Archive for the ‘Shopkeeping talk’ Category

Use your Facebook Photo Album to build business, recognition, WOM about your consignment, resale, thrift shop.

Posted in Shopkeeping talk, tagged advertising, blogging, social networking on December 1, 2010| 12 Comments »

Do you use your FB photo albums to their fullest?

I’m betting that you could use some fresh ideas here. Now is the perfect time to put photos of your wonderful merchandise up, so your FB, Twitter, blog, site, broadcast email friends/ fans/ followers can see just

what their holiday dollars can get them in your shop.

Here’s how. Get an “extravagant” present together. Say, not just a sweater, but a sweater, scarf, gloves, headband and jeans together. Work towards making the WHOLE OUTFIT the price of, oh, the jeans or the sweater. Photograph it. Do a caption that includes a list of items in GLOWING terms. Compare it to “new”.

Here, let me take a stab at it so you can see what I mean.

Example borrowed from a Polyvore creation

You’d pay $383 for these HIGH jeans alone. At MyShop, get the hottest designer jeans, add a leather messenger bag and a shearling jacket and you’ll still have $ left over for the aviator cap, available (once in a while!) in our Weird and Wonderful department! Talk about a great outfit for the hippest chick on your list (we won’t tell if that happens to be YOU!) for less than $300!

BTW, do add your shop’s name and a message like the “Happy Snow” above, to your photos. Makes them MUCH more effective.

Do a variety of looks, as in these examples. And swap them out every few days, so you can send another GIFT IDEAS from MYSHOP message out.

Everyone's got a floor to use as a backdrop, right?

Try YOUR hand at a caption for an outfit like this.

Ball cap, T, overalls, sneaks, AND what he really wants, the truck!…all for $32, which is less than the overalls alone would cost at the mall.

This caption could be about the unique artist-created things you have, versus made-in-China dreck.

Okay. Now, after the holidays,

continue to use the free FB photo albums in business-boosting, reputation-building, word-of-mouth ways. Like to show folks how you examine incoming merchandise (a great opportunity to reinforce Clean-Current-Cute) or your staff planting that pretty flower garden that enhances downtown.

Some photos borrowed from web venues including Interior Motives WI for illustrative purposes. Obviously, you’ll use your own merchandise and your own photos.

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Today’s TGtbT Teeny Tip for Consignment, Resale, and Thrift Shops

Posted in Shopkeeping talk, Teeny Tips, tagged buy-outright, consignment on November 30, 2010|

Are your supplier policies more user-friendly than your competition’s?

Mention it.

“You’re welcome to bring as many things in as you like” will let her know you set no arbitrary limit. “Stop in anytime, you don’t need an appointment” tells him it’s easier to deal with you.

Do you pay on demand? Send out convenient checks by mail? Have a Merchandise Valuator on duty whenever the shop is open for convenient consigning/ selling? If you’re a NFP thrift shop, is there always a staff member handy to help a donator unload her/his car?

What seems to be common-sense, or just the way things are, could be exactly what a potential supplier is concerned about.

Your day-to-day procedures can be a selling point. Don’t overlook the marketing possibilities right under your nose!

This is just one of the tips in 101 Daily Tips for a Better Shop, a collection of tips you can use every day to remind you of steps you can take to make your shop better. Get it, and many other helpful publications, at TGtbT mini-Products for the Professional Resaler.

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