How to Start a Consignment Shop Business
Memphis, Tennessee – Many have gone before you unprepared through the consignment doors to drop off items for cash. Internet forums, blogs and websites are filled with their cries of dismay over the differences between their expectations and their experiences. Learn from them to add profitability to your consignments.
The complaint heard most often around the consignment world is that the consignor was surprisingly displeased with his or her share of the consignment sale booty. We all know what we paid for the Pooh Bear design skirt that our 2-year old wore twice and we know what we ourselves would have paid (40% off retail?) at a consignment sale and consider it a ‘bargain’, so how do we end up with pennies on the dollar for our barely-used threads? Is the problem really our unreasonable expectations?
The problem lies, in part, with a conflict of interest. The consignee (the person selling your items) may subordinate obtaining the highest possible price for your wares to his/her motivation to move merchandise out the door quickly. (no sales = no commission and inventory pile up)
Safeguards for you as consignor are a written disclosure of the selling price, perhaps a minimum selling price (not too popular with many consignors) and a ‘discount schedule’ which discloses the time to elapse between price discounts and the amount of the discounts.
Other factors which can act in your favor are the shop’s reputation and the experiences of others. These days it’s fairly easy to ‘Google’ a business name to see if comments have been posted by anyone with experience with the business. (Search Google using the name of the business.)
In most cases expressing your concerns to the shop owner may clear the air and communicate that which is acceptable and unacceptable to you.
If consignment is too much hassle, an alternative is to donate to charity and take a tax deduction and be done with it, assuming your other charitable deductions are sufficient for the deduction to qualify.
For additional information on how to consign visit http://www.consignment-
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