Today, I want to hear from you, my shopkeeper readers.
Tell me what you’re struggling with.
What makes your shop less than (more…)
Posts Tagged ‘starting a consignment shop’
What are you struggling with?
Posted in Shopkeeping talk, tagged resale shopkeeping, small business, starting a consignment shop on January 19, 2014| 46 Comments »
Give yourself a raise… err, rise!
Posted in Really good ideas, Shopkeeping talk, tagged accessories, display, merchandising, resale shopkeeping, starting a consignment shop on January 16, 2014| 3 Comments »
Flat is uninteresting. Think bosom, land, consignment shop showcase.
A little change in elevation could be all your shop needs to take a boring presentation to (more…)
The January Curse of Successful Resale Shops: Fluffing
Posted in Shopkeeping talk, tagged merchandising, resale shopkeeping, starting a consignment shop, Thrift on January 5, 2014| 2 Comments »
Now I bet you came here expecting me to commiserate with you about not enough customers. (There, there, dear, it will get better.)
But really, I want to talk about your
bare shelves.
If you’ve sold down your stock for the holidays, and stopped re-stocking with winter items, maybe your shop looks like this:
It’s a truism that empty shelves, or racks, look forlorn and picked over, and your shoppers will feel like the only thing “left” is stuff nobody else wanted… i.e. trash. So January needs to be spent
“fluffing up”
… using the merchandise you have to make your sales area look not only full of treasures, but intriguing and inspiring too. Like this:
Now, fluffing up empty fixtures may involve removing some excess racks and shelves from the sales floor. If you have folding racks or removable shelves, that’s no problem.
But what if you simply must leave your sales floor layout as-is?
What can you do?
Racks: Remove an arm from 4-ways. That allows you to fluff up on the remaining 3 arms. Or switch the arms from straight rods which need 10-20 items to look full, to waterfall arms which hold 6 or 8 hanging items.
Make a 2-way rack into a scarecrow displayer by putting both straight arms at the same height, forming a T. Coats, long-sleeve dresses, and the like look like they’re intentionally displayed… especially if you snuggle up a small table (or upturned large basket) to hold a trio of accessories.
Make shelves look fuller with the addition of underlays.
These baskets normally reside in a big dump table in the back of this thrift store, but for our fluffing exercise, we pulled them out, used fabric remnants and for-sale place mats to give some weight to the display, and added a little clock and some brass bookends for textural interest. Lots of appeal, even with low merchandise levels. We didn’t have to move the heavy gondola off the sales floor, and it’ll be ready for next month’s influx of new-to-us goods in a snap!
That’s the way to fluff!
Got the shopping Jones today?
Posted in My Favorite Things, Shopkeeping talk, tagged resale shopkeeping, small business, starting a consignment shop on November 9, 2013| 2 Comments »
The itch to BUY something happens to even the most dedicated resale shopkeepers once in a while. Usually around this time of year, when retail advertising picks up and you think you might just DIE if you don’t get something new, or at least, new-to-you.
But as a professional, dedicated to the continuing success and profit of your consignment, resale or thrift shop, you want to make every splurge count, so here are some ideas of how to satisfy your craving:
Splurges Big & Small for Resalers
(And here’s a couple more ideas to add to the examples in the article: )
This countertop display case gets your most precious smalls right at eye level. Switch displays out weekly.
Hard as it is to believe, some clothing consignment or resale shops don’t know what a foamie is! Keep clothes from slipping off and pad the shoulders of knits, with these covers.
Are you in it for the long term?
Posted in I've been meaning to tell you, Shopkeeping talk, tagged resale shopkeeping, starting a consignment shop, success on October 20, 2013| 4 Comments »
Most consignment, resale, and thrift shopkeepers plan to stay in business.
Or at least, they plan not to go out of business
Or at least not until they’re ready to move on for personal reasons.
And if, indeed, a shopkeeper can foresee the day of her/his exit, there are usually plans to maximize the day-to-day business as well as the possible selling value of their business.
It’s way too easy to get caught up in the minutiae of daily quirks, problems, and irritations of our business, when we have not only customers, but also suppliers to deal with. Resale shopkeepers have double… or more!… the personal interactions than do “real” shopkeepers, and sometimes these interactions can distract from business grooming and growth. If you have any doubts, visit an online Facebook discussion group, where resale shopkeepers vent their day-to-day annoyances with great passion. More passion, sometimes, than a minor incident would seem to provoke.
No one ever said resale is an easy business.
But it can be a lot easier if you operate your shop for the long term, rather than allowing the heat of the moment to influence the course you take. So when you’re tempted to spend time and brain space over that consignor who just doesn’t get it, perhaps your business would be better served if you
review, refine, and re-direct yourself and your energies to what will make your shop better on down the road.
And may it be a long and winding road for you.
Some simple points here about long-term business thinking.
The Business Valuation Kit will help keep you focused on building value as your business proceeds.
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