vast majority of potential consignors, since that’s well above the probable number of items she’s looking to clean out of her closet on any given day (we’re talking adult clothing here… parents do seem to accumulate more!)
I’m totally behind your early-on realization that “on hangers, freshly-cleaned and -pressed” is a subtle nudge towards “if it’s not worth your time, consignor, it’s not worth ours”. Your idea of taking 5 minutes to walk a new consignor through your shop/ examples of your standards, then standing by while they select from their group of incoming, is an interesting concept I haven’t run across! Who knows, it might even help identify possible new hires, if they really get into it!
Appreciate your input.
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I hate to stop buying ever but in 2 years, I have not taken my family on a vacation and I am doing so if it kills me. My poor 8 year old keeps asking me when I’m going to take him to Lego land before school starts. Disappointing him again is not an option, he matters more than my business. Next week vacation starts, slowest intake time of year for me(the week before school starts and Labor Day weekend!) ….I’m BOR maternity and recently lost an excellent employee and hired on 2 new ones. I can’t have them buying without fully training them and they are not yet ready so buying is on hold for a couple days which also gives me time to switch my seasons around and count inventory. I will be accepting drop offs if they do not get the info prior but can’t help the uneasy feeling of not buying or even leaving my store for that matter. The employees are trained well….but I do not train employees to buy until they are fully capable of doing everything else first.
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Was it a children’s shop? I am 75% children’s and 25% juniors. When they bring in childrens, they bring it by the bagful. I have 60 bags of awesome stuff to put out. They have been inspected and accepted. I am 10 days behind on logging itms in. I don’t know when I posted to fb last. Too busy with selling. I put a few things aside to post and they sell before I post. Those that shop with me know to come in often. FB more often would be nice so I will have someone do it for me TODAY! Thanks for the kick. Off to work now, Susie
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Yeh, those baskets of kidswear can be insurmountable, Susie! (One of the reasons I got rid of kids in my 10th or 11th year!) Is it possible to re-arrange your work stream so you’re not handling things twice as you say above? That’s a real time suck, as you know. Examine and sort, stash with label, find in stash, haul out, get the bag open, re-open consignor account…. even if you’re wasting just 3-5 minutes per intake batch, it adds up to 10 days behind real fast, doesn’t it? Thanks for chiming in!
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We stash with label and grab when I get to that consignor’s agreement /receipt. All the recpts are by date on a clipboard. I try to do the incoming as it comes in so I don’t get further behind. When I get done the current incoming I have a map where all the bags are stashed! Sales are through the roof! In my area people are more accepting of consignment, even the kids shop here first before hitting the mall! Quality consignment shops have given consignment shopping a good name. Thanks to your mentoring!
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What is your turn around time ?
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Sale Sale Sale!!! The bigger the better!!!! BOGO 1/2 price makes them buy more items to clear out inventory! Yes, profits are cut…but it makes room for new items and is keeping your floor fresh and consignors happy.
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So, if you don’t stop accepting consignments? What do you do???? We do have a storage issue but could get around that, it’s also a time thing. We try to get things out ASAP…what do you say to consignors that are unhappy because it took extra time to inventory their things because you have so much to do?
We just started doing a thing that we only accept on the 1-18 th of the month but after reading this we may have to rethink things.
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Hi to both of you, and thanks for your comments. I can’t really answer you about what you say to consignors “are unhappy because it took extra time to inventory their things because you have so much to do?” because I opened my shop with the “rule” that all consignments from a day would be on the sales floor by opening the next morning, period. When that got to be a burden or interfered with the selling (which is, of course, the ONLY activity that makes money!), I hired help. Because without paying for that help, I couldn’t make any money. This is a cause-and-effect that’s hard for some shopkeepers to keep in mind.
I have seen shops which call a halt for a specific, scheduled calendar period, as you suggest above… and wondered what in blazes consignors DO when they clean their closets during their favorite shop’s black-out period. I suspect the answer to that question is not one which will help the shopkeeper sleep sound at night…
Anyone have advice for Elizabeth and Karen? What do YOU say?
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We routinely accept consignments the 1 st – 24 th of the month which is advertised on our website. We DO NOT turn anyone away after the deadline though because we found people were going elsewhere. Our regulars know our dates but the new consignor who walks in with there stuff doesn’t know so we accept their items. It slows consignments the last week so we can play catch up though. If we are caught up enough I will advertise that we are continuing all month on Facebook. I have also found that you get hit harder in your ” taking times” so not sure if block out dates work to the advantage either. Just a thought. We also employee 2 people in the back to tag and get items out. Sounds like a lot but I have learned that it pays off 2 fold. More items out. More items to sell and more consignments to take in. We run 2 laptops and 2 tagging machines.
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Also if we are running behind I can tell them about when to expect their items out so it becomes their decision. Consignors are very understanding when they know what to expect and after all they just want it out of their house. I am lucky in that I have a large store with storage though. As long as we can find our way to the bathroom we are doing good in the back room. If you are crunched in space there is always a thought of expanding your store to a bigger space. It will pay off.
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Thank you for this posting today. I DO feel like barring my doors this week!! (but I haven’t). I had an especially trying day in my small shop today. But as with all my mistakes I learned a very good lesson. Today’s lesson: BE MORE SELECTIVE with incoming!.
This week, I spent HOURS hanging, steaming, inventorying and tagging a load of not very good or interesting old lady clothes. The whole time I was handling these items I was hating them. I knew that these polyester pants suits would NEVER sell. I knew that I should have sent her home with 90 percent of her pile of yuck.
Then today I called to let her know that I couldn’t use the FOOD stained polyester blouse she left at the shop on another day while I wasn’t there. ( I was totally polite about it). She asked about some of her other items and was not pleased with the prices I told her I was putting on them, particularly her ugly old boots that her cat had used as a scratching post. We discussed and I agreed to change the price of three of her items. Five minutes later she called back and said she wanted all of her things back.
So I had to find all of her things, untag them and when she comes in I’ll have to unhang them from my hangers and put them back on her hangers. AND probably carry them out to her car because she walks with a cane.
All this time wasted when I could have been updating my on line shop, taking photographs of some of the beautiful items I do have. Re-dressing my mannequins, re organizing my handbags Or doing any one of 100 things that would have resulted in actual SALES.
But you know what ? It’s all OK. I have just learned an invaluable lesson! STOP TAKING IN STUFF THAT ISN’T WORTHY OF MY TIME. Your excellent column today underscored.
Thanks…. ooo that felt good!
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It never ceases to amaze me how people will bring in stuff from 10 years ago and expect you to sell it. If someone drops off stuff that I know I can’t sell, in the donate pile it goes. If they want it back, (which I am debating about changing), it goes in the storage room to give back to them. I made this mistake many times when I started, and I looked at the hideous stuff staring at me on the sale rack. I got in a piece of clothing the other day, and I literally pulled a cat toenail out of the sweater! Guess where that sweater went? I have learned the hard way that just because I like something doesn’t mean someone else does. I’m not wasting my time on stuff that I know won’t sell just because someone thinks that great sweater they bought in the 80’s still rocks.
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“Be more selective with incoming.” That’s excellent advice, but can be hard for some shopkeepers to do. The newer shopkeepers are leery of “not getting enough” or of offending potential partners in consigning; more experienced shopkeepers, while more comfortable with face-to-face accepting, often neglect keeping visual and financial “running facts” about their current sales and stock. (Another reason hand-done MDs are crucial: to polish and improve your, and your staff’s, intake decisions!)
This idea, “stuff that’s not worth my time”, is why Patti A of NARTS stresses the COST OF ACCEPTANCE. Know your average price point per sold [fill in the blank] (note: SOLD price, not PRICE YOU SET AT THE START OF THE CONSIGNMT PERIOD) and avoid anything in that category/ size that you would have to price much lower than that. If you can sell jeans all day long (as seen on your computer reports or simple hand-tallying) at $18… the ONLY reason to accept a pair that you’d have to price at $8 would be to fill a hole in your stock (size, brand, color, cut) or to fulfill a wish-list request.
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Since most people are Liberty users, this is why I’m mentioning this, but you can run a report on your best-selling brands or even types of garments for any period of time, like what you are suggesting, Kate. It’s quite fascinating to see what was hot over the last 12 months, for example! That might help drive decisions on what to take.
I’ve also noticed that once in a while, someone will use that much-lower-priced item as justification for buying something more expensive. They’ve gotten such a good deal, they can afford that higher-end handbag! Psychology, I tell ya!
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Excellent point, Anna, and one that more experienced shopkeepers make good use of, about having some “real deals” in stock. “Real deals” are a real thing… but deeper into a season, not while shops are being overrun to the point of “No more! Go away!” like to example I posted.
Always love hearing your thoughts.
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i am a VERY new shop owner & exceeding my own expectations sales wise…but this hit home for me too…why oh why do i take some of this stuff…today i did better, i politely turned down most of a consignors merchandise, but still i looked at the jacket i did take and thought “for the love of god, why do i keep doing this????”….thank you for your post here michelemcglone, i needed it today….
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Jackie, LOVE your web site, and wish you well! Remember, it’s always easier to say “yes” than “no”… so just remember the red hanger trick: will that “yes” item be occupying a red hanger in 5 or 6 weeks, a hanger you desperately need for something that will actually sell, and sell faster?
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Kate…you totally rock my world 🙂
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Amen to that. I loved your post. It’s nice to know I’m not alone dealing with the older generation. 🙂
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when this started happening regularly we shortened our contract from 60 days to 45..as suggested by someone at conference. It has changed our business immensely!
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Remember the shops here in Sarasota, that were 30 days? They’re always fun to stop in, because you LITERALLY never see the same thing twice!
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Calls for an Extreme SALE on almost expired summer items to clear room for new fall. A little additional % off new items to get those rolling. Sell it all to get more! Lol. Just finished doing that now I am struggling to fill it back up fast enough and loving it!
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Excellent point, Cindy. The “almost-expired” summer items are a natural to MD to get them out… EVEN to the point where the SHOP is not making its “full” cut. I’d much rather, say, sell a consignor’s sundress for $10 and pay her the “regular” cut she would have gotten by your scheduled MDs… even if it’s $8 or $9… and get my hanger space back for a $50 cashmere sweater! Plus, that poor sundress will be worth precisely ZERO the day after Labor Day. You make the shopper happy, the consignor happy, and the incoming cashmere consignor happy. Plus your shop looks a lot more like this month’s Vogue than last May’s… which will make your fall gross sales a LOT happier. And you make $2 rather than ZERO….
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I don’t ever turn anyone away. I’ll find a place for it, (my closets at home) until I can get to it. I found that most people don’t read signs! If they bring it in, I’ll find a corner to put it.
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Martha, I agree! Both about NEVER stopping consigning, and about the futility of signs (or web site negative statements) forbidding anything.
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Hi Kate,
As you know, I’m not a store owner, but a sales associate and marketer within the resale industry. What this tells me is at least two things: they are not being selective enough about what they’re accepting AND their sales are sluggish and things aren’t moving quickly enough. As the lack of Facebook posts indicates, they could step up their marketing with consistent posting and integrating that with email marketing (just for starters). They could run promotions through Facebook and their email list, using unique coupon codes to track each campaign.
I agree with store owners who have a policy of no limits on how much they’ll take and no appointments necessary. You want that person with oodles of Dolce & Gabbana, Prada and Chanel to waltz in, worry-free, right? What if they didn’t read the sign, would you still turn them away? Every consignor is a potential goldmine! Not to mention, they might buy something while you check their items. 🙂
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Thanks, Anna. It takes an exceptional shopkeeper to realize that limits turn off the BEST consignors. Fortunately, there are LOTS of exceptional shopkeepers in our industry! ♥♥♥
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