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Tell them they’re helping, not hurting, the needy!

October 4, 2010 by Auntie Kate of Too Good to be Threw

This article ran originally in the NARTS newsletter, where I am a guest columnist.

I was chatting with a far-off friend recently, and he mentioned that he’d noticed how much attention the press has been giving thrift shops. I said yes, indeed, it’s a great way to shop, to save money and to be careful with our planet’s resources.

Great deals...for everyone.“Oh, I don’t shop at those places,” he said.

“I’d feel like I was cheating

the poor out of good buys. I can afford to buy new but they can’t so it’s not fair for me to shop there.”
John had the mistaken idea, as many middle-class-and-above people do, that thrift shops are in existence simply as “subsidized shopping” venues for the poor. These well-off folks think that by avoiding shopping in your thrift store they are doing good by “leaving the bargains for those who need them.”

While many not-for-profit shops do indeed see part of their mission as providing a valuable shopping opportunity for those of limited means, most shops also aim to make profits in order to provide other services to the needy. It’s important that well-off potential shoppers know this.

“Shopping at OurStore not only gets you deals, it gets you warm fuzzies: The profits from your purchases provided a safe place for mothers and children to stay for over 12000 nights last year.”

So if your potential customers do not understand that “thrift shopping isn’t just for the needy” , make sure they receive the message that “Our proceeds fund X and Y so we invite you to find the deals you deserve, for the sake of those in need in our community.” And make sure they receive this message over and over again.

I was able to conclude my conversation with John by saying, “Thrift shops not only are an inexpensive way for everyone to shop, and a great opportunity to re-purpose everything from the kitchen sink to a tool box, but their retail profits help your community.

Shopping at not-for-profit thrifts does triple good: good for your budget, good for Mother Nature, and good for those around us who need the help those shops fund!”

Posted in Shopkeeping talk | 4 Comments »

How many tweets do your followers follow?

October 2, 2010 by Auntie Kate of Too Good to be Threw

Kinda like how much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood, isn’t it.

And I’m not even totally certain what a woodchuck is* and whether I’ve ever actually SEEN one.

Point is, do your tweets Continue Reading »

Posted in Shopkeeping talk | Tagged , , | 1 Comment »

Happy Breast Cancer Awareness Month, consignment and resale and thrift shops.

October 1, 2010 by Auntie Kate of Too Good to be Threw

It’s October, and you know what that means. Two things.Big Tag Sale is a good way to move some consigned goods

1: You’re overwhelmed with things to do and don’t need a complicated promotion this month.

Lots of customers, lots of incoming, having to move racks around and stay late to catch up and all that. No time for yet another task.

2: Your clientele probably feels very close to the cause of curing breast cancer.

Maybe you, probably them, have seen people whose lives and families were changed forever by breast cancer. You want to do what you can. Raise some money, raise some awareness, participate in your community.

Carolyn’s Bling your Bra Event’s great (here’s info on that idea, to tuck away for next October), but since it’s already October, it’s too late to organize that..

But the ABSOLUTE simplest way to participate? Take the BIG TAG idea from Sharing and turn it into a BIG PINK TAG event.

Here’s how:

1- Scout out some goods in your shop that you want to sell at a very good price. These should be items you are willing to donate the profits on to a breast-cancer charity. Leave them where they are on the sales floor; just have enough in mind to have 3-5 special deals for every day of your promotional event.

2- Make up some big pink tags. You might to laminate them, as in the above picture, because you’ll be using them all month long. Or just make a lot of them. On one side, put THE BIG PINK TAG SALE. On the backside, explain what you’re doing, for example Buy this special item at today’s special price and MyShop will donate the proceeds to NameofCharity. At the same time, make up window signs, dressing room signs, and bag stuffers.

2a. Plan daily tweets and Facebook and blog messages for the time period of your event.

3- Pick out a charity to receive the funds. Get a big see-through jar or plexiglass box to put money into. Make a matching pink sign for this jar: MyShop’s Customers Support NameofCharity through their purchases of our BIG PINK TAG SALE.

4- Every morning, choose a few items to feature. Do the markdown on the price tag, NOT on the BIG PINK TAG, which you will be moving from item to item throughout the event.

5- When a customer purchases an item, take the appropriate cash out of your till (whether she’s paid by credit card, check or cash) and deposit it, with a flourish, into THE BIG PINK TAG SALE jar so she and the rest of your shoppers can see the good their purchases can do.

6- When you total the contributions, don’t just send off a check. Invite the local honcho of the charity, or a local celeb who’s involved, to your shop to receive one of those funky “giant check” donations. Invite the press there to the presentation or take a picture yourself to use with a press release. You want the community to know not just that you’re a good soul (which of course you are), but that your business participates in the community.

Things to keep in mind:

  • Keep your donations jar visible, to motivate people to ask what it’s all about,  but safe from theft.
  • Keep enough currency in the jar to show your customers that others are participating, but not so much that they feel that you’ve collected enough.
  • Move the BIG PINK TAGS to different merchandise every day, even if yesterday’s featured items haven’t sold. Encourage customers to stop in every day to see what’s “special for our charity drive.”
  • Choose a wide variety of items to feature: a lamp and a chair and a picture one day, a toy and a hat and a pair of shoes the next.
  • It may not be necessary to slash an item’s price even more than you already have, if it’s really a good deal.

The discussion about BIG TAG SALES is  here.

Posted in Shopkeeping talk | Tagged , | 1 Comment »

Offering the sameold sameold to your consignment or resale customers? How about doing it with a twist?

September 30, 2010 by Auntie Kate of Too Good to be Threw

The most popular post on my blog recently has been this oneAll retail is having a hard time motivating customers. Even resale and consignment shops., which I had almost forgotten.

I talked about how customers had gotten so jaded, a simple 10% off didn’t make them bat an eyelash, yet alone grab the car keys and a friend on their way to your shop.

Current interest in motivating customers runs especially high now. I saw two more Continue Reading »

Posted in Deja Vuesday, Shopkeeping talk | Tagged , , |

Mind your mummy…Mind your money.

September 29, 2010 by Auntie Kate of Too Good to be Threw

You have enough to do right now without worrying about windows.

You know that cliche “I don’t do windows”? Well, you may be Continue Reading »

Posted in Shopkeeping talk |

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