Advice for your consignment, resale or thrift shop is as close as your computer: Just Ask Auntie Kate!
Update June 2016: There are now about 700 comments on this page, and while they are completely fascinating, it can be difficult to find your specific issue. For more guidance see our Products for the Professional Resaler, covering over 30 areas of resale shopkeeping.
Also, check out the articles at Too Good to be Threw in our Back Room. They might have the info you’re looking for.
In the tradition of Dear Abby and Ask Ann Landers, we present Ask Auntie Kate. Well, actually, it’s Ask Auntie Kate and her resale industry buddies, because I expect you… yes you, Dear Reader… to chime in with your thoughts, experiences and perspectives. Don’t be shy. People ask questions because they want answers.
To keep questions and responses together, you need to be sure to hit “reply” when you’re reading the post that you want to, well, reply to. Otherwise everything gets all mish mashy and tops hang off their hangers and placemats are stuck in with the pillow cases and tags get lost and it looks like a mess.
Yes, Auntie Kate will reply to your most vexing problems, most heart-felt concerns, your secret shames and undiscovered desires. After she gives her friends a chance to put in their 1o-cents’-worth. So ask, answer, or opinionate away.
Auntie Kate The Resale Expert 
Hi Kate, I am thinking of opening a consignment shop. I have read your book. My problem is I am a full time teacher and I am not in a position to quit my job and open my shop full-time. I need to maintain my current income and health insurance for my family. Do you think it is possible to have a successful store that I operate on a part-time basis. I am thinking just a small shop. I would appreciate your thoughts?
Hi Julie, It is certainly possible to have a part-time shop. The concerns you need to look at, though, might make it financially draining. Your overhead will be difficult to contain at a profitable level, if you have to rely on part-time sales coming in.
The other main concern is that people won’t change their shopping habits to meet your part-time hours. Consignment shopping is leisure-based and subject to impulse… and if someone decides to visit your shop when you’re not open, they most likely will not make a point of returning when you are open.
This tendency to want it now that your shoppers are prone to, is even more pronounced with those thinking to consign. Can they get there while you’re open? They might rearrange their schedule to suit your shop hours, but then there’s the problem of their thinking “How will my items sell if she’s only open [fill in your planned business hours}?” and decide that a full-time consignment shop would be a better choice for them.
I would be very hesitant to suggest a part-time shop for those reasons. Have you investigated the possibility of running a seasonal consignment sale? That might fit into your life situation better and still give you the joy of helping your community recycle in a stylish manner!
I do worry about the financial issues with being open part time. I don’t want to use my personal savings which we have saved for our future and our kids. In the community where I live there is no other consignment shop.
I was thinking of being open from 10-6 Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, Sunday 10-2. What are your thought on those hours?
I also think I can rent a small shop for around $400 or $500 a month. My plan is to focus on designer women’s clothes, jewelry and handbags. What do you think about the possible success of a shop? I really appreciate your comments and honest feedback. thanks
Julie, a “weekend shop” could make it, but it’s hard for me to imagine a shop big enough to have selection and small enough to cost $400-$500. Have you drawn up a business plan of some sort, just as a guideline for yourself? If nothing else, it will enable you to research specifics… which locations are available in your price range, what the historic utilities would run, where and how much to advertise. You could even fiddle with a proposed store plan and get a feel for how much merchandise would fit in the shop. Then figure out how much you’ll have to sell to break even. Using the survey in the Manual for percentages, how much will you need to sell per sqare foot, per hour of operation?
Depending on your location, being closed on Saturday afternoon… the very time women who work all week and run errands all Sat. morning… will want to shop.
I have drawn up a business plan, but making sense of the financial part can be a little tricky. I was looking at the B.E. point in your book. There are two locations I am looking at both are a little over 700 sq. ft. and both are about $450 a month. With rent and other costs I am thinking about $2,600 a month in costs. If I am open 16 days a month (Thur. – Sun weekly), I would need to make about $163 per day on average (I know some days will be more and some less). Does that seem to make sense? What are your thoughts on the 700 sq. ft.? Have you see shops this size be successful? Again, thanks for your help.
Well, I started in 750 square feet! <<< Click that to see….
Hi Kate! What are the best hashtags for use on Instagram and Facebook? I don’t use Twitter as it is not utilized much by my area and we are not nationwide sellers, yet.
There’s some debate, Abigail’s Closet, on how effective hashtags are outside of Twitter, but think about what your audience is likely to want to click on: “resale”? “consignment”? “Louis Vuitton”? your town’s name?
And BTW: if you Facebook, you can tweet your messages automatically to Twitter, so that you gain even a small audience there. Google to figure out how to link your social media with one another.
HI Kate,
I own a children’s consignment store in California. I am racking my brain trying to come up with unique ways to increase my sales. How do you feel about each week putting a certain item on sale. Like shirts one week or pants one week. I opened an online store also hoping this would increase sales, but it has not taken off yet. Was wondering if you had any suggestions on what works best to increase sales.
Shirley
Shirley, I am not a fan of reducing prices as the primary method of increasing sales, but of course, many shopkeepers disagree with me.
Rather than cutting your profits, I suggest you find ways to sell more, to more people, more often.
Selling more = building each sale with add-ons, must-haves, and things too glorious to pass up.
To more people = of course, getting a wider range of potential buyers in. This can be done through advertising, being more available (as you are experimenting with with your online options), publicizing reasons to come in, creating traffic-building events and tempting current clientele to spread the word and bring friends in.
More often = frequent buyer cards, constantly-changing goods, and continually motivating people to stop in.
Perhaps this break-down of ways to attack the challenge of increasing dollars through the till has inspired some ideas that will work in your specific situation? One of our Products for the Professional Resaler is actually called Selling MORE…to MORE People…MORE Often! See them all in our TGtbT Shop
Hi Auntie Kate – Just wondering if you, or anyone else, has any words of wisdom regarding the online selling sites. A large number of people in our area are using them to sell their items directly – usually through many local Facebook sites. We’ve had people exchange numbers in our store in order to buy/sell items from each other instead of in the store. We’ve also had people call us to check our prices on certain items so that they can sell their items for less. We are currently offering buy-out as an option on clothing. Looking for some inspiration! Thank-you in advance!
GG, it is worrisome isn’t it? But make a good long list of why it’s better to utilize your professional services, and publicize that in every way you can think of. There’s DOZENS of reasons, and you can find out which resonate with your particular marketplace by the hots, social media attention, even in-shop remarks. Then play those up even further, and keep hammering at it.
And to cheer you up, remember that only the most dyed-in-the-wool bargain hunters with too much time on their hands, would ever buy from a stranger in a parking lot more than once. There’s an entire universe of potential customers and suppliers who are still available to enjoy what your shop does for them!
Also, take a look at Auntie Kate’s past posts re “online” for some ideas, including those you can adapt from the professional online consignment and resale businesses.
We have those folks who sell or give stuff to others. We do ask them to leave the store nicely to do that because of our insurance liability and that we don’t know if those items are recalled and we could be fined, etc.
But in general, I feel like if a customer is given a bunch of stuff by another customer in our store then both those customers are pretty happy. These are items we didn’t want. Community matters, and we have contributed to that. Hopefully that leaves them with positive feeling about our business.
I’d just remember to be stay positive. We often talk to people about selling an item themselves if they don’t like our price. We aren’t going to be a fit for everyone. I know I was never the type to bring my stuff to a resale shop because I had the inclination and time to do it myself. Now, I take my things to those shops that make it super easier for me not worrying about the return, just getting a little cash and clearing things out.
GG – we also have concerns about our client base going “virtual”. We’ve asked around and the verdict is:
a.) Online shopping is avail 24-7
b.) They get higher splits from the online shops
c.) They can search specifically for items vs. rummaging through racks
The consignment shop, as we know it, is changing. Especially in major metro areas, with a younger, tech savvy demographic. YIKES! 😦
A friend in I are interested in opening a resale store here in Houston,Tx and really don’t know how to go about it. We’ve pick a location to have it but our problem is the money to get it? We have the products to put in the Store , just not the right funds too get started. Is their any funding or grants that could help us with this? Yes, we do garage sells an some internet sells but it just isn’t enough. Can you throw some of your tips at me, so we can get a move on this PLEASE. Thku and God Bless
Hi Kate,
What is the best month of the year to open a children’s consignment and resale shop? If I opened a store in mid-October, would we be too far behind for Christmas customers?
Thank you,
Caitlin
Hi Caitlin, the best month to open is the month you start paying rent ;)… in children’s consignment, the busiest time of year is back-to-school, not Christmas, if that helps your planning. And actually, ideally, you’d want to have a few months under your belt before your busiest time, so… any month now!
That said, if mid-October works with other factors in your professional life, you’ll want to open with the biggest bang for Halloween costumes you can, to get maximum exposure immediately. Let us know how it goes!
Hi Caitlin! Congrats on your upcoming children’s store! 4 years ago when I opened my children’s resale store, I tried to hit the ever important BTS season (end of July), but it was mid-November before I opened due to site problems. Since we are BOR, I took a huge hit on fall/winter mdse when January came around, which might not be the case for you if you are consignment. 60% of my business is in the second half of the year, with 40% spring, percentages may deviate depending you your locale. The 3 J months are the slowest, so don’t open then unless you have forward season mdse.
Im am in the process of taking over a non profit thrift store and I am very excited and scared at the same time. I am learning the management part of the business and it seems very outdated, for instance the consignment portion of the books is all done the old fashion way, pen and paper. Im trying to wait a bit before I start making changes, yet seems like a lot of time is wasted by doing the consignment books this way. Its a cash only establishement and those are just a few things that I would love to change. What are you thoughts?
Thanks
Dita, I’m sure there are areas more pressing right now in the shop than the manual consignment system, so personally, I’d tackle the more “visible” (to customers, volunteers, staff and board of directors) first. The acceptance of credit cards will, for example, increase sales volume immediately, and I know you have a list a mile long of other alterations you’d like to recommend, so work on those first, and bookkeeping can come later. And best wishes going forward!
Thank you so much for your input. I just received the keys to our new location and Im super excited. I have a ton of ideas! Even though we are a thrift store I want for it to look more like a boutique and so do my employees. Im so excited. thank you!
Dita
Dita, it’s so nice to hear from you! Just because you’re a “thrift” doesn’t mean you can’t be anything you want… and remember: thrifty is a positive attribute for a shopkeeper and for all her customers! 🙂
Thank you Kate for the encouragement and great ideas!!! Will probably try them all!
HELP! We just opened “Re-Markable” one month ago and have wonderful consignments coming in every day (we are in a pretty affluent area, so almost all of the items being brought in are worthy of being sold). We are trying to be as creative as possible with displays, going vertical, hanging from the ceiling, etc. What does one do when you are absolutely out of room – we simply can’t move to another location already. Unfortunately our sales hasn’t nearly begun to match the amounts that are being consigned – with advertising we’re hoping that will improve. What should we do/say to people wanting to bring things in – we sure don’t want to turn them off – do we ask them to wait a week or what??
Thanks for any advice Auntie Kate and followers!
Carol, that’s wonderful that you are receiving so many things… now the trick is, of course, selling items just as fast as they are coming in! A special event during extended hours, perhaps? “Private shopping for our Pioneer Consignors” with wine, a “thank-you” coupon good towards their purchases that day?
Or how about a general event: a promotion where “the more you buy the more you save” with graduated small price reductions, starting at say 5% and going up to 20% off?
If you have started a Frequent Buyer Card, how about offering, instead of a price reduction, double punches? If you haven’t started an FBC yet, you might want to, if only for THIS reason 😉
Next step, of course, is paying super close attention to what sells, what doesn’t, at what price. And even, in what location within your shop! And developing a want list for clients, so you can find them what they want (and gauge what’s popular at the same time.)
Don’t get too stressed… overstocking happens to us all, because it’s MUCH easier to persuade a potential client to bring stuff in to MAKE money, than it is to persuade someone to come in to SAVE money by spending it! I’m sure you’ll feel much more confident when the fall rush starts in about, oh, 6-8 weeks 😉
Thanks ladies!! You are absolutely right and I know it and knew the answer prior to asking, but I guess I was just grasping for straws so to speak. Thanks again for your input
Hi Kate,
I have been selling on Ebay for 3 years and am beginning to get the itch to open my own store. I began selling online in order to save money to open a storefront but of course “LIFE” steps in and things don’t go as planned. I do have a small investment I could make in a storefront and I have your Manual, but after selling resale I’m thinking I may want to open a clothing store that sells “NEW” clothing instead of a Consignment store. My biggest concern is location and having enough merchandise to maintain a “NEW” clothing store. I think I feel compelled to open a “NEW” clothing store because I like a PREPPY style of dressing and I love the designers of those items, and none of them are represented in my area with the exception of the larger names (J. Crew, Kate Spade etc) but if I open a Consignment Store, I will have to take all kinds of items and I really want to focus on “PREPPY” wear. Is it financially smart for me to open a Consignment store and cater to only one style of dress??? I know people cater to certain genre’s or high end vs. low end, but I don’t know any stores that cater specifically to a more “Preppy crowd” Can you give me your opinion?
Thanks
Hi Pretty Things, I can certainly understand your wish to sell things that you like. That’s only natural… we all like to be surrounded by what we consider to be attractive items.
Now, running a retail store full of newly-manufactured, bought-from-the-source goods is one thing… you can pick or choose what suits your shop’s image, ambiance and advertising/ branding while at market.
But you are wise to realize that by limiting what you will consign to one specific style… in your case, what you think of as preppy… you are going to deal with a lot of potential consignors who A: don’t understand what you “want”… and B: Disagree with your perception of their merchandise re style.
Unless you are located in a place where 95% of the clothing you see on every single passer-by is something you want to carry in your shop, I would advise against narrowing your focus in a B&M situation. On line, this could work… after all you have millions of potential customers out there but running a B&M, and counting on consignors to continually fill your racks with a narrow niche market? Personally, I wouldn’t.
In total agreement with you Kate. Pretty Things might “just cut off her nose to spite her face” here if she limits her purchases just to those things she likes, her preppy styles. I like preppy, too, but would have an empty store if I only considered preppy styles. My two cents here…”different stokes for different folks”…you have to cater to a wider clientele to be successful. Back in the days when I was in NYC buying for a department store chain, we had a phrase we used all the time, “ugly sells,” what we thought was ugly, might not be ugly to others, and sometimes that “ugly” turned out to be a “hot item!”
My last thought here is Pretty Things should research her potential vendors if she decides to go “new.” Many of the preppy lines are upscale, and are extremely protective of their brand. There may be minimum orders (thousands of dollars) or particular square footage and location within your store that they demand to be located.
Thanks, Carousel! I appreciate your helping a peer!
I have a special occassion/wedding consignment shop. I am growing frustrated with the task of writing checks, mailing, and then having them come back 2 months later undeliverable or even more annoying, having the consignor call and say she didn’t get her check. My bank charges $30 to stop payment on a check and neither myself or the consignor wants to pay that fee.
Is there an electronic way to pay consignors?
Hi Carrie, if you have a problem with mailing checks, here’s the top-of-my-head solutions:
* When the consignor is local, pay on demand at the shop. That will also save you postage AND get the consignor back into the shop (where you have a shot at getting her to buy something with that cash due!)
* Many people have PayPal accounts, in which case you can “send them money” to their PayPal-registered emails.
Hopefully, some other shopkeepers will reply to your question with even more alternatives.
Carrie –
For the first three years, we sent a check for every balance every month. It was a logistical nightmare (and note to mention, very expensive!) as our business grew. For the past ten years, we have switched to pay on demand. In a special circumstance, we will issue and mail a check, but not compulsively. We have also amended our contract to read that balances not collected upon after 10 months will be converted to store credit only. This helped take care of those people using us as a savings account and keeps the money flowing and off our books. Bottom line – it’s your store… you need to do what is best for you and keeps you sane, profitable and open!
Hi Kate,
I’m doing some consulting work for a furniture resale shop that is NFP (open under 2 years). They do not discount inventory based on date but think we should consider this option to decrease product stagnation and increase sales. Thoughts one way or another? Thanks for providing a great resource!
EXcellent question… and one that, to my own surprise, I haven’t addressed here on my blog nor in my site’s archives.
But it’s one that has been nagging at me for 6 months, since the NFP I volunteer at weekly, is the same. Tell you what, check back here before the weekend, and I’ll get some thoughts up on the blog about that.
Thanks for the motivation!
Awesome…thank you! Looking forward to it.
Ho ho Furnishing: It took a few days to fit in it into my schedule, and it’s longer than most blog posts are, but here’s my thoughts on the situation you find yourself in. https://auntiekate.wordpress.com/2014/04/29/should-you-mark-down-resale-goods-at-all/ Hope it helps your client!
Hello Kate,
I have a consignment store and am wondering if there is a faster way to ticket items. I am currently hand writing all tickets. Is there a hand-held, mobile machine and system you have used or recommend? Thanks, Erin
Erin, thanks for asking! You can do away with handwriting tickets (SUCH a chore and so prone to mistakes) PLUS get terrific reports, if you use inventory software especially for consignment. Most companies will give you a trial so you can play around with them. See the listing of these programs on our Too Good to be Threw Link Page at http://tgtbt.com/links.htm
I have been in business now almost 4 years, I am feeling sort of over whelmed with the pick up process of those who do not donate after consignment period is over…I have tried to be firm about time frame but yet still looked at as the bad guy for donating items – also if consignors see their items back in the store, they automatically feel that it is their’s and they were jipped out of an item even if you show or tell them they were paid for it – so is it better to NOT even have the same consigned item come back in under somebody else, but how do we always know it has been sold in the store before?
Wow, Shelley. Let’s see: first, you have the problem of consignors ignoring end-of-period dates. Not knowing how you handle this, I can only recommend that your agreement specify that consignors who wish to reclaim notify you a few days ahead of the deadline so you can gather items together and have them sign that they’ve indeed reclaimed these items. Not when they consign. Also, your agreement wording could lead to false impressions on this score.
Second, you have a problem with “second-time-around” consignments… things you have sold for the consignor and paid the consignor for, but somehow she thinks she still owns it? Did Coach only make one of those handbags/ Carter make one of those sleepers/ Pottery Barn made one of those side tables so it’s hers, even though she sold it and got paid for it through your professional services? Not a scenario that is likely to have happen often, and of course, you can show the consignor that HER side table was brought in on [date] sold on [date] and she received payment for it on [date]… so only the oddest consignor would still, somehow, think she owns something she sold through you, no matter whether it (or an identical item) reappears in any marketplace. I say Wow, ’cause I can’t imagine that she would not accept reality, even when you show her that she received payment 15 months ago. As for tracking whether a n item offered for consignment has passed through your hands before, that’s unnecessary.
Hope this was helpful to you, but my shooting in the dark might be off-target 🙂
Shelleylavon,
Do you charge a percentage of the item when the consignors want to take the item of consigment? At the shop I work at we charge 10% if a consignor wants to withdraw the item. Once the consigment period is over the item becomes property of the shop. Items have to be withdrawn by the end of consigment period!! Hope it helps!
Hello
We have a large Consignment furniture store, We have been in business 5 years now. But feel no growth. So looking for ideas for marketing what we can be doing wrong are we ever going to improve??
Thanks
Apricot Home
Hi Apricot Home, It’s easy to get so comfy with our businesses that we slack off a little on building our reputation and reach and start stagnating. Customer (and consignor/supplier) populations are always changing, and therefore, sometimes what we did 5 years ago will work its magic on a whole new population. I can suggest 229 Promo Ideas and the companion Promote with Pizzazz to you, and of course the essays in Growing your Business. All of these are available in the Products for the Professional Resaler Shop at Too Good to be Threw and don’t miss our mini-Products at Lunch with Kate
Hi Kate!
In response to Erin’s question on location, here is my comment.
When I opened my kids and maternity resale store several years ago, my mentor (who owns a franchise resale store in another city) recommended that you locate in a strip where the anchor is known and there is traffic. His comment is that you do not want to be is a strip with a Walmart (too competitive with pricing), but a Target is ok. His store is at the near end of a Target strip.
Otherwise, locate where customers can find you….downtown historical area, or right off the interstate at exit__. Lesser strips always run the chance of losing the anchor, so beware. Kate is correct, if you don’t spend the money on rent, you spend it on advertising!
Hi Kate! I have your fabulous operations manual and am currently working on my business plan! My question is about choosing my location. I can locate in a brand new shopping center along with stores like WalMart, Kohl’s and Marshalls.
Or I can locate in our quaint, currently being revitalized downtown. There is far less traffic, but there are 2 other consignment stores downtown that serve different niches than I am planning. ( I am planning on a maternity and children’s consignment boutique that also sells new items as well as local art/useful items made by local moms. I would also like to add classes.) There is also an elementary school, a middle school and 2 preschools within 5 blocks of the downtown.
So….do I choose the high traffic, might get passed over for bigger stores or maybe catch moms on their way to big stores?? or the less traffic, have to advertise more to get people to come but be near other consignment stores??
Would love feedback!
Thanks!
Hi Erin, I have always felt that shoppers on their way TO a big box store are laser-focused on their errand there, so I feel that the $$ you spend to be “near” them may not always get the traffic you think. (And shoppers on their way FROM the big boxes have cranky kids, sore feet and no money left 😉 )
There are definite advantages to being in a “currently being revitalized downtown” with other resalers nearby (but remember, too, if your market is moms and moms-to-be, consider parking set-up). Being connected to the community, as being in a downtown offers the wise shopkeeper, is worth a TON of good will, connections, and business knowledge as well.
All the other factors: visibility, size, work needed, will help you decide, too. I am SO pleased that you understand the less traffic = more advertising aspect, too! Let us know how it goes!
Oh thank you, that is very helpful insight!
Hi Kate! In your article “10 Simple” Low or No cost Ways…” it mentions looking at “the wholesalers other resellers have suggested.” Please help me find this resource it sounds like exactly what I am looking for.
Thank you!
Patty
Hi Patty, some wholesalers are listed on my extensive Links Page and of course, there’s always the private Facebook discussion group for NARTS members where you could ask others in real time. There are numerous privately-run groups as well, some more helpful than others.
I am currently selling resale and consigned items in my ebay page. I’m looking to expand into an Ebay store. How do I find suppliers (donors & consignors)? I also need help creating a concise flyer to go with business cards, any creative ideas?
Welcome, Queen S… finding suppliers (and donors? Are you a bona fide charity?) would be a local function, wouldn’t it, unless you have the internet infrastructure that the “big girls” do! As for a flyer, there are suggestions for a “how to consign” handout available in Too Good to be Threw, The Complete Operations Manual available here.