It just stuns me, sometimes, to see how consignment, resale and thrift shops misuse their social media. Case in point, this Facebook collection of posts from one such shop:
Seriously? Is that all this shop has to say to its clientele? “Look what’s marked down”?
Does this shopkeeper actually greet her customers with a “All sandals are 20% off” instead of a hi, how are ya?
When the shopper’s been in the shop for a bit, does the shopkeeper only say “Furniture is on sale” instead of Lovely weather we’re having or Are you going to the parade next week or anything besides “Jewelry is 20% off?”
You’re not one-track-minded and neither are those people who have done you the courtesy of following you on social media.
Not to mention: Only talking about markdowns leads folks into thinking that
buying anything from you for full price makes them an idiot.
And goodness knows, we don’t want them thinking that.
More about using Facebook to promote your resale, thrift, or consignment shop.
Auntie Kate The Resale Expert 
Thank goodness for this comment. This is a semi-regular debate among the staff and board at the Chicago thrift shop I manage. The board members think a sale is the answer to everything, but as the manager, I’ve read the literature on sales, pricing, marketing, shopper behavior, etc., and know that a sale often hinders a biz more than it helps.
In re the big box store s: when people do say that they can get something at Target for a lower price than I’m asking, I say that that’s probably true, but then kindly ask if Target donates all its profits to 5 small, underfunded Chicago charities.
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Absolutely true they have been programmed to just look for those sales…I am to blame for doing just that. But I will try to focus my attention on other aspects of our great business. Mmmm probably our great service and cleanliness…will be something to talk about.
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Yes, Martha, people have learned to respond to these types of sales. Perhaps you remember when department stores were the place you wanted to shop. Some were local, some were regional, some were national. Then they trained their clientele to wait for the third Saturday or whatever, when “25% off this, 50% off that”. Where are the Dayton’s, Lazaruses, the Marshall Fields and the Montaldos of yesteryear? What killed them? More to mull over 😉
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I think alot of owners feel that they have to compete with the big box stores that are having sales. Some of us are doing that instead of markdowns.
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Understandable, Otra. But we all know two things. First, that small retailers of any sort cannot compete with big boxes on price and remain viable therefore we must find another playing field that is as important to our shoppers as “getting a deal”; and also that having a temporary price reduction on a specific category, as shown in my example, will not motivate enough people to actually come IN the shop and if they do, they’re as likely to say “So when will shoes/ dresses/ couches be marked down then?” as buy the marked-down category.
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