Consignment Store Selling

Consignment shops are a great place to shop to find discounted goods. People take in items to sell on consignment. The resale shop marks up the goods, like furniture, baby items, all sizes of clothes, jewelry, household good, and more then pay a percentage to the seller when they sell them.

To earn extra money, consider taking in your unwanted items to consignment stores. The store benefits because they don't have to pay for inventory. You benefit if your items sell by getting extra money in your pocket.

How Do Consignment Stores Work?

Consignment stores operate by accepting used or even new items from people, also called sellers, who bring in items they want to sell. The store owner or other personnel looks over the items to see if they think the items will sell. They select the items that they feel will move. If someone brings in stained or worn out clothing, for instance, the consignment store won't accept those items for sale. The better condition items are, the better chance they will be accepted and will eventually sell.

After the items sells, the consignment store personnel notifies the seller and they are given a percentage of the sale price. The seller is normally paid an amount around 40 to 50%. The store keeps the balance for selling the item. If the consignment rate is 45%, on a $10 item, the seller would get $4.50 and the store owner would get $5.50. This covers the cost of doing business, which includes rent, utilities, employees, and so on.

Find out how long the resale shop will keep your items. Sometimes this is 60 days or 90 days. It is your responsibility to pick up items at the end of the contract. The items are usually donated after that time to a non-profit organization.

What Sells in Consignment Stores?

Just about anything will sell in a consignment store if the right person sees it. That said, consignment shop owners get to know their market and know what will sell and for what price. The area of town and clientele who shop in the resale stores determines how much each item can be priced at.

Clothes sell well because people want new clothes all the time but don't want to pay retail prices. Household goods and furniture sell when buyers see unique items or things that they need at a reduced price from retail. Jewelry sells but it has to be priced right. Sellers can't expect to earn top dollar on jewelry because the market probably won't support it and the percentage that the store owner keeps will bring down the seller's final amount.

How to Sell to Consignment Stores

Start off by taking a few quality items into a resale shop to get a feel for the policies and what kind of items they will accept. To have a positive experience, take in better quality items to increase the chances of the shop owner taking the items on consignment.

Sign the contract, which is standard, that the shop owner will present to you. It will outline the percentage you'll earn for each item if and when it sells, the terms of selling, how many days the items will be displayed to be sold, and the terms for picking up items that don't sell. Get a receipt from the shop owner for items you leave to sell. Make sure the items are listed individually on the receipt.

Check back after a few weeks to see if anything you left has sold. If so, ask if you can come in to pick up your share of the money. Be polite and concise. Shop owners are busy and don't usually have time to chit chat on the phone. Pick up items at or before the end of the consignment contract period to avoid losing your items.