Posted in economics of resale, Shopkeeping talk, tagged small business, starting a consignment shop on November 16, 2009| 5 Comments »
Trouble is, sometimes it’s hard to translate advice written by and aimed towards corporations with more hierarchy than our businesses.
Here’s an article from Andy Sernovitz which is easier to see ourselves in than most. The black type is Andy, the red is my (more…)
Posted in Shopkeeping talk, tagged christmas, email, holidays on November 15, 2009| 1 Comment »
And best of all, it’s an email you won’t even have to write…because it’s already been done…as a note from the USPS.
Or create a handout available in your shop for customers to take home, post on their work bulletin boards, give to family members.
With suitable holiday and shop embellishment it’s a fun and practically free handout for distribution to your clientele. Using holiday stationery (try your local office supply big box or even a dollar store for pre-designed paper) for your handout makes it a festive take-home with your shop’s info on it.
The info is available here.
Posted in economics of resale, Shopkeeping talk, tagged Products for the Professional Resaler, small business on November 13, 2009| 4 Comments »
How to avoid making your own bad luck, if you’re a consignment or resale shopkeeper or a thrift shop manager, some tips from TGtbT.com:
Bad luck abounds when you wander off the trail. Choosing a lousy location, and then compounding its disadvantages by not advertising consistently. Deciding what you will sell based on what you want to sell rather than what your customers want to buy.
Avoid the dead-end trails and the falling-rock zones with the Manual, and take along a Luncheonette Product or two for when you’re feeling a bit peckish.
Spending your consignors’ money, putting Internet access into the hands of easily-distracted staffers, ignoring advertising and promotional opportunities can put your business in danger of tumbling over. (Have we mentioned the best way to get your shop Internet exposure, by listing it on the #1-Google-rated site for resale shoppers? If you’re not on HowToConsign.com, what in the world are you waiting for? A rich uncle to give you a quarter a day?)
If you want to stay away from the slippery slopes of failure, Products for Growing Shops can be your safety fence.
Pay attention to the time-tested advice from many of the shopkeepers who frequent our blog and Facebook pages. They’ve told you and told you: Use red-penteled markdowns. Do daily backups of your business data. Watch your COG like a hawk. Get rid of that PITA consignor.
That one, I can’t help you with. Unless, of course, you are the parent of a consignment or resale shop owner and you wish to keep them safe. In that case, might I suggest a loving gift from Too Good to be Threw’s Shop for Professional Resalers? After all, who’s gonna take care of you in your old age? Your successful resale-shopkeeper child!
Posted in Shopkeeping talk on November 11, 2009|
Is a new customer worth a burrito?. Read this blogger’s thought. The author suggests that perhaps, we make our marketing more difficult than it is.
How about a (more…)
Posted in Shopkeeping talk, tagged display, merchandising on November 9, 2009|
Big black hole. What a waste!
If you have a glass entry to your shop, you have one more display window than you realize.
Look at all that empty display area, just waiting to be filled last thing before you leave every evening!
Why not give after-hours strollers something to look at, something to admire and covet…or even something to tell them a bit more about your shop?
It’s not hard to do. It can be as simple as (more…)
Too Good to be Threw is the flagship site of the TGtbT Family of Sites for the Professional Resalers
Auntie Kate The Resale Expert 