Tracy, who has a 8-year-old resale shop named My Best Friend’s Closet, wants and needs a new name. She writes:
I will be moving to a better location after the first of the year. When I move I will be changing my tax structure and have learned that there is currently a business in my state that have registered my name. So now I need a new name! I want one that is short and sweet. That channel lettering is expensive you know!
I am wanting a name that is not too generic or cliché… My demographic is teens and women to 55ish but I want a cool name that sits well with the 20-30ish group. I figure one that is not too young or too old sounding.
My thoughts:
Short and sweet is a good parameter. I am particularly fond of one word names… or names that end up being one word once your customers get ahold of it! In addition, as you mention: short is good for those per-letter charges for channel letter signs, which so many shopping 
centers require.
I think a new name for an established shop needs to play off the current name. Once people are used to the old name, you’ve got to provide them with an easy way to remember the new one!
Cool names. Well, that lets out most of the standard resale industry names like Encore and Second Time Around (which is a GOOD thing, not that those names aren’t fine names.)
One thing you did not mention, but I think must be a marketing consideration: A name needs to be able to engender a complimentary tag line, even a “standard” advertising headline.
And last but by far from least: can you get a URL for your web site that will be meaningful to your shop’s new name, and preferably one that ends in .com?
My conclusions:
- It’s short, it’s sweet, it’s easy to spell and pronounce (see the Manual for more guidelines for names!) and you won’t grow weary of answering the phone with your new name.
- It can be longer, if you like, but it doesn’t have to be, and the single word name is perfect for signage, conversation, and even T-shirts.
- It’s a word which means something in and of itself, something YOU want people to associate with your business.
- It relates to your well-established name. It appeals equally to customers from 15 to 55.
Drumroll please. My suggestion is
Best
aka The Best Resale Company.
And look what URLs are available (as of today at least!) that you could use: shopbestresale.com
thebestresale.com
thebestresaleshop.com
Heck, you even have a logo already: just erase the extraneous words! (Come to think of it, maybe your tagline could be “Hang with the Best“!)
Like it? I’ve even got a (rather long but I like it) tag line or at least an advertising campaign/ wall words/ Tshirt planned for you:
Saving money is good. Looking great is better. Doing both? The BEST.
Update October 4 2009: Tracy has decided the name doesn’t speak to her. Please feel free, if you like, to use it and the suggestions for your shop. I will expect that you, in appreciation of this idea which would be breathtakingly expensive if you hired a “real” branding consultant, to generously support TGtbT.com and HowToConsign.com. In fact, chocolate and roses would be nice as well. Or simply a handwritten thank-you note if you think that’s suitable.
Bloggers just LIVE for the thoughtful questions posed to them, and Auntie Kate is no exception.
(This post is a follow-up to 
Bluebird of happiness, or for the birds?
Auntie Kate The Resale Expert 