Seasonal consignment sales are a growth industry.
And now is the time for them. They’re popping up all over, both the franchise/license sales and the independent.
How will your year-round store front for consignment, resale, or thrift deal with this? Will these sales hurt your business or help it? It’s not as cut-&-dried as you may think.
Some things to ponder:
Will you lick ’em or join ’em?
A 3-part series on how seasonal sales and your store can actually help one another.
And a plan-ahead idea to get rid of those darn dollar-rack items cluttering up your shop. If it’s too late this season, plan ahead for next.
Auntie Kate The Resale Expert 
Auntie Kate: I liked your recent advice to approach the sales by trying to be an advertiser or include our store coupon in a “goody bag” given to shoppers. My first contact was interested and then declined saying she “wasn’t too comfortable.” What approach(es) could I take to show consignment sale managers that this can be win-win?
Well, it’s hard to combat plain ignorance on the part of another entrepreneur, Sharon, but how about the approach of “I understand that your sale benefits many many families whose budgets can be kept under control with your seasonal sale, but of course, it’s usually the case that families need clothes year-round. And that’s where the storefront consignment shops contribute to this wonderful way of shopping… yadda yadda…” “We fill the gaps, and keep families saving year-round”
Or how about approaching these sales as a “Sponsor”… TRADING marketing efforts… YOU will advertise their sale in return for them advertising YOUR shop? You’re a marketing expert, Sharon, so I am sure you can spin it (and save cash outlay) when you tell your customers about the “community self-help DIY event” and lead the seasonal sale folks into a “we care 365 for our clients so we support Little Green Beans” angle.
I always remind my customers that we are not yard sales nor are we the hit and run consignments. We are a cut above.