Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth and I opened my consignment shop, I included a couple of basics in my business that I thought everyone did.
Now, they came in so handy for my ease and enjoyment, that I figured it was way too simple to have to ask my consultees, attendees at my workshops, and correspondents whether they took advantage of these lower-than-low-tech shop tools.
But it seems that I have been neglectful. Recently, I encountered a 30+-year old shop that was spending countless hours, and losing countless items, for the lack of two basic tools.
So here goes: the basics that you might never have thought about:
A lost-ticket box.
Well, really, it’s a got-the-ticket-where’s-the-goods box: loose, unattached tickets that you’ve found under a rack, on the floor, in the dressing rooms. We all know that we don’t always have time to search for the item, but that sure enough, a customer will bring it up to the desk with the question How much is this?… and rather than fumbling and searching and guessing, you can whip out the lost ticket box and
Problem solved in 10 seconds.
Clearing out the lost ticket box, by checking to see if the item should still be in stock, and then going out and finding it, is a wonderful slow-time and/or newbie task… especially if your staff sometimes has a hard time focusing on what’s next to do.
A mystery consignment account.
In addition to consignor and store accounts in your shop, you need to have a “mystery account.” Choose a simple number for all your staff to remember… we used 99999…. and enter in those untagged mystery items as needed. Does a customer want to buy that green top but there’s no tag to be found? What do you do, refuse to sell it? (Well, sometimes, but that’s another blog post.) Of course not. You guesstimate a price and enter the item in your mystery account. Then you sell it, resting assured that you have a record of the item tucked safely away.
Problem solved in 10 seconds.
Later, if you’re missing a consigned item, you can check the mystery account to see if something came through there that matches the MIA item. Because you will be doing some detective work, it’s best to describe as fully as possible the items you put here. You may discover, to your and your business’s relief, that the lavender cashmere cardigan with pearl buttons wasn’t stolen, it was sold!
What basics have you found to be most useful for the smooth running of your shop? Tell us in the comments!
Auntie Kate The Resale Expert 
oooo. Do you colorize racks in a certain order? Do you put green after yellow or after blue? Using excel, color cells vertically in your color order. Then print and cut strips to use as temporary bracelets for volunteers or new employees. Just tape them on, and it is makes it easy for newbies to colorize your way.
A “desk book” . A spiral bound notebook by the register/operations center that each employee enters info from throughout their shift. So and so called and will be in at 5 to pick up. The vacuum broke. The tp is almost out. I found the missing tag gun and put it in the drawer…etc. Communication central that doesn’t get lost.
EX-cellent suggestion, Jenni. Now, getting staff to read and act on such communication is, I’m sure, a challenge! Along those same lines: we always had, taped to the desk, a priority list for the day, based on A (MUST DO) to B (do it today or stay late tomorrow to do it/ kinda impt) to C (NICE IF YOU COULD)… staffers could choose which to do, as long as all the As were done first. (We had numerous staff, so everyone chose what they preferred…) Re educating staff on color order, your temp printed bracelets work, as do the permanent beaded bracelets other resalers have suggested and some even make.
Thanks for this. I’ve had this problem a few times, both of them, and this would have helped….. so glad your shared. It does seem to simple to have to teach but… oh well! Honestly, its so embarrassing when this happens and I feel like it could erode my customers’ trust in me. It makes me doubt my own system and competency a little too. But you have offered a way to systematize and smooth out the problem.
Hi Michele, Glad this might help you. And honestly, “doubt your own system”? Goofs happen to everyone… the thing is, to solve these blips fast, easily, and, to the shopper at least, seemingly seamlessly (try saying THAT 3 times fast 😉 !)