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Favorite Thing: New Dressing Room Curtains!

June 20, 2008 by Auntie Kate of Too Good to be Threw

I’m a great fan of changing one’s consignment shop around quickly and inexpensively. I am also GA-GA on word of mouth. So I suggest that every shop with dressing rooms that have curtains, have a wardrobe of seasonal changes.

I’m not sure what “season” this wonderful tattoo fabric covers, but I think it would be terrific for a vintage, reconstructed, teen-oriented shop… and what word of mouth!

Not your shop’s style? I found a wonderful “kids-pirates-treasure-hunt” fabric (if your shop is childrenswear or has the word “Treasure” in its name), and a slew of other ideas. One thing I love to see Continue Reading »

Posted in My Favorite Things, Shopkeeping talk | 5 Comments »

When there aren’t enough criminals, one makes them

June 18, 2008 by Auntie Kate of Too Good to be Threw

(On the Too Good to be Threw discussion board for professional resale shopkeepers, consignment shop owners, and thrift managers, one participant mentioned that the “authorities” are insisting she pay Continue Reading »

Posted in quotations of use, Shopkeeping talk | 1 Comment »

Resale? Consignment? Thrift? What’s the deal here?

June 17, 2008 by Auntie Kate of Too Good to be Threw

So many people are exploring secondhand shops now, what with a poor economy and what with trying to shop locally to save gas, that I have been overwhelmed with requests about what the terms resale, consignment, and thrift mean.

There’s an explanation on the Continue Reading »

Posted in Shopkeeping talk, Used Stuff in the News |

Getting ready to board the buses!

June 16, 2008 by Auntie Kate of Too Good to be Threw

While gathering my thoughts and notecards and camera for the NARTS Bus Tour of consignment, resale, and thrift shops coming up soon during their annual Conference in Indianapolis, I ran across some notes from past events…

Looking out the windows going from shop to shop on the bus, I spotted a funky antique shop called Rust & Dust. Wouldn’t that make a great name for a furniture resale shop’s back-room as-is bargain area?

At a children’s shop, this sign Continue Reading »

Posted in Shopkeeping talk | Tagged | 4 Comments »

How to open a consignment shop. And how NOT to.

June 14, 2008 by Auntie Kate of Too Good to be Threw

“I have two kids, and I shop consignment,” the woman said. “So I basically figured I know how to shop for it, so I can sell it. Then I ran across this empty store and here I am! It’s so much FUN, running a consignment shop. It’s just like the garage sales I ran for my neighbors.”

Less than 3 years later, her resale shop closed abruptly, leaving unpaid consignors, outstanding debts, and a very stressed-out family.

“I never realized it would Continue Reading »

Posted in Shopkeeping talk | 57 Comments »

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