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 
Auntie Kate,
I would like your advice on starting my resale business online, prior to getting my building and all that is involved..which will be soon to follow.
This is a completely new direction for me, but something I’ve always loved. Can’t wait to hear your advice! And I love your page:)
Hi glreed, A vast subject indeed! An online shop, especially if you are relying on online visitors to mail you consignments, is so different from a B&M store, that I am not convinced one would lead to the other. (Although the other way around… selling select items online because you’d have a wider marketplace for specialty items.. is a natural progression) There’s incredible resources throughout the web on running an online shop and I’d suggest you look there. The Manual will help you explore the resale industry and save you, literally, thousands of dollars in false starts so you must absorb that before you start spending money, making policy decisions, finding a physical location and so on. When you’re ready to have a B&M shop, you can access not only all the blog posts here, but of course the resources on my web site, TGtbT.com, and the many Products for the Professional Resaler waiting for you!
Thank you! Yes, I am just gonna start real slow with a Facebook page (selling). This will give me time to explore and learn from YOU 😉
Let us know your FB URL when you get started!
Hi! I love your blog and tgtbt! Everything you have written has been so helpful in organizing my thoughts 🙂 One detail I have been putting WAY to much thought into lately is Wooden vs Plastic Hangers. Do you think the pros of the look of wooden hangers in your shop outweigh the cost and the space they take up? Thanks for your input!
Hi Dayna, This is a very personal opinion, but I think heavy wood hangers make light, flimsy, female clothing look stupid. (They’re great for menswear, though!) Not to mention they don’t have the handy-dandy slots for strappy tops, the little hooks for hanging loops, or an easily-managed way to use foamies to keep wide-necked garments from falling on the floor or delicate fabrics from becoming deformed by the hanger’s shape. And of course, the cost and the space issues of wooden hangers are to be considered as well.
Others will say that wooden hangers look “boutiquey”, to which my answer would be: stuff fallen to the floor looks anything but boutiquey; customers whose every touch makes things fall to the floor end up being very loathe to browse, and a falling garment slung by the shopper over the rack gets snagged and soiled in minutes.
Thank you so much for your input. I was leaning towards plastic as they are more practical. I feel much better about my decision 🙂
Hello Kate,
I own a children’s resale store and we are coming up on our 5 year anniversary!!! I usually advertising it as our customer appreciation sale but I would like some new ideas on what to do. Any suggestions for reaching 5 years?
Jessica, congratulations on a milestone anniversary! As for ideas: if you read any of my Products for the Professional Resaler at http://TGtbT.com/shop.htm, you already know what I am going to say: Avoid, as much as possible, reducing your prices!
Anniversaries are important events and can do SO much for the perception of value in your shop that this is the first section in our best-selling “229 Promotional Ideas for your Shop” http://tgtbt.com/shopgrow.htm#14 … and don’t miss “Promote with Pizzazz”, its companion publication, for keeping that anniversary buzz going on and on to get maximum value out of any discounts you deem necessary.
Kate My question may be out of the ordinary but it applies to a thrift shop setting. we are trying to redo and renew it. it is located in a poor little mountain town and we get a lot of stuff dumped off that should go to the dump. What would be a tactful way to get people to realize that we are not the dump (there is a dump fee here so to save the fee they dump at the store)ie: we have had couches left off and so that means we have to pay the fee to have it hauled off. There is not much cash flow right now so it would not help to have survalience camera etc. There is just so much stuff to process right now as the volunteer basis is way down and there is much to catch up on. It seems most of the time is spent on going thru plastic bags of single socks and questionable underwear etc. The dumpster is always full the day after it is emptied as we are trying to process things quickly. I am trying to retrain the volunteers on what is quality to keep and what needs to be trashed. there are so many donations that it makes the store look trashy and there is not much room for sorting. any suggestions from anyone would be helpful…thanks pjlee
That’s a perennial problem with NFP thrift stores, so take comfort that you’re not alone! Letting your donors know that dumping unsaleables costs your charity real $ in trash-removal fees might help. I’m sure that your clean-up & brighten-up efforts, making the shop look nicer, will go a long way to enlightening folks as well! I hope other NFPs who face this question daily will offer some help to you!
I’m in England so this may not apply to PJ Lee’s situation, but here I don’t think you’d be responsible for the cost of disposal – if the big stuff was dumped on public land outside your shop. If it was on the ‘public highway’, and you didn’t put it there, you’d just need to get local council to remove it. Of course a politely-worded and prominent notice asking people not to dump would ensure the cooperation of the council. As for the odd socks, our charity shops positively welcome the unsaleables, because they sell to rag merchants for a price per ton.
Hi Kate and Others,
My boutique/shop, Classy & Sassy Upscale Consignments, opened November 2012. Currently our total number of consignors is 186 and growing daily.
So far, it’s been great! The shop has ladies clothing and accessories. I added have an area that is separate and designated as our “Formal Occasion Room”. Lots of pageant dresses, prom dresses and bridal gowns/veils are all in this special girly room.
Even though the customers are finding me and sales have been better than expected, because I’ve given 100% of focus, even down to the zebra bags and pink and green polka dot ribbons on white bags to the pink and green tissue paper. The store colors, as you might have guessed already, are hot pink, lime green and zebra print. I want to do even more in sales!!
Since I’m in my infancy, would it be feasible for me to run a TV ad/commercial? I’ve handed out flyers, placed flyers on cars in parking lots, passed out business cards, sent flyers to schools for prom,etc., charity involvement (all no thank-you’s go to Hope’s Wings, a local shelter for women of domestic abuse), dropped business cards to other businesses (the gal at the McDonald’s drive-through window), newspaper ads and Facebook with 881 Likes, etc., I still think I’m not tapping all my resources to let our town and surrounding areas know what I have to offer.
HELP! PLEASE give me your advice on TV ad? I don’t have a big budget and certainly one that I could spend a fortune. I have had conversations with one of the news gals and she is going to do a charity/partner piece on Classy & Sassy and Hope’s Wings for Domestic Abuse Month in October. But, until October, is it feasible for me to think TV spots to promote the store.
Your opinion is very much valued. Thanks, pam
I’m in the process of selling my shop I am not mailing out checks I am giving the new owner a lump sum to pay consignors when they are due. The question is do I go back 60 days from the date of sale. Or longer. Am I responsible for consignors who never claimed their money as far as one year
Hi Lucy, Best wishes for a smooth transaction. The questions you ask here need, and I repeat need, to be addressed by your lawyer who’s handling the sale for you.
First red flag I see: you’re giving the new owner $ to cover your debt. What happens if that $ is not used for that? It’s YOUR debt and you are responsible for it so you could end up paying twice.
Second red flag: You have no mention in your consignment agreement as to these funds owed consignors being time-limited. In most states, that means that you must have the $ available forever… and, probably, you’re legally obligated to give that money to the state after 7 years, to be held forever for the person to whom it’s owed.
Remember, don’t take legal advice from anyone but your competent, well-versed lawyer. That includes me.
I’m guessing you figure paying a lawyer to oversee the sell transaction is a waste of money. It isn’t if it prevents future financial and legal problems.
I have a 30,000 square foot building that I purchased for my consignment shop. I have been open 1 1/2 years and business is great thanks to all the suggestions and comments I read on here. I sell all kinds of consignments, have put in a shaved ice section in front and a tanning room in back. I still have a huge open back room and a full basement. Any suggestions what could be put in those areas to generate more revenue for the extra space?
How wonderful, Suzanne, to have all that space! I’m sure we are all green with envy!
As to what merchandise lines to expand/ introduce in that space: that’s totally dependent on your marketplace and what THEY want to buy. Could be furniture, appliances, electronics. Could be you might rent out booths to local entrepreneurs… or even rent the space for community events. Maybe making a “teen shop” of the area, or using it for final clearance items, or even (this HAS been done with success!) a tea room.
The main thing to keep in mind, of course, as you choose/ try/ finetune, is the costs involved in using the space… utilities, staffing, managerial time & attention, and not to go overboard adding things which don’t more than pay their way. I am a HUGE fan of HUGE selection, so that’s probably the direction I personally would go in. If 10 couches are good, 30 couches is mind-boggling… 500 pair of jeans rather than 200… you get my drift. My goal would be to make sure that on EVERY SINGLE VISIT, my shoppers find an armload of treasures!
Kate…we’ve talked about this at conferences in the past, but I am trying to get my managers to understand what it actually costs to sell an item in the store (and why they are wasting time and money on taking/pricing/marking down on items)…have you done a blog regarding this or do you have a product available on your website that addresses this issue? Thanks!!
Stacie, go through the math with them.
* Step One: Time spent evaluating, recording, tagging, rehanging an incoming item, based on not just salary, but your total cost of employing them (somewhere I read that the cost of an employee is roughly 144%… call it 150%… of their hourly wage. So if it takes 5 minutes to do all that, and their wage is $10 (=$15 in employer costs), Step One would be 1/12 of $15, or $1.20
* Step Two: Maintenance: Straightening, marking down, rebuttoning, etc. If yr consignmt period is 60 days and you have 2 scheduled MDs, let’s say 10 minutes of their time is involved in this: another $2.40.
* Step Three, returning the item, if such applies in your business. Pulling up the records, finding the unsold item, changing hanger, packaging it, getting consignor’s signature (not to mention answering the phone when they call, telling them what’s left unsold, and arranging for when they will pick up) another 5 minutes, another $1.20
Total cost on dealing with an item accepted but unsold? $4.80. For a SOLD item? Less. because hopefully Step Two wasn’t the full length of your consignment period, and you get a satisfied customer out of it, rather than a disappointed consignor.
Your mileage may vary 😉 but this is a good template to work through at a staff meeting, to drive home the fact that there IS a reason why you do not deal in items that have to be priced below a certain point (beyond the waste-of-valuable-selling-space decision) and why pricing to SELL is so vital to the fiscal health of the business and their jobs. I’ve probably forgotten a key point here, but I’ve only had one cup of coffee this morning… Hope that helps!
Thanks, Kate – very helpful and we’ll definitely be going over this in the next couple of days!
Hi Kate, Maybe I am missing something, but I can’t find anything on your site about a POS system or software. We need to update and would like to use bar coding, but can’t find advise or information on the process. Do you address this anywhere or can you recommend where to find reliable reviews and information?
Love your site and appreciate all the helpful information. We still refer back to your manual for a ‘refresher’ when we need a boost!
Thank you!
Hi Deborah, My best advise re software for our industry is on my Links Page under “products & Services”, just below the links to the systems I am aware of: http://tgtbt.com/links.htm#products Do hope that you have some of the more “advanced” Products for the Professional Resaler as well… as you know, the Manual is just the START of all the info that will help your shop “be all you dream it can be”!
I too have been looking for advice re: software. Just opened my small consignment clothing store a month ago, and I’m doing all tags and entries by hand. I actually don’t mind the manual tagging system for now, but I desperately need to upgrade to software rather than my own excel spreadsheet to track consignor’s info, percentages (some are different, most are the same), and especially sales/store credit. I find that most software is designed with the functionality of printing tags, and that’s something I may want one day, but for now I just want simple and affordable software that just allows me to track sales per consignor. I’m not even interested in tracking item numbers, and some software insists that every item that is sold have an item number first.
Kate, I went to your products page and saw the list of software, and I understand that you don’t want to suggest one software over the other, but is there a spot on your website where you provide a forum for shopkeepers to discuss things like that? Or maybe the best spot for that is right here? Either way, I’m really curious about what software others are using? Did you start manually and then transition to software like I’m doing? Anyone else out there not tracking item numbers?
Melissa, I totally hear you… but when the time comes and you know what you need in the way of software “tasks”… you will find that your consignors will want to know which of their items sold, and how much they have coming, and even more: YOU will want to know. Once you’ve gotten comfortable with your business, knowing how fast your items are selling, for what types of prices, and what categories sell or sit… all of this involves the database tracking each item as its own entity. Don’t worry… the software will do it all for you, and even if you love writing tags, and sorting them into piles of which consignor you owe… you will doubly love getting your time back to do more productive things!
Yes, I started manually, and I strongly suggest that everyone do what you;’re doing… do it manually until you’re more knowledgeable and can choose a software program that works for you with confidence. (But to be honest, it never ever occurred to me not to track each item in a consignor’s batch!) Perhaps the hand system as outlined in the Manual will help you understand the process a bit more clearly and prepare you for the day when you can choose your software confidently… and with all those extra profits that the Manual will help you earn!
Thanks, Kate. You’re right that it would be great to have that detailed information about what items are selling best, who’s buying them, etc. And I’d love to use software that will help me track that in the future. But for now, since I’m still getting started, I am still doing the manual entry (thanks for your encouragement on this! And yes, I need to re-read the hand system in the Manual, though I’m partial to keeping the info on the computer).
For now I’m prioritizing saving a few seconds per item in processing time – which adds up – by not entering item numbers on each item. Most of my items (housewares especially, but also clothing) simply get marked with the consignor number and a price. Marking the tags with item numbers wouldn’t take too long, but it’s the entering into the software that I’m afraid would eat up my time. So far the programs I’ve tried are not making it easy for me to process a sale of items that aren’t already marked with an item number. It can’t be that hard to design software that offers the flexibility of entering only the bare minimum: consignor number and dollar value of the item. Sorry for venting, but truly this is a question for the other shopkeepers out there using software. Any suggestions of a program to try that might have this flexibility: allow me to enter the bare minimum for now, and then start tracking more specific info later on?
Thanks!
Melissa
Melissa, perhaps you’d like to ask the folks on the Facebook group, Resale Connect. It’s a closed group, so you’ll have to ask to join.
Thanks for the idea – I didn’t know about that group! It wasn’t easy to find, thanks to Facebook’s new confusing “graph search”. But I think I got it.
I’m so glad to have found this resource. I own a teen/young adult consignment store named Abigail’s Closet. We have been open since a week before Christmas. I currently have about 50 consignors, and I also purchase jewelry and a few dresses for the shop. My demographic is girls between the ages of 12-30, but I have some boys shop here (I have a men’s section) and some older ladies such as my 43 year old self who like to wear these clothes too. My question is….how to get inventory? I have a good Facebook following for a small town – we are over 300 followers right now and I do post pictures, sales, promotions there all the time. I am currently running a ‘bring 10 items, get a 10% off shopping pass, bring 25 items, get a 25% off shopping pass” promo, but I have had no one bring items in! My inventory is running low and frankly, I’m frightened. People say they’re getting their things ready, but how do I get them in the store? My split is 50/50, and I offer online monitoring of consignor items as well for $1/month.
Hi Elizabeth, glad you found us! How are you advertising that you want consignors? Only 50 in 10 weeks is, as you obviously know, way too low to keep the business going. Is it perhaps that folks don’t know how easy it is to consign, or are they unsure what you accept? After some searching, I found a FB page for your business, but no web site and only this message: “I carry boys and girls clothing and accessories – from size 8 through juniors and Misses. If you wonder if your clothes belong in a Teen Consignment store, ask a teen! If they think it’s cool, then bring it on. 🙂 ” which is perhaps a bit intimidating? Then, of course, there’s the question of is your market area sufficiently large to specialize in size 8 (would that be children’s?) through “juniors and Misses”?
Of course, you could “intro” your shop to your clientele with a BOR event for a week or so… cash on the barrel head always gets them moving. If that’s financially feasible.
HI! I’ve been following your blog for a while and have been in sales and marketing for 25 years. However, I’m perplexed at the traffic at our new store. We just opened it and on the first day we did really well. Then, the Rhea Lana consignment event opened the next day and we did $10 in sales. I did reach out to them before their event asking how we might assist, sponsor or be a vendor, but we were politely declined. Suggestions for driving traffic – right now??
I’m copying this post here, so all of us can help Cindy! –Kate
“Great ideas. I am needing a bit of help. We are a non profit quality resale shop on OKC benefiting the YWCA battered women’s shelter. Our avg customer is approx 50 yrs of age. We are creating an area in the shop to appeal to a younger/trendy demographic. Many of our shelter families have teens and when they come to receive their emergency clothing (at no cost to them) the younger girls are disappointed because they can’t find items to meet their “look”. We are working with university sororities for donations to fill this area. My brain block is in need of a trendy name for the area and some decorating ideas that will appeal to a younger generation. If anyone wants to share thoughts or pics of their store displays that might help, I would truly appreciate it. You many write me directly at creynolds@ywcaokc.org. Thanks you. Cindy”
Bright colors, music if possible and great displays will help tremendously. Maybe some of the sorority girls can come in and help with displays?
As for names, I never thought to name departments other than by size but why not? What about, The Gallery, Glenda’s, Glam 17, Windermere Bay or JTM Shop for Junior’s, Teens and Misses? Or have a name the department promotional contest. Kate also has a booklet of 500 store names that I found helpful. As for decorations I really like the idea of the Silver curtains from Oriental Trading which Kate mentioned in a post not too long ago. I have seen beaded curtains used as well but they cost quite a bit more. Good luck with your new department.
We had the same problem where the teens didn’t want to shop where us “old” people shopped so we moved it to their own room, lit it more like Hollister (darker), covered the shelves with zebra fabric and made signs above racks that stated the brands that were on the racks. We also painted the top portion of the wall with chalk board paint and put fashion quotes on it (got that idea from Clique in St. Louis….fantastic store!). Sorry don’t have an idea for a name.
I think step one for you would be to choose a name that works and let your decor grow out of that. So:
Taking a look at the shop page on the YWCA site, I see your shop is called Our Sisters’ Closet. My first thought was Lil Sis… but that might be too childish. Closet Cuties? The Endless Closet (wouldn’t it be fun to do your decor with old doors, like this, with each door labeled with something inspiring, like: “Endless Possibilities”, “Only YOU Can Enter Here”, “The Way to Happiness”….)?
Then I looked at how you use, out there, OKC for Oklahoma City. Okey Doke too corny? What else derives from OKC?
And the Y’s mission: Eliminating Racism/ Empowering Women. The Power Grid? (Of course that leads into your housewares dept being the Power House 😉 )
Then I found a great quote on your Pinterest board. How does Be Me sound?
How about, as Deb suggests, getting the sorority girls involved? They could come up with 3-5 names they like, then poll their classmates? It could even be a stats course class project, taking the poll. Would certainly get them involved, and make for great PR for the media.
One name I particularly like, from the 499 Names Product Andrea suggested, is WearElse… kinda plays on Your Sisters’ Closet. (it’s NOT your sisters’ closet, it’s WearElse) Possibility?
Hope these thoughts have got your brain churning!
Teen Trends, Wear it’s At, or to play off My Sister’s Closet, My Daughter’s Closet, or Younger Sister.
We branched out into a teen portion of our store about 1 year ago. We had a very small budget so we named the area “Trends” and our tagline is “Reclaim Your Style” We used all reclaimed materials ie: Pallets, Tires, broken tables, Ect… and then we went to work. We made the Pallets into clothing racks, the tires and pallets stacked to make display tables. We cut tables in half and mounted them on the wall to make an awesome focal point and display area. For our total 4000sf area we spent less then $100 and the teens love the space. Everyone always comments on how cool the space is and what a creative use of materials it is.
Sounds fantastic, Lesley! I went to your web site hoping to see some pix, but ;( Here’s hoping you’ll find the time to revive your blog, which is exactly the place for such great WOM-worthy news! Let us know…
I have dreamed of opening a furniture consignment shop for about two years. I wanted to rent booth space but get in line in my city….they are all on waiting list. I have a close friend who is an interior designer and wanted to rent a space with me but since they are all booked up we have fantasized about owning our own.I worked in retail management for 5 years 25 yrs ago and know about the hours. We have since discussed and looked at spaces and gathered lease information and your manual. We are aware of start up costs and have them covered plus some. We have looked at 1800 sq. ft. space at $21 sq. ft., we love(with no expansion room) and they will let us sign a year lease. It is across from the most successful retail furniture consigner in the city. We would like to have booths and could have about 12, 8×8 in this space. I originally was not interested in partnership but I thought it would help with the load and with similar interest and style I think it could be great.We love more modern , mid-century, and eclectic pieces as we are in late 40’s. However, splitting the proceeds means I would be taking a much bigger risk until the business got going. I have been scouring the internet to get a sense for what potential profits are just to do a business plan, and not finding enough info. My family are all smart business entrepreneurs but have never had retail stores.Any advice you could lend would be a help……
Hi Sondra, Potential profits are always a guess in business plans, aren’t they? The Resalers’ Financial Survey in my manual will give you a feel for percentages. Although the dollar figures are outdated, the percentages match, and always have, the industry’s surveys over the years. If you’d like a more recent survey (I believe it’s based on 2009 figures), check out NARTS.org Best wishes on your new venture!
[…] Ask Auntie Kate […]
I have a slightly different problem that the previous discussion
I have recently had a person bring items into my furniture consignment shop, sign the 90 day consignment agreement and then sell the item outside my shop after I started marketing the item. The person that bought the item recognized it in my shop and contacted the owner of the furniture. How do you handle this? I was thinking of charging a fee if the item is removed before the 90 day period. Thoughts?
Hi, how do you get on your ‘must see’ list?
Hi Stacy! To get your business on the Resale Directory and the Zoomable Map, for less than a dollar or two a week, simply become a Sponsor at HowToConsign.com. You can even list up to 3 places for people see you… your site, Facebook, blog, Twitter… The complete info is on the HTC Sponsor Page
I’m ALWAYS confused about this too! Right now we have a little of every season but we’ve been so slow. I think shoppers also are bewildered about what to buy.
Hey, if they wanna buy, Shana, find them SOMEthing… a bag? Scarf? Jeans? Think seasonless, and feature things like that in your swing shop and displays!
Eileen
We also live in an area with wildly fluctuating weather the last 5-6 years. Three years ago we had 3 feet of snow this week. Yesterday I was in the garden beds clearing weeds. Today – low 20’s tonight.
Have you read Kate’s manual? She covers this. It is important that you establish your dates for acceptance of the different seasons and stick to them so you don’t confuse your consignors. However, that said, unlike Deb – just because ALL the retail stores already are loaded with spring doesn’t mean we are.
In January we have a ‘Resort and Cruise’ swing shop. This nicely covers those odd weird warm spells we have been getting and brings in $$ from those lucky enough to be going to warmer climes in the middle of winter. In mid-February we move the swing shop to the front of the store (so we look like ALL the other retail stores at first glance) and rename it to Spring Preview.
We are able to do this easily because we have a large amount of our own stock at all times.We being accepting Spring from our consignors March 1st. As we clearance winter, we take the prior weeks ‘spring preview’ and mix it in to the racks and put out fresh ‘spring preview’ and keep doing that until March 1st. On March 1st the spring preview signs come down and we keep moving all the last of the winter we are ‘packing away’ or have on $1 racks as consignments pick up of the spring. By the third week of March we are usually completely changed over – although 2 years ago when winter persisted – we slowed it a bit and it took til April 1st. I feel we get the best of both worlds this way because during these unpredictable months we always have whatever season for which our customers are looking. HTH
ALL of the retail shops around us are full of spring so you have to go with the flow. Plus, all of their winter (if there is any still in stock) is so heavily discounted how can we resalers compete?
Ick…I know I switched seasons too soon!! We were in the middle of a heat wave! There were shorts on teenagers I tell you. So, the logical reasoning to me since I was being asked for shorts in January and the weather seemed pretty stable since most of the winter had been that way my thought was to go ahead and make the switch to spring and summer. (Leaving 90 days on my winter items.) Guess what we’re wearing today? COATS. I have a TINY amount of winter items left out on the discount racks and what am I being asked for? Sweaters!! I’ve had almost a month and half of dismal sales. I’ve pulled every bit of winter I had in the back out and then what happens? We have an 80 degree day and all of the short stuff sells. I’ve gathered that I’ve jumped the gun on switching, but HOW do you handle it when mother nature can’t decide what season she wants to be in? I even added booths along the empty spaces on my walls and have been taking in non-clothing items to boost sales and they help, but this decision has reeked absolute havoc on my bottom line the end of last month, this month, and I suspect at least the first part of next month will be affected as well. You can price stuff for a dollar, but if they’re walking in from freezing temperatures they are not going to buy shorts. Any advice in speeding the recovery from this stupid tax would be appreciated. I will go breathe now and try to let go of my frustration….after I dig my own bullet out of my own foot.