Auntie Kate The Resale Expert

One of my favorite techniques for spicing up resale shops and expanding not just their customer base but also their word of mouth is a department called

Weird & Wonderful.

But it occurred to me the other day that we’ve probably never sat down and really talked this through.

So grab your chosen beverage, settle back, and let’s explore alternate universes… profitable, fun, charming universes of things not just weird and wonderful but worthy of exploration and exploitation.

What’s weird and wonderful?

If it’s odd, not quite the image of your shop, but eminently interesting, it’s Weird & Wonderful. It might be out-of-style, it might be collectible, or it might simply be something you normally wouldn’t accept but which is smile-worthy. The ’50’s net formal with the boned bodice. The hand-painted silk satin tie. A telephone table. A doll carriage from a generation back. Some weird local costume that looked great when your consignor was on vacation, but is definitely Weird back home in Iowa or Indiana.

How do I get it?

Basically, by being open to something out of the ordinary. A collection of embroidered hankies? Strange little glass dishes you have no idea of what they were used for? I’ve seen wonderful funky things that I would have actually paid double for, just because they were Weird & Wonderful. Wait a sec. Let me show you a few things I’ve adored (and gladly purchased!)….

I remember, fondly, every shop I found these treasures in. I mean, who could forget a clothespin-headed giraffe or a little lace purse that you’d have to fold a twenty into thirds to be able to put it in?

Why bother with it?

See above. Nuff said.

But won’t these things look, just, weird?

Well sure, if it’s in with all the wonderful stylish of-the-moment items you deal in. But tuck these types of things into their own little corner (see that gazebo above, or think great use for that armoire we can’t sell), and you have a whole Country of Weird. And if THAT isn’t fun, I dunno what is!

Read more on this topic. Trying Something New in Used and  A Perfectly Good Reason to Accept It.