Posted in Shopkeeping talk, Slices of (my) life, tagged resale shopkeeping, Thrift on March 26, 2018| 2 Comments »
I had the delightful experience of being taken to breakfast by one of the authors of Thriftstyle: The Ultimate Bargain Shopper’s Guide to Smart Fashion, Margaret Engel. She thought she was interviewing me… but it felt like we were simply new friends getting to know each other.
Get Peggy’s book on Amazon by clicking her photo
What a fun book this is! Although consignment and resale shopkeepers might (more…)
Posted in Kudos: Ideas to inspire!, Shopkeeping talk, tagged accepting, consignors, resale shopkeeping, success on March 23, 2018| 1 Comment »
We were talking, over on social media, about creating some sort of client gift that would initiate incoming, and keep incoming coming in season after season.
Ideas ranged from creating labels to be carefully stuck to purchased blank size rings like these examples from House Of Consignment and Your Best Friend’s Closet to full-on “Closet Kits” (be sure to click over to read this!), this is an idea any womenswear consignment or resale shop could easily use. And if you run a nonprofit thrift shop? These would make terrific giveaways/ swag bag inserts for any classy fund raising event of your NGO.
As one shopkeeper, Marianne Evans of Your Best Friend’s Closet says:
Ladies, these are amazing for so many reasons! First the consignors now have an easy way to sort their items, either seasonally or style-wise. So instead of putting it back in their closet they put it to the side of the marker. Second it has your name in their closet everyday all the time so they are thinking about you. And lastly consigners think I am an absolute genius to have and I quote, thought of everything!
Get your shop name into potential consignment clients’ closets!
Another choice could be the printed door-hanger. Readily available and easily designed online, these heavy-weight, glossy-coated handouts are quick to create.
Designed to hang on a doorknob, these hang on most closet rods as well!
Like Dwight’s Closet Kit, you can include your yearly schedule along with, of course, all your contact info and a handful of tips on how to make the most money with your consignments.
Door-hangers are available at gotprint.com which is where I grabbed the photo (and which offers to mail you a sample kit so you can choose paper, etc), Vistaprint, Nextdayfliers, and just about any printing service. Goimprints , especially, has a wide variety of shapes to choose from.
You can even print your own doorhangers with stock from Avery if you’d like to dabble before plunging; the Avery forms have a tear-away portion which would be fun to use as a raffle drawing entry, a discount useable when they bring in their early-season consignment, or something you think up yourself!
Posted in Shopkeeping talk, tagged daily operations, employees, resale shopkeeping on March 19, 2018|
They want to learn… and you can learn how to manage staff too! Click for TGtbT’s best advice on that.
Not only do they have all the duties of a “real store” employee: helping customers, keeping stock neat, chasing down those dust bunnies and clearing our messy dressing rooms…
…but they also must have an encyclopedic knowledge of the wide range of brands, styles, and fits every resale shop offers, and in many cases, they have to know what is acceptable and how much it’s worth.
And they really want to learn. Studies show that one of the main sources of job satisfaction is the opportunity to feel competent. To show your appreciation of their enthusiasm,
Posted in Shopkeeping talk on March 14, 2018| 1 Comment »
Asking your Facebook followers to “vote”, that is, choose between 2 or maybe 3 choices… is a great way to communicate what you carry and the fun to be had with your merchandise, without being all
about it.
Look for opportunities like this one, which show prom goers enjoying shopping together. Grab a willing model and have her show off several different necklace possibilities:
Which necklace? Let’s take a vote.
or create your own graphic story by dressing a mannequin or making a little home goods vignette. Striped top with this print skirt, or the plain one? Accent these blue-and-white ginger jars with yellow or with green?
Be sure to save your photos in a file to reuse in a few months… it’s an easy way to make a post that gets comments in seconds!
Too Good to be Threw is the flagship site of the TGtbT Family of Sites for the Professional Resalers
Auntie Kate The Resale Expert 