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Posts Tagged ‘Thrift’

Thrifty Ideas: Especially for NFP Thrift Stores

Posted in Not-for-Profit Resale, Shopkeeping talk, tagged on July 31, 2013| 4 Comments »

If you manage, direct, work or simply volunteer in a non-profit donations-only thrift shop, chances are you have some challenges consignment or buy-outright shops don’t have. The biggest one could be

How to make some donations look salable!

We’ve collected up over 100 ideas on how to Increase the Value of Your Donations in a Pinterest Board here. A sample of ideas I’ve gathered to monetize what might otherwise be  25- or 50-cent items :

You know all those utensils you get donated? Get a volunteer to make a horizontal board with spaced, cute tin cans in which to show them. Voila! An item you’d be lucky to get a quarter for, is now worthy of 3x the price! Presentation counts!

snowman ornaments buttons pinterest

Buttons are often in good supply at thrifts… and if you have some volunteers who enjoy crafts, this could be a “holiday boutique” best-seller in your non-profit.

Tea cup turned pin cushion

Another crafty-volunteer idea for your premium gift area in your shop.

tiered jewelry display piece

Odds and ends plus some good glue and an eye for centered yields this great stand. Make some to display your jewelry and some to sell! See my version of this. Click the pic for her tutorial.

twine memo center, reborn from a thrift shop frame

Frames are another big donation item that could be hard to sell… unless you add twine, a staple gun, and a clothes-pinned example or two. Now they’re chic! Click for exhaustive instructions.

If we’ve whet your appetite (or those of your crafty volunteers!) see all the ideas I found for you on our Pinterest Board.

Utensil holder and pin cushion cup from unnamed Pinterest sources; Memo board from Shanty-2-chic.com; tiered plate stand from http://stacyvaughnblog.blogspot.com/2012/10/tiered-plate-stand.html

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Slow time in your non-profit thrift? Keeping volunteers happy…

Posted in Not-for-Profit Resale, Shopkeeping talk, tagged , on June 18, 2013| 7 Comments »

If you run a thrift store, and your volunteers complain that there’s nothing to do today….

Or if you have folks who’d like to help your shop succeed, but don’t wish to have a sales-floor assignment…

Or if you know there are some folks who’d help, but they’re not up to standing on their feet for hours…

Here’s a treasure-trove of cute ideas for turning bits and pieces into adorable, salable, and word-of-mouth worthy goods! Click each photo to read about it.

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Source: beadandcord.com via Kate on Pinterest

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If you’d like to see more simple crafts that can turn donations into boutique-worthy merchandise, let me know in the comments below.

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Not what you want to see when you come into your consignment shop in the morning

Posted in Shopkeeping talk, Used Stuff in the News, tagged , on May 2, 2013| 5 Comments »

Bless their hearts. Thank goodness, no one was in the shop.

Thrift shop is now selling cars?
Read the story.

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Thrift shop alert!

Posted in economics of resale, Not-for-Profit Resale, Shopkeeping talk, tagged , , on April 29, 2013| 7 Comments »

What’s one category many donation- only thrift stores accumulate too many of?

Odd plates.

And what can a customer do with odd plates? Well, a perennially popular idea is the wall of plates, as seen in this Pin from the Too Good to be Threw Pinterest Boards (it’s been repinned 82 times!):

TGtbT.com is on Pinterest... and so is HowToConsign!

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But many shoppers, although they love the look, hesitate to collect plates for their own decor for two reasons:

  • Lack of time to find and select a variety of mismatched plates, platters, saucers.
  • Lack of confidence in their ability to artfully select what “goes together.”

Solve both problems when a volunteer with an artistic eye creates sets of plates that a customer can buy! That’s what Top Drawer Finds did, listing this on Etsy:

TGtbT.com talks about odd thrift store plates

This is a fabulous idea, whether you sell in-store or on-line. And you’ll note, I am sure, that these components are making your shop more money than if they were stashed in some cardboard box under the men’s suits with a “50-cents each” sign… don’t you agree? Thanks, Top Drawer, for bringing this merchandising idea to our attention!

What odds-n-ends in your shop do you collect up to make a larger, more appealing purchase for YOUR customers? Tell us by commenting below!

Explore what Too Good to be Threw is telling your potential shoppers about using secondhand goodies in their home decor, at the consumer-oriented HowToConsign “Home with a History” Pin Board!

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Deja Vuesday: Quality Incoming = better sales.

Posted in Deja Vuesday, Shopkeeping talk, tagged , , , , on April 16, 2013|

After all, some Auntie Kate messages are, ahem, Too Good to be Threw!

Click the image for more Deja Vuesday posts that are too good to be threw from TGtbT.com

Deja Vuesday

where you can visit a gently-used, blog post in case you missed it the first time. It’s even better the second time around.

Are you targeting your marketing efforts properly? Quality, condition, and stylishness in your incoming makes your shop grow. Think about it, whether you’re aiming to attract consignors, sellers or donors.

Attracting the High-End supplier.

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