Many of us find the need to replenish our wardrobes when the seasons change, so what better time to talk about consignments, and how they can provide many solutions.  Consignment shops are places that take in items to sell.  Normally these items are used or pre-owned and are re-sold at a fraction of the original price.  The items vary depending on the specialty of the consignment shop.  There are furniture and appliance consignments, antique consignments, shops that offer cookware and home décor, and many others.  However, the most popular are clothing consignments.  Some of the shops may have a mixture of merchandise for sale.  For their operations to be successful, consignment shops need to have a consistent flow of inventory to sell.  This leads to how to save and make money from consignment.

Anyone who is always looking for ways to save and make a few bucks should pay close attention.  The first way to save money through consignment is by buying.  It sounds funny, but read on.  As previously mentioned, the consignment shops normally sell merchandise considerably lower than the original retail price.  Therefore, buying from consignors rather than paying full price at a mall or boutique could save a ton of money.  For example, a $6 pair of jeans spotted in the consignment store would have been at least $40 to purchase in the regular store.  Guess how much the $9 shirt originally was; $60.  That means a $100 outfit cost $15 in the consignment shop, which means a saving of $85.  Guess what else.  Consignment shops have sales and clearances just like regular department stores and some boutiques.  Many clothing consignment shops have items with prices ranging from $3 to about around $35.  $35 is normally the starting price of a range in a department store.  Some consignment shops’ prices can be much higher, but the prices of the items were much more to begin with, and the brands are higher end.  What about buying appliances?  Those are items that were no longer wanted or that had a problem, but the shop was able to fix it.  It’s sort of like purchasing a refurbished product.  Imagine how much you can save by buying those items used instead of new.  Another way to save money is to do a trade.  Some locations allow you to trade your items for other items in their store that you want.

Of course, some shops are good and some not so good.  It usually doesn’t take long to filter them out.  The good shops normally have specific requirements in place for sellers.  Just in case you’re new to this, you should have an idea of the best items to buy before you get started.  Most of the time, you can have a good experience with jeans, tees and tops, purses, dresses, and dress pants.  Shoes can be a little bit questionable, and it really depends on what kind.  Items for the home are mostly always a good buy.  Based on others’ experiences, appliances are good buys if you get them from one of the good consignments that have a good selection process (we will go over selection processes later).  One appliance consignment in the area guarantees to fix, replace, or buy back any item that has problems after the sale.  These are the basics of saving money by consignment shopping.  Let’s get to how to make money.

Since consignment shops need inventory to sell to keep things running smoothly, that leaves an opportunity for others to make money from items they no longer use or need.  Two ways have been observed.  The first way is to complete a membership as a new consignor.  Some shops charge a fee, like the $20 annual fee at Rave Reviews Consignment Boutique.  Other shops do not have any type of fee to consign.  After becoming a member, the shop provides their rules on the types of items permitted, condition required, and the payment arrangements.  The items permitted would fall within the store’s specialty.  The consignment shops would normally require items to be in good condition, and the payment arrangement would most likely be in the form of cash or check.  Most consignment shops also control the pricing of the items.  The payment arrangement is a split like 60/40, meaning 60% of the sale goes to the consignor and 40% of the sale goes to the store.  For example, let’s say a consignor drops off a pair of jeans that the shop accepts to sell, the shop decides to price them at $20, and the split is 60/40.  That means the consignor makes $12 and the shop makes $8.  Using this method, no payments are made to the consignor until after the item is sold.

Another way to make money is to simply sale the items to a consignment shop that will buy them on the spot.  With shops like Plato’s Closet, they don’t make you wait until the transaction is complete.  Once you sign up and give them some basic information, they will review your items that day, make a decision to accept or reject them, and pay cash for the items they accept.  These types of shops might have more specific merchandise requirements (gently used, specific items, certain brand names, particular age groups for clothing, etc.).  With this method, the payment amounts are still up to the consignment shop and their system, but you have the right to accept or decline their offer.  It’s up to you.

Which method is best?  The best method to make money from consignment shopping really depends on the person and their items.  If the items are things that are not really needed and it’s just to make a few bucks and clear some closet space, the get cash now method might be best.  It could save the time and work of organizing a garage sale.  If the items are more valuable, but the goal is still to get rid of them, it might be better to let the consignment shop sell the item and split the profit.  It’s probably worth the wait.  At least there are two methods available to work with.

To get the most out of consignment selling, it’s best to know what to sell.  As mentioned before, some stores already have guidelines as to what they will accept or what they want.  Plato’s Closet provides a list of some of their most popular brands, the items they buy, sizes and age groups for each gender for the clothing they buy, and other details about requirements and pricing.  In addition to that, they also give details about the items they need most at that time.  With that in mind, the items that have made the most money from both methods are appliances and home décor, higher end shoes, pants, and dresses.  This of course depends on style and brand as well.

With season changes, weather changes, and the holiday season rapidly approaching, now is the perfect time to start consigning.  It’s an opportunity to find some gifts or to rake in some extra cash to purchase gifts.  Alternatively, those not thinking about others can seize that opportunity to get some cool things or make some money to keep.  These are all of the ins and outs of how to utilize consignments to save and make money.  Happy selling and saving!

Have a Good and Fit day!