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,
I own a very nice women’s clothing shop, in PA. Due to the very warm season so far, we’ve have had a slow fall and winter season. Usually cold but it was 50 last week. Fortuantely, the cold is here now or so I think. I’m considering extending the contracts from a 90 day to 120 day. basically a month or so to give the items a better chance at selling. What are you thoughts and experiences?
Thanks.
Linda, what would be the pluses and minuses of this extension of your consignment period? Adding 1/3 to the time period is quite a leap, and it might also set consignors’ expectations in the future. I can’t speak to your particular situation since I don’t know what shop you have and how you have agreed to handle consignments. Some things to consider: will holding onto consignments for an extra month hinder your intake of fresh goods or run into your season change? Or will it make your consignors grateful now and in the years to come? Are consignors likely to even notice or care? Will the late-arriving cold weather spur sales of goods that you already have and/or affect the inflow of fresher items? Let’s hope some shopkeepers respond to this question as well!
Thanks for the reply. Here’s some more information pertaining to my circumstances. I don’t believe it will affect the “fresh goods” availability, because we are not accepting anymore winter items till after the New Year. It just seems like customers weren’t buying as many sweaters, coats or boots because it was just too warm. As soon as there is a cold or rainy day, business is booming. Many of the unsold items are either being donated or returned to the consigner, some are very nice just came in too early. I have extended the contract for a couple of consigners at their request, which got me thinking that perhaps it would be the thing to do for most of them. Many of their items are at 50% off now, so chances are better that they will sell. However, I don’t want to come across in a negative way or as if I treat consigners unequal. I was thinking of writing a general letter stating something like ” due to the slow start to our winter season, …will be extending your contract in order to give your items a better opportunity to sell”. Part of me thinks the consigners will be grateful and it will also buy my staff time to pull everything. We just took in too much in August . What are your thoughts?
Thanks,
Linda, I don’t feel that is a good idea. This happened to me last year when I put the spring stuff out. It took forever to get warm and the great clothes we put out were not selling as fast as I would have liked. People were still coming in looking for winter clothing, which I had gotten rid of! Since I buy outright offseason clothing for really cheap, I put an ad in the paper and offered 20% off and they came in droves. I know you have consignors, and so do I, but I cannot help it if their items don’t sell in a timely manner. Your regular customers do not want to see the same items in the store without markdowns! My stuff goes on the dollar rack after 60 days! I want it to move and make room for new stuff! Just my opinion!
Janice, thanks for you input. I’m selling the items at 50% off and am thinking of making a last chance rack with the extended clothes. Thanks for the suggestion.
I will not be accepting anymore consignments till after mid January, so I won’t have any new items to add and by the time January comes around the 30 day extension will be done. Hopefully, some will sell and there will be less to gather. I just feel bad given back and donating someone elses really nice high end clothes.
I am not sure myself when to stop taking in winter clothes…no one is buying much of anything in January!
I was wrong, wrong, wrong on this! People did buy in January! We only had one slow week and that was because of frigid temps and snow. We are out of gloves and mittens, boots and snow pants…and also coats. But I would rather sell out than have a bunch of really “winter” stuff left over.
Gather the other businesses in your shopping center to put larger ads in the papers, and split the cost. Just an idea
Auntie Kate,
I am a partner in a formal wear consignment shop. We have just about every kind of formal wear item anybody could need,and we rent tuxes. We had to move our shop to a new location for more space, but it seems as if it was a bad idea. And now there is a brand new formal wear consignment shop in the very space we vacated, and the owner had been in our store just a few weeks before opening her store saying things like “If you just hire me I can give you lots of pageant secrets on dresses but I won’t give them to you unless you hire me.” Then 2 weeks later she opened her store. Since then our sales have been almost non-existent. It just has me worried that she has somehow lassoed all the customers. My son’s girlfriend went in there and looked around. She tells me that the owner was not very nice, and I know that the owner did not know that she was connected to me. I have bought the consignment store “Bible” as I call it from you. We have started making changes and doing some of the things that we read about. But the customers just are not coming. One of the store owners in the shopping center here, said that people just don’t know we are here. I put ads in the newspaper, on the radio, on our facebook page, and sent e-mails to all our consignors multiple times. I don’t know what else to do. Does anybody out there have any words of wisdom for me?
Sandra
I would get out of the formal wear department and go with everyday, casual wear.
Janice,
Why do you say that? There are sooooo many of those in this little bitty town. I do not think that another one would survive. I just think that we will have to work a little harder to be better than the one other formal wear consignment store here. But I am curious to know why you say that. Maybe you have some insight that I haven’t thought of, which isn’t hard to do.
Sandra
Because you say that you are struggling. I live on an island and there are about 8 of these shops here! But if you price things right, always have sales and only take in things in great shape, they come back!
With their friends!
Also, I think there is a greater demand for casual clothing than there is for formal were…Just my opinion! 🙂
Shelley,
I know that consignors wanting to pick up their items is a headache. I have had an experience with consignors wanting to pull their own items, and it was a nightmare. One got some of hers, and one of someone else. I had to put a stop to that in a hurry. I have put in my information sheet that consignors must give 24 hours notice before they can pick up their items. That has put a stop to a lot of the headache. People are usually fine with things as long as they know about it up front.
I have been in business for just over a year. In this year, only two people have come to pull their items off the racks! I told them to pull them, and then bring them to the counter so we can sign some paperwork that they picked their items up. I tend to think that most peeps just want to get rid of their clothes. I give my consignors 3 days to pick up the unsellable items when they first bring them in. After the 3 days, they are out. Otherwise, you run into unbearable clutter.
I need some help with staying organized with clothing that needs to go back to the consignor – that was stated from the beginning of consignment with us they wanted their items back. What is the best way to do that? I have been in business over 3 years and I feel like I have tried so many things and now owning a bigger store, there is more clothing to deal with. Should I pull at expire time then call? Which is alot of work right there or is it more efficient to have the consignor come in and pull their own things on the floor? Then pick up time, I give 5 days upon call, its just so much work pulling, organizing in the back room so we can locate easily when customer does come in. Just needed some direction with a over whelming amount of return clothing. Also so much comes in everyday, is appointment the best scenario?
Hi Shelley, sounds like you have a lot going on. Rather than writing a whole chapter here, perhaps I can refer you to Too Good to be Threw Complete Operations Manual (learn about it here) for not only how to approach the return of unsold consigned goods but also, maybe to simplify your contract?
And no to the question of making consignors pull their own expired items. That creates way more confusion and ill-will than you’ll want! Thanks for commenting, and I look forward to hearing how you’ve altered your approach to this!
Auntie Kate,
Well I was a bit sketchy wasn’t I? However, I am against doing this for all the reasons you mentioned, the lady or girl who buys the consigned dress and wants the same deal and because we say no we lose her business and a few other people she influences when she says how uncooperative we are. Also, we don’t need the dresses back. We have enough consigned dresses and consignors coming in that we can do without the dresses we have already had. I also think it will make shoppers think that we can’t sell them and they are hanging around forever, as some of them are very memorable. And the original split of money is 50-50, and now we are paying 80-20. I just had visions of our consignors leaving in droves when they found out about this and us trying to make it on a dozen recycled dresses. Thank you for bringing this into focus for me. Now I just have to convince my partner.
Kathy
Kate,
I have an upscale formal wear consignment shop, and we are in the middle of our 2nd year. I have controlling interest in the shop and I have a business partner. My business partner came up with this suggestion the other day to “help our sales” but I am against it, because I think that it will ruin our business.When a girl buys a dress we own, she wants to let that girl bring the dress back in after she wears it and reconsign it. We tell her that we will price it at 85% of the price she paid for the dress and when it sells she will get 80% of the profit and we will get 20%. I really need the feedback on this situation. I have been faced with a lot of this kind of idea to “help sales”, and most of them I have been able to field. She keeps insisting that this will be great for us. PLEASE help me.
Kathy
Let’s do the math, Kathy.
Prom Paige buys a dress from you for $200 (nice round number to use in this example)
She wears it, brings it in for consignment and you are obligated to price it at 85% of $200, = $170
Dress sells to Homecoming Hannah, and Paige gets 80% of $170 = $136. So it cost Paige $64 net (plus washing or drycleaning) to wear the dress to prom
The business retains $34 for this “second sale”
Unknowns: how much did the business net with the first sale?
Do you have SPACE for these “second” dresses, considering you’re only receiving 20% when they sell? (That is, do you need more stock, even at a lesser profit?)
How long can Paige bring the dress back and get this deal? There are style and seasonal considerations here that would affect whether you WANT the dress back after prom, homecoming, etc.
Are your staffers equipped to say, “hey, this has a snag now so it’s not worth that $170… we’ll take it but not on these terms….”
You say she’s buying a dress “we own”… so I don’t know if you are BOR or consignment, and what $ you have invested in your $200 dress, or how much you’d owe the consignor for the $200 sale, so I am operating in twilight here.
Another thing I cannot address is whether the dress would be subject to set, periodic markdowns as laid out in your consignment agreement or your consignment period.
Also, if you normally consign at another percentage, are you prepared to explain to the lady whose $2000 NWT dress came from Nordstrom’s that no, SHE doesn’t get 80% because HER dress is new, not looking for its 3rd owner.
But I know that you will be able translate this example to the particulars of your business! Let us know if this makes sense to you and your partner.
Hi,
I am running a consignment shop and overall it’s successful, covering cost but barely making a profit. I’m thinking of implementing some changes and am wondering what your thought are.
1. Currently, we charge a $5.00 processing fee which is collected at the end of the 90 day contract, I’m think of collecting the processing fee up front at time of consignment. Some consigners items don’t sell and we never recover the processing fee. Is $5 a good amount or what’s a normal fee?
2. Many of my regular consigners are “want backs” and as you know there’s a great deal of work involved in collecting and returning unsold merchandise. Currently, we don’t charge a Want Back Fee but I’ve heard some stores do charge such a fee, what’s a normal amount and how receptive are customers to these fees?
How else can I increase my profit?
Thanks for all of your feedback.
Linda, there are two ways to profit in a business: by increasing income and by decreasing expenses. It sounds like you are focusing on increasing income by charging your consignors more to deal with you.
Let’s take a look at that: your $5 processing fee that is sometimes not possible to recoup because the consignor did not sell anything. (I’m assuming the processing fee is per consignor or per consigned batch, not per item!) Yes, collecting it upfront will solve that problem. This upfront approach might even help you avoid the time and space taken up by small batches of incoming and accepting items which don’t sell, by deterring the minor consignors from consigning to start with.
“Want backs”? You are thinking of charging a fee to redeem their unsolds? While I strongly suggest that this will have a negative impact on consignor satisfaction and retention, I have a greater concern: are you leading your consignors to WANT things back in some manner? The most common ways that shopkeepers actually encourage reclaims are: by wording in the contract and/or by requiring consignors to decide at the time of consignment whether they want items back. For more information on how you might be doing this without even realizing it, see the Manual
Actually, the most common way consignment shops improve their bottom lines are by taking a larger consignment split on the selling price and/or using a buyers’ fee. Both of these techniques give the shop a little more cushion on the profit side, and when there’s a bit more cushion, the business is more comfortable for both owner and consignor. Buyers’ fees are examined in the Manual as well.
I would never charge anyone a fee for bringing their items in. I just feel it’s part of doing business. If they want their stuff back, have them pull the items and go through them when they’re done, just to make sure they’re not grabbing someone elses!
Hi Katie!
First let me say I love all your down to earth advice when it comes to business! I opening a consignment shop for women clothing size 12 and up. I will also carry accessories, handbags etc. I have alot of items that have been donated for start up inventory. I live in a fairly large city, there are only maybe 3 consignment shops and they only carry high end name brand items. There is only one for plus size women and they only carry high end items. I’m hoping that I can be middle of the road, I’m marketing myself as having brand name lables as well as everyday wear… Do you have any marketing suggestions, I don’t want to sound like a thrift store
Thanks for visiting, CoSignPlus! As far as marketing is concerned, it’s hard to say without knowing more, but of course there’s no reason for you to “sound like a thrift store” unless you want to. Take the time to cruise the Internet and find shops who have gone before you… there are wonderful ways to say what you want, that you can adapt to your market! Brand your web site, your blog, and social media with your message, and use in-store signage, bag-stuffers, even hangtags and packaging, to further your image.
Thanks for the reply Katie!
I think it’s a great idea! Plus size has a huge market. Be the middle of the road in your pricing and you will do great!!
Dear Auntie Katie my wife and I are thinking of opening a kids resale shop in a well known tourist town. The location seems to be perfect next to kroger, nail shop, gas station, dance studio,and a mcdonalds across the street. We are considering the name “Little Green Beans resale”. We would like to specialize in kids clothes. Our insurance agency wont cover toys. The rent is $1,400 a month with a 3 year lease raising $700 the second year and $1,400 the third year. My wife and I both have good business experience and are confident with customers. The closest resale shop is 30 min away and are doing great. We are afraid of signing a 3 year lease for for what may sound like a good idea to us may not be to others. Our operating costs would be about $66 day. My wife would run the store with family helping out and I would keep my job until the store got going. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. By the way Love your book bought on amazon.
Thanks for stopping by, Jason. Yes, those 3-year leases are scary up front, aren’t they? But it seems the landlord is giving you a break, what with $1400 the first year, $2100 the second, and $2800 the third year.
Two points I think might be important to keep in mind: What’s your break-even? If you’ve figured $66/day for operating costs, looks like you haven’t added in the cost of goods sold. Also affecting operating costs would be the hours/days you plan on operating: with a tourist-based target market, you may well wish to be open 7 days a week, difficult for anyone to cover on her own. So there might be staffing costs from the get-go. (Relatives are not to be relied upon, alas!)
The second point to consider in your planning is: will you use consignment or buy-outright to obtain your stock? That will affect your break-even as well as your overhead. Consignment is time-heavy; buying outright involves having separate funds for doing so every day, whether income is good that day/week/month or not.
I suggest that 2 Products for the Professional Resaler might help you polish up your crystal ball: KidBiz: It’s NOT Child’s Play and The BIG Book of Buying Outright
Best wishes, and we’ll look forward to your opening!
Jason,
No advice, but I understand the fear of the lease. My landlord wanted 5 years, I decided on three. I just passed the five year mark.
To deal with my fear I figured out the worst case scenario and decided if I was okay with that. I was not willing to negatively impact my family finances as they were but if I 100% failed I knew I could generate the income to pay for three years.
But, I have never felt so much fear about doing anything before. I think that a reasonable amount of fear tells you that you are being realistic about what you are getting into.
Good Luck!
Hi Jason,
I always put two clauses in all of my leases one is a key man disability clause..i.e. should my wife not be able to work due to becoming disabled we can get out of the lease with a fixed payment maybe a couple of months vs. years of lease payments. The other clause I put in is if the business ceases operating we can end the lease with a similar one time payment. This doesn’t cover that you want to move across town or across the street but does cover you if the business fails and allows you to part on friendly terms. I have found most landlords have been very open to them as we are not trying to get out of a commitment but rather make commitments we know we can honor.
We’re putting together our store guidelines for a resale clothing store and are wondering how to handle the inevitable unclaimed merchandise. For instance in a “drop and run” scenario, if the customer does not come back to accept a buy offer and take back unwanted merchandise something must be done with their property. We’re leaning towards something like “after seven days without contact from the seller all merchandise will be donated to charity”. That way we are not seen picking out items to sell for profit and donating others. It is a loose/loose for the shop and the seller but may be the most ethical business practice. Any thoughts or policy suggestions?
Thanks for joining us here, Greg. I’m sure other shopkeepers will have their own take on this scenario, and I am sure your lawyer will want to review anything that has to do with the seller surrendering ownership, but one way to avoid this scenario (and the inevitable storage space it will steal from your selling floor)?
Don’t do Drop & Run. Look at the items offered, make an offer. End of story, no need for wasting retail footage on storing stuff, no time handling unsalables, no hassles with “what did you do with my stuff”. That’s my advice.
Hi Kate- I would like your advise on opening a consignment bridal decor and supply shop. I work as an event planner and also have products that I design but have always wanted to dive into this venture. Please advise.
Diane, that could be a great idea! (I’ve also wondered why it isn’t easier to RENT gowns, like they rent all the event items.) Please consider this a personal invitation to browse not just this blog, but my web site, TGtbT.com, as well, and its Products for the Professional Resaler!
Wendy and Kate: you each touched on points of concern for me: avoiding clutter and storage issues and not taxing limited labor for processing sellers. A well worded agreement like the 24 hour policy can address both.
After more thought I realize I may have been over thinking any issues around unclaimed clothes…it comes down to a matter of trust between the customer and the business. It dawned on me today that an informal trust exists in a lot of how daily business operates, for instance, I don’t worry that my mechanic will joy ride in my car if I leave it overnight, nor do I worry that my jeweler will swap my diamond for glass if I get my settings checked. We have responsibilities as ethical business owners and customers should accept the conditions of a signed agreement.
Thanks for coming back, Greg. Just a side note: my stepmother worried all her life that the jeweler would swap her diamonds out for glass 🙂 I assumed you were using the Drop & Run Kit from here, so I’m glad Wendy spoke up… sometimes we overlook the obvious!
We have people sign a form that says essentially you agree to come back within 24 hours to pick up your stuff. If you don’t, we book your credit for items we want and donate your unwanted items.
You go through the items and separate what you want from what you don’t want. Those are separated, you make an offer. You have already said you don’t want the other items. The donation happens after, so unless you go back and pick the items that are for donation out there is nothing different than any other transaction. There should be nothing inherently unethical about that transaction unless you make it so.
You are right it would be a lose/lose to just pass. Remember that your customers generally want to sell their stuff. But if you want to discourage it, make sure you are staffed appropriately so you can handle the customer quickly.
Hi,
I run a women’s consignment shop, and I just accepted several really really exceptional furs. Do you have any suggestions as to how I should market them and keep them secure at the same time. I think they will sell but I need to let my customers know that I have them and/or sell them online.
Thanks
Lynfmd
Lynfmd, Are you concerned about the marketing because then the general public will know you have something valuable on the premises? In that case, perhaps private emails, phone calls, or postal notes to your list of “best” customers would be a place to start to find a likely customer. Also, take a look at your wish list clients or customer books… are there likely buyers in those groups?
If you want to sell online, using an eBay persona that is not connected to your shop might give you peace of mind.
As far as keeping expensive goods secure, locking cables/chains and locks can be had that allow the items to be on display during store hours, yet not removable. Overnight solutions might include taking them home with you, if your situation warrants. (I’ve done that!)
Yup! We are in the USA. Thank you for your prompt and helpful answer Kate!
We are prayerfully entering the world of owning a consignment shop…working on that dreaded business plan. Any actual copies of a consignment store business plans out there? Plus how do we go about gathering market research without actually asking consignment shop owners for their stats?
Welcome, Re-Markable! There are some helpful links about business plans on our Links Page at http://tgtbt.com/links.htm#about, but they aren’t specifically about consignment, of course. As far as market research goes, census stats are helpful (assuming you are in the US), and if you’d like some %ages, we have the Resalers’ Survey in Too Good to be Threw Complete Operations Manual for Resale & Consignment Shops, which you can learn about here.
Thank you for the informative answer, Kate! Have a great day!
Dear Kate-Happy Fall!
I have a rack of 75% off items, the end of their life in the shop, and would like to know where the premium spot for this clearance rack would be in the shop-right up front, or at the other end, toward the back? Any help would be very much appreciated. I am so glad I read your book and took the plunge to consingment!
Sandra, I shouldn’t think that a 75% off rack should earn its (square footage sales figures) keep at this time of year your prime area at the front of your shop. These are items that your regulars have already decided they didn’t want, after all, and November is the time for holiday shopping/ party shopping/ gift shopping. A rack of misc. sale items would not match the festive shopping experience your customers are craving now, I think.
That said, I don’t know what you sell, your business image/branding, your place in your market area, and so on… but in general, a bright, fresh holiday look would be what I would put in my prime area at the start of the holiday season.
I think this sounds like a low-risk venture. How much stock do you need? Just enough to populate a nice website. Your domain will cost you about $25; a website can vary from free to in the hundreds, so keep it cheap. A Paypal account, a little advertising on Facebook to get started…what’s the risk? Just DO IT!
I think it’s pretty low risk and I would love to jump right in! However, I’d like to get as much information/advice as I can before I do anything. Thank you for your input. It’s much appreciated 🙂
I don’t hate you. I really appreciate/encourage your opinion. May I ask what makes you think it’s a mistake? I haven’t been fortunate enough to get anything other than “that’s a great idea!”. It would be nice to get an honest and different opinion. I’ve definitely thought about selling on eBay. I will continue to consider it, but my heart is set on starting a site, and later a store location. Thanks so much for your input.
Hi Kerri,
It is a very difficult business. I deal with online businesses who go out of business all the time, buying their unsold inventory or fixtures, etc. I see them open and close. I’m honestly always fascinated by these because I can’t imagine how they succeed and they usually don’t. Are you familiar with some that are successful?
The biggest issue is getting customers to your online store. Why would someone go there? Ebay already has a huge audience. Yes, there is a cost and there is the risk of starting your business on the back of someone else’s business, one that can and does change the rules all the time.
The other issue is that the handling of an item is much more costly to you than it is in a b&m store. You photograph, list, store, ship, etc. It is very difficult to do the volume you would in a b&m store.
I was an ebay seller before I opened my b&m store and the great part of that is that I could pay my rent with the online sales, plus I could keep staff busy, etc. There are all sorts of advantages clearly of starting a business when you are already making money.
But, if your ultimate goal is to have a b&m store why spend all that money and time investing in online. Perhaps, use the biggest online used clothing market there is at very little risk, learn and put money aside for the ultimate goal.
That would be my two cents. Good luck!
Wendy,
Thanks so much for your two cents. You make some valid points and I certainly don’t want to set myself up for failure. It’s super helpful hearing someone who deals with such businesses. I am definitely going to consider selling on eBay to start out and do some research. Again, thanks so much. I really appreciate it!
I think it’s a mistake…don’t hate me 🙂 You should just sell the items on ebay and take a cut!
Janice, are you replying to the comment by Kerri? If so, I’m sure she’d love to know what you think is a mistake, why, and your recommendations to her. You can hit “reply” on her comment to make your reply nest under it… and thanks! I’m interested, too, in hearing more about your suggestion.
I guess I messed up…now I am getting how the site works. What I am saying that with ebay out there, there is not much hope for an online store, just in my opinion. Online IS a lot of work…I made tons of money selling through ebay for many years.
Janice,
I responded in the wrong place, sorry.
I don’t hate you. I really appreciate/encourage your opinion. May I ask what makes you think it’s a mistake? I haven’t been fortunate enough to get anything other than “that’s a great idea!”. It would be nice to get an honest and different opinion. I’ve definitely thought about selling on eBay. I will continue to consider it, but my heart is set on starting a site, and later a store location. Thanks so much for your input.
Reposting so you’ll be notified in case you’re interested in giving me a more detailed response. Thanks.
Kerri, sorry..new to the site and just getting to know how it “works” 🙂 I would stick with ebay because they have a worldwide audience. Yes, they charge fees, but I had been very successful for the many years I sold on there. If your heart is set on it…go for it! Try it! You have to enjoy what you’re doing and have a dream!
Kate,
I’ve been going through your posts and you are super helpful and informative. However, I feel totally lost. I want to start a consignment shop online. I don’t know where to start. I think I have a few things down; Name of shop, domain name, page design, and even some people willing to consign great items. How many items do I need in order to open up shop? I’m frightened that because I don’t have a physical store location yet, I won’t build a great clientele. I know it’s possible, but I guess I’m just nervous. Any advice on how to think about everything clearly? I’d greatly appreciate it. Thanks in advance.
Hi Kerri, It’s daunting, isn’t it, and probably keeps you up at night! Checklists are the answer 🙂 You’ll need all sorts of decisions: how will people find you online; shop; consign. How will you handle storage, photography, descriptive text, payment, shipping, packaging, returns. The market you’re aiming for. The best thing to do right now is to examine all the online consignment businesses you can find and note what strikes you as good, bad, important, and mistakes!
As to how many items? As many as you can handle, of course: the more you can present well, the more you’ll sell.
As to obtaining items, you’d have to ask an onliner… I think THIS is the biggest stumbling block. Perhaps some of our readers can help you there!