Now, most consignment and resale shops are hesitant, with good reason, to allow Target merchandise into their shops. But it still behooves shopkeepers to keep an eye on what’s happening there, and this article from RetailWire is background knowledge for anyone… owner, manager, or accepting staff… to know.
Have Exclusive Designer Deals Lost Their Value?
Trends such as the one discussed are on your shoppers’ minds and will affect what they want and the price they want to pay for it. This blog’s comments section is especially important to read, because they are by some highly-qualified retail experts.
Photo of Prabal Gurung from nymag.com
Auntie Kate The Resale Expert 
This is a subject near and dear to my heart. I have had my shop open six months now. Up until last week I would take almost anything decent, just to build my inventory. Now that the store is full, I can afford to get more picky. Melissa, I’d say fill up your shop with whatever you can get to start out, but as you go along you may find it discouraging to have to split the earnings on $5 t-shirts etc.
Thanks for your comment Stephanie, but may I explain your advice to Melissa a BIT? A new shopkeeper doesn’t do her business any favors by taking “almost anything decent, just to build inventory”… after all, we wouldn’t tell her to accept, say, things she’s not envisioning her shop carrying.. for example, wonderful tuxedos, if she doesn’t plan to offer menswear. That’s an extreme example, of course, but you see where I am going with this.
In addition, for a new shopkeeper, she needs to have the selection and variety to see just WHAT those people who do start patronizing her shop will want to buy! There’s a balance between having ENOUGH stock to make the shop appealing, and filling the shop with things which turn out to be non-sellers. Plus, there’s wanting prospective consignors to see just WHAT you mean by “clean,current, and cute”…
(I know you MEANT all that, Stephanie, just clarifying for some of our readers who don’t have your experience under their belts yet)
It’s a conundrum, all right. I think Melissa has the Manual, which goes deeper into this subject than we can here.
Thank you for your advice, Stephanie, and your explanation, Kate.
I am trying to find that balance of having enough starting inventory to get people excited about the store but also making sure the quality is what I’m looking for. Maybe I’m setting the bar low, but I’m really trying to offer affordable items at the shop (not just in the beginning, but on an ongoing basis!) so I’m fully expecting to offer the cheaper (Target) brands at the shop. For this starting inventory I’m lucky to have found many free/cheap sources of clothing to get started – so much so that I’ve delayed opening until I can get it all on the racks – a process that is taking longer than I expected!
My concern is, as Kate pointed out in another comment, it does take a bit of time to process items, so the items that will sell for $5 or less are fine for me to have right now while I’m making all profit (on starting inventory that I own) but once I have to split that with a consignor it may not make as much sense…
I look forward to any additional comments/input! I do have the manual, and love it, and I also love that we can use your blog’s comments to start such an interesting discussion and get more information about what others in the industry are currently doing. I love hearing what other shopkeepers are doing, even though each of our stores will be different. That’s the fun of reuse in general!
Thanks!
Melissa
I guess I am the odd one with this group. I don’t accept any Target, Walmart or K-Mart brands. I get soo much in that my racks are full without accepting it, if I did accept it I would be out of room fast. I also feel if I have to put a $1.00 or $2.00 on a item its not worth my time.
Cindy, my thoughts exactly. Over on Resale Connect at FB, they’re talking about accepting items they have to put a very low… e.g. $1.99, $2.99… price on.
They’re also talking the high cost of rent. Let me make it clear: if you are paying $20 a square foot (annually) for space, of which only 90% is actual selling space (deducting back room, bathroom, dressing rooms etc)… that means that the [now, roughly] $22 a sq ft needs to make at LEAST $220 that year to keep rent at 10% of gross income, if that’s your fiscal goal.
At a turnover rate of say 6, that square foot must be occupied by $220 divided by 6, or $37, worth of WILL-SELL items (not MDs, not clearance sale, not donated when they become OD) at ALL times. Now a square foot sounds like a lot when you’re looking at clothing… but think: 12″x12″ is, given that an adult hanger takes up 22″ in width, 6″ of rack frontage. How many garments are in that 6″? It gets even worse when you consider that a good portion of that $22/sq ft space is aisles and counters and other non-stockable real estate.
So only the most inexpensive retail locations… OR the locations with VERY high turnover, like dollar stores, can afford to offer goods at $2 or $3.
Not to mention the time and work involved in processing $2 and $3 items!
I am in agreement with Melissa. Not only do we buy Target brands, but Walmart and Kmart. OH MY!
We tell the customer that we “consider” all brands. What we actually buy is the really new stuff from the low end and price it (tops and bottoms) from $1.99-2.99.It is probably 5% of the mix, and there is no more of those labels on the floor at the end of the season than any other.
While we draw from all socio-economic classes, you would be amazed at who is buying what labels.
And you are right, Melissa, it keeps it out of the landfill.
Thanks, Connie. I am reminded of the best “description” of what a shop will accept: “Clean, current, and cute”! That kinda says it all, doesn’t it? In fact, I think I’ll write a HowToConsign blog post about that very issue, and what it means, to our selling/consigning public! Watch for it soon on http://HowToConsign.org !
We like to offer a variety of prices but keep the hipper trends going. We take Target brands if it fits our profile and our customers are happy because they can get something so inexpensive any given day. We mostly sell designer but not everyone can continuously afford that.
Shana, I agree with you that offering a variety of prices is a wise marketing tool. It makes all customers feel comfortable, and it also gives all customers a THRILL… finding something so affordable is enough to make a customer’s day… and get her feeding into the Word-of-Mouth machine! I know I personally delight in putting on a shirt that “was only $X” every time I wear it… and I remember, fondly, the resale shop where I found it!
Is it really true that most most consignment shops are hesitant to accept Target products? I’m just about to open my shop and I’ve got a lot of Mossimo, in addition to the (seemingly more successful) Missoni merchandise. I’ve priced it at reasonable prices. The mission of my shop is mostly about reuse and I’m more like a thrift shop than a higher end consignment shop. I just figure it takes all kinds! And if I can help keep usable/quality products in use rather than in the landfill…
Totally agree Melissa! I have a huge cross-section of people in my store–many couldn’t afford a higher-priced place, and another large group wouldn’t want any part of the latest fashion trends. I personally love the clothes Target sells… at used prices, even better!
Their latest line that was with Neiman Marcus flopped but the Missoni connection ROCKED and we did accept that line for consignment.
See, guys: Debbie is always mindful of what’s going on retail-wise that will affect her shops. She’s a great example to follow!