Auntie Kate The Resale Expert

A shopkeeper asked, the other day, the best way to have a successful end of season sale. I think she was looking for some ideas on what others had done along the lines of bag sales, BOGO events, or dollar racks, but I was struck by her inquiry of how to have a

successful sale.

So here’s my reply: To plan an end-of-season sale that’s successful, first determine what you want the sale to accomplish. What’s your goal or aim?

That’s not as silly as it sounds. “Get rid of summer stuff” yes, but how/ why/ what do you want your event to be remembered as?

For example:

• A bag sale will be a fun free-for-all, with lines and grabbing and even little tussles over “I saw that first” Fine, if your goal is for your regulars to have fun and to motivate non-shoppers to vulture-ize your “mistakes”.
• A private evening-before preview sale for your best customers will be perceived as a customer-appreciation event, especially if you add a little wine and cheese to the mix.
• A one-price-takes-all will appeal to the treasure hunters, who will sift through the lesser goods in search of the gems.
• Dollar racks and BOGOs have another impression to make.

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THEN, after deciding the “feel” you’re going for and how well it fits your branding, you have to take into account your overhead. Are these goods that no longer are under their consignment period/ your unsold bought goods/ donations, so there’s no split to consider ? How much will advertising cost? How much lead time to drum up enthusiasm are you planning?

Then there’s VOLUME of goods to be cleared out. For customers to really give word-of-mouth to a bag sale, there has to be LOTS to choose from. With fewer things, a 75% off original might be better….

Finally, if you are aiming to use this sale to introduce new customers to the shop, get your ducks in a row: decide on a way to gather a mailing list from these “strangers”, a way to motivate them to return later and buy at prices that allow you a decent profit, and a way to have them see, even through the hectic sale time, what a pleasant place your shop is in which to shop.