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More traffic in your consignment shop means more business!Been too busy so far to choose some business-improving  New Year’s Resolutions? Well, Auntie Kate is here to help.

FIVE TO THRIVE: Resolved. Build traffic in my consignment or resale shop, starting today.

1- Get a plan. Make up your Public Relations Plan and take advantage of REAL social networking…the kind that happens in your community.

2- Learn how to put your Press Kit together. While you may not want to pay $80 to put a single press release on this site, their PDFs are helpful and applicable to other venues.

3 – Use your mailing list to its max. Broadcast email and snail mail.

4 – Collect and use customer testimonials. Aim for getting a good one every week.

5 – Learn to fully use Facebook to its full potential to better your business.

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What are they saying about YOUR consignment shop?Is there still time to improve your consignment or resale shop this year?

You betcha. Take the next few days to sit down and read. And make (more…)

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Think about it. If your shop is consignment, what do you have in stock that’s at its final markdown? That’s OD?  Enough to have a winter, end-of-season clearance?

Chances are, you do.

Now think of when your potential clientele is in the mood (more…)

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translate

There’s a lot of good information out there, especially on the web, for resale and consignment shops and for non-profit thrift stores as well.

Trouble is, sometimes it’s hard to translate advice written by and aimed towards corporations with  more hierarchy than our businesses.

Here’s an article from Andy Sernovitz which is easier to see ourselves in than most. The black type is Andy, the red is my (more…)

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Falling off a cliff is sometimes preceded by walking too close to it.

Is it bad luck… or not paying attention to the signs?

How to avoid making your own bad luck, if you’re a consignment or resale shopkeeper or a thrift shop manager, some tips from TGtbT.com:

Stay on the trail.

Bad luck abounds when you wander off the trail. Choosing a lousy location, and then compounding its disadvantages by not advertising consistently. Deciding what you will sell based on what you want to sell rather than what your customers want to buy.

Avoid the dead-end trails and the falling-rock zones with the Manual, and take along a Luncheonette Product or two for when you’re feeling a bit peckish.

Stay back from cliff edges.

Spending your consignors’ money, putting Internet access into the hands of easily-distracted staffers, ignoring advertising and promotional opportunities can put your business in danger of tumbling over. (Have we mentioned the best way to get your shop Internet exposure, by listing it on the #1-Google-rated site for resale shoppers? If you’re not on HowToConsign.com, what in the world are you waiting for? A rich uncle to give you a quarter a day?)

If you want to stay away from the slippery slopes of failure, Products for Growing Shops can be your safety fence.

Observe posted warnings.

Pay attention to the time-tested advice from many of the shopkeepers who frequent our blog and Facebook pages.  They’ve told you and told you: Use red-penteled markdowns. Do daily backups of your business data. Watch your COG like a hawk. Get rid of that PITA consignor.

Parents– watch your children.

That one, I can’t help you with. Unless, of course, you are the parent of a consignment or resale shop owner and you wish to keep them safe. In that case, might I suggest a loving gift from Too Good to be Threw’s Shop for Professional Resalers? After all, who’s gonna take care of you in your old age? Your successful resale-shopkeeper child!

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