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Posts Tagged ‘resale shopkeeping’

Learn from these truly-involved resale shops:

The shops who join their peers as Sponsors at HTC can be truly inspirational to consignment, resale, and thrift shops of all levels. locations and longevity. Here’s just three good ideas I came across this week!

A shop which is on top…and plans to STAY THERE.

Wandering Wardrobe in Springville UTThis is the broadcast email Patty sent out from her shop, Wandering Wardrobe in Springville Utah. Why is this email worthy of note?

  • It’s a photo of the storefront, which is the main way most customers identify any shop. And she was smart enough to get a good shot of her “Best” banner last year.
  • Patty mentions that perhaps her fans would like to submit her name for other, allied categories.
  • Patty shows her community support by asking if there are businesses that her readers would like her to vote for. Tit for tat and social outreach!
  • Oh, and to do that, her readers will have to respond top this email…thus beginning a conversation with her avid supporters.

How could YOU use simple tactics for your business?

A shop true to their mission…and their prosperity!

Remarkable Resale in Rochester ILKitty, owner of Remarkable Resale in Rochester IL, is a fervent believer in recycling. So fervent, indeed, that it’s a point of pride (and education of her clientele!) for her vast business to use recycled merchandise bags.

But Kitty doesn’t just re-use packing material. She turns each gently-used bag into a point of pride with a 3″ x 5″ sticker in the shop’s signature blue and white, which says don’t be surprised if you’ve seen this bag before/ WE RECYCLE, followed of course with her shop name, address, phone, and URL.

Kinda reminds me of the stickers I used to use, back when most of TGtbT.com’s Products for the Professional Resaler were hard-copy sent by mail. I reused envelopes and stuck a PROUD to recycle! sticker on each. How could you use this idea in your shop?

A shop true to its cultivated image

Clothes Circuit in Dallas TX: clothes fresh as garden blooms

One of my very first consignment-shopkeeper friends is Irene of Clothes Circuit in Dallas TX. Her great talent, which I always strived to follow? Irene treats her previously-enjoyed merchandise as worthy of the finest, “new” store treatment. As an example, this spring window. The few pieces are meticulously groomed and displayed, and the props and setting show to their clientele that this merchandise is worthy of the finest ownership.

Oh, and as a bonus? The window is amusing and worthy of word-of-mouth. Doncha love it? I have some more examples of Clothes Circuit displays, and I’ll share them with you anon.

(Did you notice the pun in my headline? I am so un-punny that I feel the need to call your attention to it.)

I thank these Sponsors of HowToConsign.com for their willingness to share and, through their Sponsorship, to support our resale industry!

What inspirations do you have to share? We’d love to hear!

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Has your consignment or resale shop grown like Topsy?One thing I noticed on my trip to 5 eclectic shops the other day, was the extent to which

fixturing matters.

The two very-funky shops had, on purpose, mismatched fixturing. This gave a nice cluttery feel to their shops, and since all the fixtures, from clothes trees to tables, were for-sale merchandise, it made sense.

But the three upscale shops, the ones commanding the best prices, (more…)

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Learn from other consignment, resale, and thrift shopsGood time of year to Visit Other Resalers with your “field notebook” nearby. (If you don’t already have this PDQ from our inexpensive Lunch with Kate series, order it now!)

Here are some tips for getting the most, and the most goodwill, out of your visits.

What’s Visiting Other Resalers? A little field notebook to help you examine other shops with an eye to making yours better. Download it; print out copies to stick in your glove compartment. Learn every time you visit another shop!

Print out as many copies as you need, and get on the road. I promise you, even with (more…)

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Resale is a production...and you're ALL the crew!Big snowdrifts and low temperatures

mean consignment, resale, and thrift store owners have plenty of thinking time right now. How about the tiny tweaks that bring the biggest results? Some ideas:

Can you use your software to its fullest extent? Not unless (more…)

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A Too Good to be Threw Teeny Tip fior Consignment, Thrift & Resale StoresA TGtbT.com Teeny Tip:

An interesting discussion on how to set a return policy, from Groupon.

What might you change, to make your business more customer-friendly?

How much of your return policy is designed to “protect” yourself from the one-in-a-hundred PITA…and is it worth it, to cut into every possible sale that goes south when the customer realizes “all sales are final”?

And how much do you think a return policy costs you…in terms of fulfillment, and in terms of reaching out to your customers and building their confidence in your business… and in terms of advertising expense. Since I have always maintained that the cost of satisfying a customer is PART of your advertising and marketing budget. Satisfy her for a $15 cost, or spend $1500 on TV ads… hmmm…

Just something to think about….

Read more Teeny Tips from Too Good to be Threw

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