What’s one category many donation- only thrift stores accumulate too many of?
Odd plates.
And what can a customer do with odd plates? Well, a perennially popular idea is the wall of plates, as seen in this Pin from the Too Good to be Threw Pinterest Boards (it’s been repinned 82 times!):
Source: mmmcrafts.blogspot.com via Kate on Pinterest
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But many shoppers, although they love the look, hesitate to collect plates for their own decor for two reasons:
- Lack of time to find and select a variety of mismatched plates, platters, saucers.
- Lack of confidence in their ability to artfully select what “goes together.”
Solve both problems when a volunteer with an artistic eye creates sets of plates that a customer can buy! That’s what Top Drawer Finds did, listing this on Etsy:
This is a fabulous idea, whether you sell in-store or on-line. And you’ll note, I am sure, that these components are making your shop more money than if they were stashed in some cardboard box under the men’s suits with a “50-cents each” sign… don’t you agree? Thanks, Top Drawer, for bringing this merchandising idea to our attention!
What odds-n-ends in your shop do you collect up to make a larger, more appealing purchase for YOUR customers? Tell us by commenting below!
Explore what Too Good to be Threw is telling your potential shoppers about using secondhand goodies in their home decor, at the consumer-oriented HowToConsign “Home with a History” Pin Board!
Auntie Kate The Resale Expert 
One of the first things that I pinned when finding pinterest but have yet to get on my own wall. I think you need just the right place to display those beautiful plates and I have not found that place yet….love the concept…..
PJ, hope you find a spot soon! How about something like this, from my consumer-oriented HowToConsign group of sites: http://pinterest.com/pin/105834659965571935/ ? 🙂
We collect crystal candlesticks into a table centerpiece and small mirrors for a grouping on the wall
Sounds great… showing things in use is so effective! Are you pricing as a group, or leaving them individually priced?
Thanks Kate! We’ve been selling mixed china place settings in our Top Drawer Finds Etsy shop for about a year now. We started off with a batch we used for centerpieces in my sister’s wedding and have expanded to the plate collages this past month. It takes quite a bit of work to match them up but it’s always exciting to see them come together!
No, thank YOU, Best Bib and Tucker, for the great idea that I know a lot of shops will add to their treasury of resale inspiration!
Love the picture