A shopkeeper asked, the other day, the best way to have a successful end of season sale. I think she was looking for some ideas on what others had done along the lines of bag sales, BOGO events, or dollar racks, but I was struck by (more…)
Archive for the ‘Functional Friday’ Category
It’s Not as Simple as Marking Down
Posted in Functional Friday, Mailbox: 1-on-1 Advice, Shopkeeping talk, tagged markdowns, resale shopkeeping, selling, success on July 29, 2016|
Go to a flea market this weekend.
Posted in Functional Friday, Shopkeeping talk, tagged learn a lot, perceived value, resale shopkeeping, selling, small business, starting a consignment shop on July 22, 2016| 1 Comment »
If you’re less than confident about the look and appeal of your shop, get out and about.
You can learn a lot from some flea market vendors.
Stop TOUCHING!
Posted in economics of resale, Functional Friday, Shopkeeping talk, tagged accepting, buy-outright, consignment, Products for the Professional Resaler, profit, resale shopkeeping on April 8, 2016|
How many times do you or a staffer touch incoming merchandise?
Ever thought about how much time that takes?
Ever thought about how much MONEY that takes?
- Take the batch from the consignor/ seller/ donor. Put it in your accepting area.
- Label it with the info you will need to later process it.
- Sort into things you can accept and those you can’t.
- Enter it into inventory.
- Go back and price each item.
- Rehang, fold, whatever. Maybe even steam it? Place on the sales floor.
- Label NTYs. Move them into short-term storage. Fetch them when the consignor/ seller comes to take them back.
I’m tired just typing that. Think about how you operate. Is there a way to stop touching these items over and over again? A way that not only will make you more efficient but that will please your supplier? A way that will allow you to get incoming on the sales floor in less than 24 hours? A way that your time can be spent selling, not accepting (after all, selling’s where the money is!)
Here’s an excerpt from Your Money-Wise Guide to Accepting & Pricing to help you make the most of your accepting/pricing time:
Tricks to quicken clothing check-in:
1- First, check the areas most likely to have too much wear: armpits, crotch, neck and wrists. Stains, pilling, discoloration. Then, whether any elastic the garment might have is still snappy. Soil often shows most on the satin neck label.
2- Check for fading across shoulders, under lapels, across collar. Yes, things fade even in dark closets.
3- Next, holding the hem of the garment, pull it out so the front is as parallel to your lights as possible. Spots and stains pop out (this is the real reason for items having to be on hangers, and of course for having good lighting at your check-in area!)
4- Check fasteners: buttons, snaps, zippers. Then seams and hems (both for no missing stitching and for twisting which results from a garment being cut incorrectly when it was new and once it was washed, skewing. Knit fabrics are especially prone to this.)
5- Not everything, of course, is “good as new”. But at this point you need to examine according to your own standards. Is a missing button okay on an Escada suit, but too much of a flaw on an Anne Klein dress? Is that Eileen Fisher T-shirt artfully faded or is that Hanes T just too greyed? A bit of wear might be acceptable on something you really need (for example, a size 16 mother-of-the-bride outfit) but not on something you have an abundance of (size 6 Levis.)
And of course you don’t need to go through this entire process if the item is one that doesn’t pass the first few tests: a style your clientele wants, clean, odor-free. THOSE items get put aside without a second glance. The above 5 steps don’t matter if it’s not a style your customers will buy, if it’s soiled or reeks of smoke/ moth balls/ pets.
For more on how to accept and price incoming with profit in mind, get your own copy of Your Money-Wise Guide to Accepting & Pricing, a Too Good to be Threw Product for the Professional Resaler. Wouldn’t you love to have an hour or more back, every day? You can!
No more excuses: take GREAT photos on your smartphone
Posted in Functional Friday, Shopkeeping talk, tagged advertising, blogging, daily operations, resale shopkeeping, selling, web on March 18, 2016|
Phones are handy in your shop for taking quick snaps of merchandise… but are those photos turning out as wondrous as you would like?
Functional Friday: Wasting time?
Posted in Functional Friday, Shopkeeping talk, tagged daily operations, employees, profit, resale shopkeeping on November 6, 2015| 1 Comment »
Does this sound like you… or your staff?
when we’re tempted to procrastinate, diversions are only a click away… knowledge workers in the United States waste 25% of their time dealing with their huge and growing data streams, costing the economy $997 billion annually.
If so, this Harvard Business Review article may motivate you to re-think that “always-on” Internet connection in your shop’s workstations.
The Blog of
Too Good to be Threw is the flagship site of the TGtbT Family of Sites for the Professional Resalers
-
Join 2,063 other subscribers
Let’s be Social
Meet Kate
What Kate said about:
When Kate said it:
Read more about:
accepting accessories advertising blogging buy-outright christmas competition consignment consignors customers daily operations display email employees Facebook Halloween holidays home decor HowToConsign.com learn a lot markdowns merchandising NARTS Conference perceived value Products for the Professional Resaler profit promotions resale shopkeeping sea of sameness selling shop local small business social networking starting a consignment shop success thought for the day Thrift Twitter web word of mouthMost Popular Posts
Auntie Kate The Resale Expert 