Posted in My Favorite Things, Shopkeeping talk on November 15, 2008|
If you want your merchandise photos to “speak for themselves” on your web site and blog, they need to be good photos. This type of “portable photo studio” set up helps get a good, and quick, shot. I can’t imagine not having one, if you want your goods to be (more…)
Posted in Shopkeeping talk on November 13, 2008| 3 Comments »
(The final episode in this mini-series. Read Episode #1 and Episode #2 and Episode #3.)
Have you ever had some well-meaning person ask you about “your little shop”? I did, just recently. Since I live in Florida now, and my shop was in Ohio, the question was “And where was your little shop?” My answer was: “Oh, I didn’t have a LITTLE shop. My bustling, successful shop…the one that enabled me to retire at the age of 48…was in….”
That poor woman, who was only trying to be pleasant, was darn lucky she wasn’t standing in my shop when she asked that. Of course, if she had been she would have seen that it wasn’t a “little shop”, not because it was large, but because I wasn’t playing store. Racks matched, as did hangers. Staff dressed appropriately with name badges. Merchandise was presented well. Handouts and signage were neatly done. All that stuff. But mostly, my shop did not come across as a “little shop” because of my Brag Wall.
What goes on a Brag Wall? Photos of your first day, of the sidewalk sale for the benefit of Children’s Hospital, thank-you letters from charities who receive your no-thank-you’s, and awards you have been given. Snapshots of the neighborhood’s kids coming in for Halloween and the after-hours Divine Divas party.
But most of all, on your Brag Wall must be your professional affiliations. Every group, from NARTS to your local Chamber of Commerce, issues a frameable membership certificate. And chances are if you are active with your groups, you’ve received a certificate of appreciation for what you did. Frame them and hang them. Be proud. Brag. Not just on a wall within your premises either: Include your professional memberships on your business card, your shop stationery, your web site and blog and every handout.
Your Momma doesn’t work there. (Or, if she does, she’s braggin’ on you like crazy already!) Brag.
It’s amazing the amount of respect a simple framed “This shop belongs to..” will bring you. You know what you’re doing…so let your public know you know. Brag.
Posted in Shopkeeping talk on November 11, 2008|
…or does anyone e
lse find the overwrought handbag, well… tacky? And paying an arm and a leg ($2400) for tacky is, to my mind, downright idiotic.
Even my old favs, Ferragamo and Burberry can have atrocious styling. (And doesn’t the Burberry resemble a dead armadillo? So why not buy this one and save $3179?)
Maybe they’re making these excrescences so they are harder to counterfeit? Well, understandable perhaps. But that doesn’t explain why (more…)
Posted in Shopkeeping talk, Used Stuff in the News on November 10, 2008|
Travel article about Boston from the AP, “Visitors who like fun and frugality will like Boston”…
All the regular stuff, Fenway Park, Liberty Trail, the Big Dig and Cambridge…
Now that’s Resale in the News, in the Spotlight, and in the GROW-lights I’d say! Aren’t you PROUD of yourself, being part of a growing industry? Hope you’re doing your part (hmm, maybe (more…)
Posted in I've been meaning to tell you, Shopkeeping talk, tagged resale shopkeeping, success on November 7, 2008| 3 Comments »
Another in the I’ve been meaning to tell you series where other people tell you something I’d like you to know, and tell it better than I could. More concise, better phrased, and besides, I know you get tired of listening to me. Or me nagging you, whichever way you prefer to look at it.
So every once in a while, I call your attention to the experts.
Do you have some favorite messages it would behoove us all to have handy? Tell us! In the meanwhile, today’s entry:
I think we’ve been tricked by (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 