Auntie Kate The Resale Expert

“Shop with Google open on your phone.”

That’s the advice in a video I just watched called “How to Consignment Shop.” The young lady insisted that it was crucial to check prices so “I’m not getting ripped off.” She even went so far as to type vague words like “thermal top” into Google to see if the $14 top was worth it.

And it’s true. While I think shopping with Google on is a bit extreme, it’s oh-so-true that what used to be a given, it’s worth what people will pay, is no longer quite so free-wheeling as it used to be. Resalers are no longer “protected by scarcity of information, distribution and access” as mentioned here:

Physical retail is not going away but unremarkable retail is getting hammered (emphasis mine). The brands that relied on good enough are learning the hard way that good enough no longer is. The mediocre brands that were protected by scarcity of information, distribution and access are getting blown apart as the customer can now get the same product anytime, anywhere, anyway — and often for less money.   — Steve Dennis on his blog

Yes, we’re a one-of-a-kind (OOAK) business… or are we? Let’s face it, if she really wants that Burberry trench coat or Lane couch, she can educate herself as to how much it “should” cost… similar to what, perhaps, you do as you’re pricing.

Steve’s advice? He has a handful of thoughts on how to combat this, of which I would emphasize two:

Choose remarkable.

and

Hurry.

Here’s some Auntie Kate strategies you might wish to consider. Quickly and in a BIG way. :

Going from Absolutely Unremarkable to GOLD

Wow ’em.

Just be weird.