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Posts Tagged ‘starting a consignment shop’

Do your window displays grab pedestrians as they walk by? Here’s one that would…

let’s examine how it illustrates some basic display window ideas that are quick, inexpensive, and simple to do.

Simple but polished consignment or resale shop disolay window, examined by Kate Holmes of TGtbT.com

TGtbT.com, Too Good to be Threw, uses a fab photo (alas, cannot find the originator of the photo which I found a while back on Pinterest) to illustrate some display concepts for consignment & resale shops:

A: Try a  one-note display window. Handbags… JUST handbags.Or you could do side tables or shoes or flower girl dresses. You don’t have to tell the whole story of your shop… just intrigue passers-by enough to get them to come in and see your shop.

B: Kraft-paper-wrapped boxes as risers.Varying heights are a must in any display, especially one like this with more height than width. A variety of sturdy boxes, here wrapped in blend-into-the-landscape Kraft paper, are an essential display prop. (Tip: Use boxes open on the underside… that way, you can nestle for storage.)

C: Triangles: Always use odd numbers of things. In a display, use threes, arranged in an acute triangle. Here, the pile of risers and their displays are in a triangle whose apex points to the upper display of the three dress forms…. whose apex points DOWN to the lower half of the display.

D: Color distribution. Squint: see how the darks are distributed, as are the “neutral” prints.Putting too many darks close together gives a “hole” in the display… and too many lights would steal the spotlight from the entire picture. Distributing lights and darks leads the onlooker’s eye all through the display… to find the One Perfect Purchase for her!

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Thank goodness February has Valentine’s Day in it…another resale-friendly holiday for your customers to celebrate with you!

After all, everyone {hearts} resale, right?

TGtbT.com has lots of ideas o make Valentine's Day a LOVE-ly selling day in your consignment or resale shop!

Decorate your shop inside and out. Need more window display ideas? Look no further than TGtbT.com’s Pinterest collection. This one will light up your heart, or maybe you’re more scrappy? Try this if you have no time to fuss and of course, this is a media-worthy event/ display if you are the go-all-out-for-my-business type.

Cupid Poop giveaway: make them laugh and get your shop talked about. Something they’ll NEVER get at those “new” stores.

Selling your merchandise for Valentine’s Day can be as easy as an All Wrapped Up & Ready to BOW! display or a charming way to showcase your jewelry

You could even, with a click of your computer’s “print” button, create perfect Valentine’s Day gifts out of something that just doesn’t sell.

Auntiekate.wordpress.com found this great PDF to fill those empty picture frames to turn them into perfect Valentine gifts!

Click to get to a free PDF designed for 8×10 frames. Print, fill those empty frames, price ’em to sell!

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Looking forward to clearing out your racks of winter items this month?

Clearance sales, bag sales, dollar racks (which of course don’t have to be ONE-dollar racks) and BOGO events are great. So’s this idea, which I’d use NOW, before your clearance gets going seriously.

I call it the (more…)

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I recently made the “acquaintance” of a great non-profit shopkeeper, Debbie Morrison, who runs three thrifts in Tennessee. She mentioned in passing a promotion her shop uses:

Mystery gift Thursday: Spend at least $10.00, get a free gift.

Her publicity for this free gift includes this lovely way to say “please no complaints over your free gift”:

“Free gifts are in a brown bag, no changes, if you can’t use it, please find someone who can.”

Since Serenity Thrift is a non-profit thrift operation, what to use for a mystery gift was a no-brainer. They’d received Avon products as a donation. Everyone can use a little Avon, right?

If your consignment or resale shop would like to use this idea, how about some purchased-for-resale accessories? What could YOU see your shop as using for this promotion? Comment below, and remember, you ARE allowed to put in a plug for your business!

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I don’t have statistics on this, but I strongly suspect that start-up consignment, resale and thrift stores which planned from the beginning to have funds available for support staff, have

fared better, grown faster, and profited sooner

than start-ups which relied solely on the owner working her or his butt off.TGtbT.com says wouldn't it be nice if "working my butt off" was like, for real?

So tell us: did your shop open with just yourself working? Did you feel constrained in your operating hours?

When did you add staff, and what difference did it make in how your business operates and your bottom line?

If you are still, one or more years into your business, working by yourself and/or relying on temporary fill-in help from friends and family, what are your plans for increasing cash flow enough to add a staffer or two or twenty?

Or do you feel that you prefer to be the sole staffer in your shop?

I look forward to your comments!

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