I do shop consignment stores, goodwill, salvation army etc.

I usually am looking for something that I can refinish or repurpose. I look for the sad pieces, I think.

I love the oh-ah factor when some says that looks nice and then I show them the before picture and they oooh and ahhh....

I do like shopping consignment shops. I like that I can find beautiful, good quality furniture,etc., at a reasonable price.

I tend to shop at four shops in my area. I don't think it's as much loyalty as that I can be assured of the cleanliness of the pieces they carry and the cleanliness of the shops themselves. I like that they're well lit and staffed by friendly, knowledgeable people. I like that their items are reasonably priced. Both carry furniture, artwork, lamps, some rugs and many different accessories. Things move rather quickly through them, which makes each visit fun checking out the new stuff. I love that, when I find something I can't live without, I can take it home right then and not have to wait 4-8 weeks for it to be ordered and delivered. My only hesitation (and this is just me) is in buying upholstered pieces. I worry about what they might harbor (bugs, urine, sweat, etc . . . sorry, but I'm just trying to be frank here).

The other two shops that I check out, but more infrequently, are more cluttered, not well lit, dusty with stuff that runs the gamut from quality antiques to ick. Things don't move as quickly there, so I have to spend a lot of time searching through the clutter to see what may have come in since I was there last.

I haven't consigned anything ~yet~ but when I do, I'd use on of the two shops whose merchandise moves quickly and are clean, well lit and things are displayed nicely.

There was a small consignment shop that opened up quite near my house last year. It didn't do well and closed in nine months despite having very nice merchandise, being clean and well lit and having a very pleasant owner there working. I'm sure that this was because the shop was too small to stock enough variety . . . and things were priced high compared to the other shops. Things didn't move and it got to be a waste of time to stop there. This is a very affluent village, and I think the owner imagined we'd be willing to pay more. The gals I know, myself included, thought differently though. Her shop wasn't competative enough, price-wise, This is a mobile life we lead these days, and it was just as easy to stop into the other shops when we were out and about.

I imagine that, in these tough financial times, consignment shops are making more sales as people search for the best way to get what they need at reasonable prices. JMHO.
Lynn

I am intensely loyal to one consignment shop in my town...I have consigned lots of things with them, and bought a few. They are unfailingly friendly and nice. They have clear policies about what they do and don't take (no bed linens or clothes, no more than 15 items in one week, six books equals one item, no consignments taken during the first week of each month, and pricing to sell fast, for example). They take 35% of the price they get, which I find more than reasonable. They organize things by category and quality, and they also let the place look a little jumbled, which I suspect is a good idea...a little messiness seems to say "bargains" better than a place that looks like retail.
I'm always careful to get everything clean and polished before I take it to them, and I fill out my forms carefully and fully, and take things I know are good enough to be attractive. I am not a dealer...but have inherited a raft of things over the last few years for which I have to find new homes!
Because we have a bit of a relationship, they have even come in their truck to get a couple of things from me that were too big to fit in my car.
And they say that, in these times, their business is booming...people needing to get rid of things for cash, and people looking for bargains.
It's good to have enough room for people to park and load and unload, too.

There are a couple great consignment shops in my area. The one that does the best is set up like an upscale furniture store. Showing 'rooms' of furniture with accessories. Beds are shown with bedding, dining tables usually have center pieces etc.

They also have a website with daily updates of 'arriving furniture'.

The link is below, with its frequently asked questions, so you can get an idea about how they work. I am not associated with the business besides being a customer....

Here is a link that might be useful: Consignment store

There are two furniture consignment shops that a visit regularly. I go for several reasons: (1) older furniture is of far better quality than newer (2) more bang for your buck than new (3) if I buy new things I fear my home will look like everyone else's and I don't want someone to walk into my home and say ("oh, yeah, she shops at Pottery Barn"). Both of the stores utilize the internet for marketing. One sends out email announcements with pictures of what's new in the store, and the other puts pictures of newer items on it's website. I may not see something I HAVE to have in the pictures - but it baits me to drive over, walk thru and be sure I'm not missing something HOT! I will say this - I do not like it when used furniture stores reupholster before selling. I would far rather get an upholstered piece that's worn and do my own selecting of fabric and coordinate the reupholstering.

I have sold more furniture than I have purchased at a local consignment shop; when we moved into our new home it was apparent that many of my favorite pieces just weren't going to work.

I sold my beloved Henredon dining table, chairs and hutch and recieved a much larger return than I could ever have selling the items at a garage sale or by private sale.

I stop by this store once every few months; at this juncture I don't need any more furniture, but it's fun to look, and to look for others. The proprietor is friendly, the store is orderly and priced so that if items don't sell within a time limit, the price is reduced and you can decide if you want to take the chance that it will still be there at the next reduction.

Most of the furniture and decor is unattractive, but I have found chairs which I've had reworked and recovered, except the one in the master bath, I've left that as is; all new furniture creeps me out!

(chairs--they have since been recovered in Sunbrella fabric)

I have a nice, heavy wrought iron bench and a chair in my daughter's room, as well, that were purchased from the consignment shop. Also, scales and a silver tray.

I will say that if I go in and don't find a least one or two attractive items, even if they are something I don't need, I'm more likely to drive by next time. Too much cheap or tacky furniture and decorative items, even if it is in good condition, is a turnoff.

Good Luck with your venture!

I love consignment shops. The one closest to me does thousands of dollars worth of business. I bought my dining room chairs from there and will keep going back to find other items for the house. I think if items are priced right, it's a great investment At my shop the items are marked as time passes, i.e., after 30 days 20% off, after 60 days 30% and so on. Every time I go there they are hustling and bustling. They reserve one corner of the store for sold items and it's always packed to the ceiling.
They need recovering and some TLC, but are perfect otherwise.

{{gwi:1486047}}

The dominant consignment shop near me also mixes in new items, mostly from China (higher end but still new and Chinese). I don't like this at all. If I wanted new furniture, I'd go to a new furniture store. I want a consignment store to be *old* furniture only. So I've pretty much stopped going there, even though I'm a dedicated thrift/used/consignment shopper since college.

I love consignment stores & wish there were more nearby! I'm very surprised there aren't, actually.

I've bought in several & sold in one. I think all of the reasons I've used the ones I've been in have been stated above.

I was delighted when one opened locally a few years ago, but in spite of my visiting them a dozen or more times, I never bought a single thing. Overpriced. & when I looked in to selling something, I didn't use them because their price/commission, again, was not in line with the other stores I'd used. I would rather drive the extra 15 miles.

In spite of the fact that it was large, well laid out, relatively clean, & lots of selection, they folded early last year (before the financial crunch had really hit). So perhaps their greed just didn't work for them.

Thank you for all of the input. My main concerns are the time committment - not afraid of work, but I have a 4 and 9 year old and currently am a SAHM. I am well aware that being the owner would become more than a full time job and that retail is a tough, tough business.

I am also concerned that the asking price is just too much for what I would get and that finding quality merchandise and turning it over quickly might be extremely challenging where I live.

If anyone has more input, I'd love to hear it. As I said, this opportunity interests me, but I am still in the research phase.

I'm a *very* loyal consignment store shopper! What is the location? Are there 'like' stores in the area, or other shops women in general would frequent, such as a fabric store/craft store? Talk to owners of other consignment stores to see how business is~i'm sure they'll be honest. As for the price, ask the owner how low he's willing to go. Merchandise can be bought from thrift stores, estate sales, garage/yard sales, close-outs, craigslist, freecycle, newspaper ads, Habitat for Humanity, or 'curb shopping'....in the right neighborhood! LOL

I'm actually considering opening a small 'gently used' shop, but not for at least 9-12 months. According to the newspaper articles in Austin, 2nd hand store sales have jumped since the economy has taken a nose dive. You might want to consider a partner since you have small children that require a lot of your time~Mom/MIL/SIL/good friend? I think it's a wonderful opportunity! Good luck with your decision. ;o)

I totally agree with everything already said, and given a good consignment store would prefer that over any other. To repeat some of what was said above that I feel most strongly about: the quality AND THE BEAUTY of the older, more traditional furniture is so much better -- before they started making big hulking things with gigantic arms out of sawdust and crummy upholstery. Another pet peeve is when they mix in a lot of new Chinese stuff. I always feel like they are trying to fool me into thinking it's really consignment when it's brand new junk. The only exception to this can be accessories, *sometimes*, if they are really nice.

Price is also a big factor. If the pieces are overpriced I'm not going to buy them and I"m not going to go back. That's one reason for shopping consignment! You are probably going to have it reupholstered so it has to be a find. It has to be beautiful, and a fair price.

Being new to this area I checked out several consignment stores before finding the only one so far that I like. They are packed to the gills so that it's hard to maneuver in there, but they get some really really good pieces, and their prices are for the most part fair. Sometimes there's something outrageously priced, but one or two of those isn't going to stop me going back. I like their policy of reducing it more, the longer it sits. The people in this store are also friendly and helpful, and the same couple of salespeople are always there so they know me. Lots of turnover of items in there too. AND most importantly they let you take it home for an audition. I will not even bother going to a store that won't let you do this. Nor are they picky or snooty about having to bring it back in exactly 24 hours. If you slip a day or two, no problem.

I did not return to the consignment stores that I felt were snooty and overly impressed with what they had to offer, were junky, had a lot of new things added in, and would not let me take something for a test drive, or I felt had tried to con me on something or lied to me.

My favorite consignment store in our last city (in CA) was very orderly about taking things in. They would write it and the price up right there on the spot, and when they mailed you your check, it had the item#s indicated, so you could keep track of what had sold. That was perfect.

Where we live now, I did consign some of my junkier stuff to the junky store. They were too busy to bother writing it up when I arrived, and I had to trust it would get credited to me. I never really knew. They also would not mail your check, you had to come get it or else pay them an extra $1.50 to mail it. If you came in a couple days prior to check-writing, they'd tell you to come back as they could neither give you your check then, nor indicate it was to be mailed. I won't even go back in there again.

Well, we don't have a furniture consignment store in our area but we do have antique malls that rent out space to various dealers. We also have a children's clothing consignment shop near us.

One of the most important things to me is display. I love rooting thru a junk shop, but I have to have my eye out for a specific thing and if I find it I'll buy it. On the otherhand, if I walk into a nicely painted shop with good lighting and things displayed in nice groupings, I will probably buy something I didn't even know I wanted.

Also, as bigdoglover says, you have to be scrupulous in your business dealings. The children's shop near us is quickly gaining a reputation for not paying its consignee's which makes me not want to sell or buy from them. It's also painted an awful colour and there are usually piles of clothes on the floor-really unappealing.

Another thing that really bugs me about the antique shops, is that I often go in looking for a specific item like a wrought iron bed. They'll say they don't have any right now but will call if one comes in. In all my years of antique store shopping, I don't think I have ever heard back from a dealer I have left my number with. I guess this would come under the heading of customer service.

I use furniture consignment as a last resort, right before sending the item off to Goodwill. I always try Craigslist first because I get the most money from it. But when repeated attempts fail and I no longer have the patience to wait for a buyer myself I haul it off to one of the consignment stores. So far they've sold everything I've given them but when they're taking a 40% to 50% cut right off the top that doesn't leave me with much, especially when the price is low to begin with (a little bit more than I would ask on CL). For others I'm sure it's even worse as the item sits they start marking it down and you get even less once it's all said and done.

The only problem I had with the consignment store I used was how they paid me. It was their policy to wait a month or so before sending me the check after it was sold. So it's not a good outlet if you need money fast. I would get annoyed waiting for them to give me my portion when I knew they had sold it. It's those funny accounting games companies like to play...when you owe them money they want it ASAP but when they owe you money they can wait 30 days, 45 days, or whatever payment schedule their account's payable person uses.

I don't know where you live but if it's a city on Craigslist's list of cities then you could be in for some competition. Sure beats the newspaper ads which have fallen off dramatically since eBay and CL came on the scene. I don't know anyone who looks at those anymore, I certainly don't. I never see anyone on this forum talk about the great find they got from a newspaper ad. It's either CL, a consignment store, and eBay (which is not that much of a threat since shipping furniture is expensive).

I knew a woman about 5 years ago who opened up a consignment business, too bad I lost contact with her otherwise I'd give you her name. I remember when she opened her doors business was great from the start. Like you she enjoyed shopping in consignment shops and that's what led her to buy one of her own. This was out of state so I never had a chance to visit it.

After a year or maybe it was two she closed it. I think she grew tired of dealing with the consigners. I remember her saying that she was fed up with people who would call her out to their hosue to look at their furniture and when she got there it was disgusting. She told them over the phone that the item needed to be in such-an-such condition (don't recall what her criteria was). Her mistake was letting them talk her into taking the item anyway, and then it would take up valuable space in the store and not sell. She also found it a drain on her time to make all these house calls for people without a truck and then she'd have to haul it to the store for them.

What I learned from her experience is that you have to set standards for what you will accept and STICK TO IT. Otherwise the quality will slide downhill and once customers pick up on that they'll think twice about shopping in a place that's no better than a Salvation Army store. Consignment stores vary in what they sell, you can tell the better ones from the "less descriminating" ones. I go to the ones I'm more likely to find nicer merchandise.

sorry for the novella, didn't realize I had typed so much until I hit Preview!

Not to veer too much off the topic, but how do you find consignment stores? Come to think of it, maybe thats relevant for someone who wants to open one. I only know of one and I found that by accident because the owner posted her furniture too on Craigs list.

I went to check it out (its 15 minutes from my house) but was able to sell my stuff on CL after all. Im getting together a bin full of accessories for her to look at though. I tried some of those on CL and they received no interest. This store is only furniture, lamps, and a few decorative accessories, no clothing. If its not virtually perfect she wont take it. If its big you have to pay for her truck to come and get it, and thats $ 50. Her cut is 50%.

If I knew of more stores I would definitely go look.

Linnea56, just Google *consignment stores Illinois* and you will get listings. Also try other key words like *second hand stores Illinois* and *Antiques Illinois*. Narrow it down to just Chicago and you will still find enough of them to make a whole day of it.

"I am also concerned that the asking price is just too much for what I would get."

What exactly are you "getting"?

You don't have to tell me how much you are planning on spending, but I am asking if you are buying a business or are you just buying a building? Buying a business means you are buying their name and licenses and logo among other things. (You do know you will need licenses?) You are buying their customer list and their "vendor" list. You get to keep the same phone number for the business so that there is no lapse like there would be if you got your own phone number and had to wait for the Yellow Pages to be printed in the fall.

There are advantages and disadvantages to buying an existing established business. Make sure you get gap insurance! Keep in mind that when you buy an existing business you are also buying their debt and make yourself become involved in any pre-existing or pending lawsuits.

You say they do not have a website, so they would not be turning one over to you of course. You really should have an interactive website for your store and that may run you about $5000 or so for a decent one to be built and tweaked.

Also whether buying a business or just buying the building make sure you know what fixtures and equipment are included in the sale. I am not trying to sound condenscending, and maybe you already know all these things, but so often people get taken advatage of in situations like this, because they do not know that the things like shelving and cash registers are not included in the sale unless written in the contract.

If you are going to take credit cards you will have to be "reauthorized" with the new ownership. Find out what the monthly fee is and what the percent fee charged is, for credit cards and try to negotiate for the lowest if you can. If your store is going to have a lot of small ticket items the CC fees can really take a bite out of profits. Crunch the numbers.

Any existing services or business relationships that the former store had, may need to be renegotiated. This happens when an owner changes. As a business, you will have to pay for things like commercial trash pickup yourself. You may be on COD for things in the beginning and need a lot of capital on hand the first six months. You will be lucky with consignment stores as a business venture as they do not have to invest in an inventory to open but how are you going to stock it for opening? Do you have enough money set aside after the purchase for advertising? Find out how much this will cost. Crunch some numbers. Have you ever done taxes as *self employed*? Are you going to be a 'C' Corp or LLC or a 'sole propriatorship'? Do you know the tax advatages of each? What about inheritence if you should die? Will the business pass on to your children, spouse or to a named business partner? Do you live in a community property state where you spouse may take your business if you divorce? These are all things that have to be thought through and put in place right from the beginning before you decide if this venture is the right thing for you. What about health insurance when you are self employeed? Will what you have now still cover you or will you have to find single payer insurance?

Crunch the numbers.........Do you know how much insurance you will need? You must cover not only your building but also the items you are keeping for people on consignment. Liability insurance for a business is pricey and you do not want anyone to slip on your steps without being fully covered.

Have you read up on all you can about marketing and merchandising? Use the same principles and techniques and retailers of new goods do. Know how to display and create traffic flow to dead corners in the store. Know where to spend your advertising dollars to give the greatest return.

Use the front area to display only what is needed and keep the rest in back. Every inch of your store should be used to sell not for storage. For instance, If you are selling a lot of silverware sets, just put out one place settng of each on a placemat on a table with a placard listing the pieces. If anyone is interested in inspecting the whole set bring the silver box out for them to see the whole set. No need to have piles and piles of silverware all over in heaps, like one place I know does it. Or if you are selling barstools just put two out with a sign that you have twenty available. I do not know why places crowd duplicates of items on their main showing floor. Try to arrange large items and furniture in vignettes. If you sell lots of glass/ceramic novelties arrange them by color on shelves not by type. It looks better than a menagerie of figurines. Don't do a whole shelf of ashtrays, a whole shelf of bells, a whole shelf of S&P shakers. Let the customer "discover" an item. These are all things to read up on at the library. There is not much info online about retailing devices and marketing.

Here is a link that might be useful: LLC

I have never been to a consignment shop. But after reading all of this, I will now.

Probably 99.9 percent of everything I own is either from an consignment shop, or antique market.

The one percent are the electrical appliances int he kitchen and the computer I am using.

I am a faithful shopper to a few shops. I prefer ones that have a wide variety of things, big, old, painted, small, wood, dishes, mirrors, everything and the kitchen sink.
Fair prices, usual things, a constant flow... When things move fast then buyers are tempted to go often because they don't want to miss out.

I appreciate the input from all. Thank you!

DillyDally, I am quite familiar with everything you have posted and my attorney and CPA are working with me in this decision. Thank you for bringing up very valid points.

My husband and I are really thinking this may not be the right opportunity for us, at this time. With 2 young children, invovled in many activities, it just may be too time consuming at this juncture. We haven't made a final decision, but we are leaning towards investing the same money into another area we are more familiar, such as real estate. (we have owned rental property for many years and the low market has made us take a second look)

Again, thanks for all the thoughts. Most of all I was wondering how much company I had in the love of resale, more than number crunching. :)

Thanks you for your response. It looks like you have all your ducks in order. I have seen too many people open a business in a field that they had an "interest in" like gardening, and go on to open a garden and gift shop or a B&B, and not crunch the numbers or get a lawyer, and get in over their heads. I'm too pragmatic I guess, and I worry too much.

I love consignment shops too. We have a cute one in our town. The majority of the furniture there is antique or near-antique but not "fine" antiques. Maybe 50% of the stuff has been painted (mostly either white or black) and anything else you can ask to have painted for an extra $50. Lots of "shabby chic" type pieces. She also has various small items and a bit of jewelry and some art. Every time I go in there I find a few things I love, but don't have space for! I always think I'd love to own a shop like that, but I would also include original art from local artists. However, I would hate to have to work on weekends, so as you have said, dixie, in the end it's probably not the right business for me either!