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Posts Tagged ‘perceived value’

Deja Vu: Investing your time in consignment goods.

Posted in Deja Vuesday, Shopkeeping talk, tagged , , on September 3, 2013|

After all, some Auntie Kate messages are, ahem, Too Good to be Threw!

Click the image for more Deja Vuesday posts that are too good to be threw from TGtbT.com

Oceans of incoming. If you buy outright, you may well spend some time and effort washing, steaming, fixing, to increase your profit margin (or not.)

If your shop is a non-profit that relies solely on donations, you may be blessed with volunteers who delight in prepping goods for the sales floor. Or not.

But the challenge is: Do you invest your time, overhead, attention to merchandise that’s been consigned with you? We posed this question (more…)

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Photo inspiration for resale shops

Posted in economics of resale, Shopkeeping talk, tagged , , , on January 16, 2013| 6 Comments »

Is this a fun way to show some consignment or resale merchandise? Truly inspiration for your next merchandise shots!

How to photograph consignment shop goods

Now THAT’s the way to photograph your goods. (Don’t worry, you don’t have to have a yard with tropical greenery. Maple trees work. As do chain link fences. Or even a graffiti-scrawled wall. Depends on your merchandise and your store’s image!)

See how much more wonderful those dresses look rather than

NOT the way to photograph consignment clothes

Nuff said? What are YOUR tricks for quick shots you take to post on your blog or on Facebook? Comment below and earn yourself some brownie points!

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Before & After: Sure-fire WOM

Posted in Shopkeeping talk, tagged , , , , on December 9, 2012| 3 Comments »

Forlorn into For sure!Everyone loves Before-&-After photos, right? They love them SO much, they forward and share and retweet this category more than any other (well, besides embarrassing photos of celebs.) Fat to skinny. Plain to beautiful. Shabby to chic.

You name it, they love it. Their eyes dart back and forth and they think “I can do that!”

Before-&-Afters awake the dreamer in all of us.

So why not try a before and after series on your consignment shop site, blog, or even Facebook?

What, you say? We don’t fix stuff?

The heck you don’t.

Didn’t you, just today, turn a laundry basket of out-grown toddler clothes into a rack full of irresistible outfits? Or make a neutral couch (boredom city) into a showpiece in a vignette by selecting side tables, throw pillows, lamps that enhanced it? Or help a clothes maven clear her closet and (might as make the B-&-A double-barreled!) fill her purse?

So why not talk about it? Snap some Before-&-After shots? It’s

fun to do,

fun to read about,

and makes your fans feel like they’re a true part of your shop.

Photo from Apartment Therapy.

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Giving away the farm, err, store

Posted in economics of resale, Shopkeeping talk, tagged , on December 7, 2012| 4 Comments »

Confused consignment customer cowThought I’d send along this email received from a consignment shopkeeper. The email is from a while back, but I thought you’d like to see it, after the “price slashing” some businesses did for the Thanksgiving weekend.

Hope you don’t recognize yourself in it.

Hey Kate,
Thought I’d send you this for blog inspiration. I have a competitor who opened 6 weeks ago. Initially I gave her some general advice about the children’s market in [our city], etc. Obviously, she didn’t hear a word I said. In fact, when she read on a local online forum that shoppers found her store “too expensive” she posted that all they had to do was ask for a discount because she wanted to make sure everyone could afford her products.
Anyway, here’s the text from her latest ad, about her grand opening weekend.

All Weekend
Strollers 20% off
All Clothing 25 % off
Accessories 10 % off
Fancy dresses 60% off
Discount rack 50% off
Baby bottles 20-50% off

Friday Blow Out Specials!!
Tommy Hilfiger 40% off
Crib sets and accessories 40% off
Pink chicken dresses 30% off

Saturday Blowout Specials!!
Tommy Hilfiger 40% off
Snowsuits 20% off
Fall jackets 35% off

Monday Blowout Specials!!
All footwear 10-50% off
Diaper bags 20% off
Yoga wear 35% off
Cloth diapers and accessories 30% off

Thanks for sending this example in to me here on the Auntie Kate blog. As a shopper, I’d be thinking Wow! I’m AFRAID to shop there… ’cause

I’d be a chump for buying it today when, obviously, it’ll be cheaper tomorrow.

And as a consignment consultant, my reaction is

How’s that for giving away the store?

Even if such a shop were “splitting” the price reduction with their consignors (not a practice I recommend), there will be little to zero profit in selling like this… and great damage to the shop’s reputation for fair pricing either.

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Using Facebook Albums: A Great Example

Posted in 5- Minute Fixes, Shopkeeping talk, tagged , , on July 26, 2012| 8 Comments »

Consignment, resale, and thrift shops are addicted to using Facebook to keep their names in the forefront of their loyal customers’ shopping minds. But not all of them do it well. For example, albums. They can be a virtual catalog, a on-screen showroom, and a big part of your business branding. The right photos, with the right captions, add so much perceived value to your merchandise! Here’s a shop which has done it well:

One More Time Plus in Columbus Ohio

Too much work, you say? Well, there are time pressures sometimes involved. But this next example takes ZERO time, and I love the look.

Consignment jewelry photographed on a book.

Ready to work on your Facebook albums (or better yet, on your blog posts which get posted on Facebook?)? Here’s some help:

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