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Posts Tagged ‘selling’

Getting the New Season’s Goods in, IN Good Time!

Posted in Shopkeeping talk, tagged , on March 20, 2013| 1 Comment »

An excerpt from How to Switch Seasons Easily & Profitably PLUS Pakaways: More Freedom, More Profit , a Too Good to be Threw Product for the Professional Resaler in PDF form, available in the TGtbT.com Shop:

How to Swich Seasons Easily & Profitably, a TGtbT.com Product for the Professional Resaler from Kate HolmesGetting the New Season’s Goods in, IN Good Time!

The trick, if you’re a consignment shop, is getting the new season goods in at the beginning of the season. Consignors don’t think of their items on the same timetable as retail sells them, so you will have to

use every marketing tool you have to be able to switch seasons profitably.

All of the below applies to buy-outright shops, and even to donation-only shops, assuming of course that you have kept contact information for your suppliers.

• Have you designed a postcard to consignors, stating the consignor BENEFIT of getting their items in NOW? This type of postcard can be readied for mailing during any slow selling periods and simply put aside until the right time to send them out.
• Is there a line on your consignor receipt/ clothes list re when to bring fall in?
• And why it’ll make them more $$ to bring it in at the BEGINNING of the season instead of later? . . .

Get more tips in the PDQ, a PDF file you get Pretty Darn Quick from Kate in your email!

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So what’s to see in your shop?

Posted in economics of resale, Shopkeeping talk, tagged , , on March 11, 2013|

An excerpt from How to Switch Seasons Easily & Profitably, a TG Product for the Professional Resaler:

That awkward “in-between” season

So what’s to see in your shop in those switch-over months?

If your seasonal clearance is over and done with, and the new season is not yet coming in in great quantities, what will you be selling?

* The new incoming, which is not (more…)

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‘Tis the season… for seasonal consignment sales

Posted in Shopkeeping talk, tagged , on March 9, 2013| 3 Comments »

Seasonal consignment sales are a growth industry.

And now is the time for them. They’re popping up all over, both the franchise/license sales and the independent.

How will your year-round store front for consignment, resale, or thrift deal with this? Will these sales hurt your business or help it? It’s not as cut-&-dried as you may think.

Some things to (more…)

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Just my opinion, but don’t you need pricetags?

Posted in 5- Minute Fixes, economics of resale, Shopkeeping talk, tagged , on February 23, 2013| 11 Comments »

Why don't consignment and resale shops post prices on Facebook?Would you put merchandise on the sales floor without price tags? Then pretend not to hear when potential buyers ask how much something is?

So why would you spend an hour taking photos of things you want to sell, posting them one by one on your business page on Facebook, and then

annoy the bejeesus

out of those followers who actually are intrigued by this enough to type a comment on your photo, by not answering? Think they’ll say, Oh poor thing, she’s so busy. I’ll just go to her about page and find the phone number and call her.? Or perhaps you’re trying to motivate her to change out of her bunny slippers, brush her teeth, bundle up the kids, find the car keys, and make the trip to your shop just to see if the price will fit in her budget? Ain’t gonna happen.

Be aware. Marketing online doesn’t work that way. If a potential customer (or consignor, or donor, or seller) doesn’t have the answer at the click of a mouse, she’s off. Gone somewhere else on the Internet.

And your chance to please her, to be memorable, is lost.

So, just my opinion, but if you want to sell something to someone on her e-devise: Include prices.

And some sparkling prose wouldn’t hurt either. And maybe even your phone number.

 

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Let’s Make a Staff Selling Manual!

Posted in economics of resale, Shopkeeping talk, tagged , , on January 26, 2013| 6 Comments »

Employee manuals in consignment shopsI’m sure most established consignment, resale and thrift shopkeepers have two employee manuals around.

One about procedures and policies, and one about expectations for their jobs. Maybe these all-important publications are combined into one. That’s a good start towards having an effective crew of employees or volunteers, but it’s nowhere near enough to truly succeed.

Your business needs a “Staff Selling Resources” manual. Do you help your helpers by giving them the opportunity for self-education?

Here’s how:

First, get a loose leaf binder and some page protectors. It’s fun to shop for these, but if you are adamantly REUSE, or just cheap, post a note on your shop’s community board asking your customers if they have any of these to pass on.

Then, find materials that will teach your staff whatever they need to know about the merchandise you sell. Most of this information can be found on the Internet, and here’s some ideas to get your “Staff Selling Resources” binder started and to save you time, courtesy of Too Good to be Threw’s Pinterest boards. (As always, click to see the graphic full-size and read the helpful captions):

Helping a customer’s all about knowing what will work for her/him:

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A picture’s worth a thousand words, particularly if you have to explain what a houndstooth check looks like compared to a gingham check.

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Calling merchandise by its right name, or knowing styles and eras, makes staff more confident and helps them communicate with shoppers:

Source: stylinspire.com via Kate on Pinterest

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Your selling resources can even include styling tips, which help your staff show their professional expertise and impress their customers!

Source: Uploaded by user via Ana on Pinterest

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Many more Pins can be found here and here.

Do you have web resources that your staff find helpful? Share in the comments!

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