No more $5 off a $35 purchase or $10 off a $50 purchase or whatever you have been doing; STOP IT RIGHT NOW.

Really.

At least for now.

Here’s what you do instead:

You give FREE Gift Certificates away. Say, a $10 Gift Certificate with every $50 purchase. No strings, just a nice Gift Certificate, exactly as if they’d bought one. They can use it themselves, they can give it as a present, they can add it to the gift they are buying, they can even donate it to their favorite charity.

Why?

Why do I suggest you try this?

Reason One: Everyone loves a holiday gift. Your recipients can use it themselves and feel like you have “given” them a present…even though what you have done, really, is given them a discount on their NEXT purchase.

Reason Two: An attractively packaged Gift Certificate is….giveable! They might just tuck it into a card and give it to a friend, neighbor, office-mate or relative…and you might just gain another thrilled customer.

Reason Three: Giving away Gift Certificates propels the selling of Gift Certificates. And the perception by your current clientele that yours is a shop where they can discover the perfect gift for a special someone. Just imagine: the shopper finds a cunning little [fill in the blank] that’s just right for Cousin Billie for $35, and they receive a $5 GC…which they can add to the gift package or keep for themselves or put in a greeting card for the girl who walks the dog.

You see what this does? It rewards the shopper with extra value, but rather than leaving the money in their wallet (where goodness knows it could be spent on a latte or something equally as frivolous)…it is money which will come right back to you, today or tomorrow or after the holidays. It’s festive and something fun for the shopper. It calls attention to the Gift Certificates that you sell. It’s WOM-worthy. And it may just get you a few new customers. How great is that!

So just for the season…try giving away Gift Certificates rather than reducing your prices. You can go back to your old system later on.

For more Holidays in Resale suggestions to build your consignment or resale business, we have a lovely and idea-packed PDQ.

Consignment & resale shopkeepers can clean up on costumes year 'round!

Did you let your consignors*, your sellers, or your donors know that you want those Halloween costumes now?

No?

Then do it forthwith! (That means make it snappy!)

Why? Because, yes, you can make money from costumes of all sorts the whole year ’round. Read on, for an article from a past issue of our print newsletter, which we no longer publish.

Sell costumes year ’round

Looking to build your business? Have you considered costume sales and/ or rental?

Dressing up in funny clothes has expanded beyond just Halloween, and adults of all ages are having fun. There’s Mardi Gras, Valentine’s Day, Presidents’ Day, Easter, the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving and Christmas. And social occasions: murder mystery parties, historical reenactments, frontier days, renaissance festivals, plays and skits, even class reunions. ….

To start a collection of costumes for rental, concentrate first on costumes that will appeal to the largest group of customers. Pirates, ghosts, clowns, witches or warlocks, and magicians can be male/ female, old/ young, skinny and fat! Then branch out into costumes that will work for other events: Santa and elves (and reindeer?), George and Martha Washington, Uncle Sam,
Cupid can be for Halloween or other times.

Simple-to-develop costumes can add to your selection: flappers (straight shift with lots of fringe, beads, headache band or cloche hat, ankle strap pumps) and cowboys (suede vest, chambray shirt, bandanna, tooled belt, hat) come to mind. Or create a hippie outfit with tie-dye and ethnic accessories with frayed bell bottoms.

Finding costumes and putting pieces together can be fun. Estate and garage sales, dance recital costumes, theatrical groups and school drama departments are places to spark your imagination. Re-examine some of your “no thank you’s” from consignors with a costume-minded eye. Would that gaudy ‘70’s lounge gown make a great skinny Liz Taylor? A tired black nightgown a good witch? Old Hawaiian shirts, tattered leather jackets, even old waitress uniforms can become useful!

Near Halloween time, of course, you will have your costumes on display, but what about the rest of the year? I visited a shop in Florida last year that had a big album with costumes photographed on friend-models complete with props. Each page listed the sizes, pieces included, and rental prices. Don’t forget you can offer the same basic outfit with different accessories for a different costume. Add a coonskin cap to a cowboy, substitute moccasins for the boots, and you have Davey Crockett. A witch with fangs becomes
a vampy vampire. A Farmer MacDonald bibbed outfit with straw tucked into its sleeves and neck and a holey felt hat is suddenly a scarecrow.

Before you set your rental or sales price, investigate local pricing. You will probably be pleasantly surprised at how much people are willing to spend for a little fantasy!

If you decide to rent costumes, your rental agreement should spell out what is included in the rental, price and security deposit, times to pick up and return all pieces, and penalties for lost or damaged items or late return.

Don’t want to bother renting? Sell that costume with a written guarantee to buy it back within 30 days for a percentage of your price!

* If you are basically a consignment shop, this is a good area to test out the concept of buying outright, both as far as how comfortable and fiscally alert YOU are, and how your clientele takes to it. Who knows? Maybe you’ll have such a ball buying  outright that your whole field of operations grows!

Everything is looking up for the rich shopkeeper. She makes SURE it does.

They plan ahead.

Do you have every event, every ad, every blog message, website change, consignor letter and bag-stuffer….even every display window theme, between now and the end of the year planned out? Know when and how you will let your prospective audience know about the events? If so, you may be a rich-shopkeeper-in-the-making.

They seize the opportunities.

If you look for, search out, recognize and even MAKE opportunities for your business to grow and diversify, to attract a wider audience, you may be a rich-shopkeeper-in-the-making. If you know which of your customers are bloggers and, among your fellow merchants, whose clientele overlaps with yours, you may be a rich-shopkeeper-in-the-making.

Rich shopkeepers harness their energies.

If you have learned to delegate, if you are careful to use your time wisely, and if you know there are some things truly worth the price, you may be a rich-shopkeeper-in-the-making. If you simply refuse to waste energy getting upset over something you have no control over, like a snippy customer or a competitor’s rumor-mongering, and spend it, instead, doing what you know will help your business, you may be a rich-shopkeeper-in-the-making.

They face facts.

If you truly know what’s going on in your business, even if it goes against everything you feel, and then you act on it, you may be a rich-shopkeeper-in-the-making. If you offer what your community wants to buy and at what price points, even if that is vastly different today than it was when you opened your shop, you may be a rich-shopkeeper-in-the-making.

Rich shopkeepers aren’t afraid to acknowledge that every day, there is something to learn.

Rich-shopkeepers-in-the-making know where and how to invest.

Rich shopkeepers know that something as self-evident as pool noodles, which they’re embarrassed they didn’t think of, is a great idea. Or that a tongue-in-cheek web site actually has a multitude of merchandising ideas in it. Or the “hidden reason” you should be open, with great fanfare, on days like Labor Day or Thanksgiving Friday. Rich-shopkeepers-in-the-making know that there is always somthing new to learn, or something they knew but which has gotten overlooked recently, or something that they really feel like smacking their foreheads over. Rich-shopkeepers-in-the-making love to learn, anywhere and everywhere they can.

For Consignment and Resale and Thrift Shops, a special Product for the Professional Resaler: Find out how to make November and December months that you’ll love!

Click to find out how YOU can make the holidays shine in your shop

Yes, you can have as great a gift-buying, celebration-supplying business as the “real” stores. Read about:
Preparing for the Holidays
Ad heads/ email subject lines
Themes and decor ideas
Dress the window ONCE
Selling & Gift Certificates
BEST Promo: Help a Charity

Get Holidays in Resale directly to your computer NOW.

No, IT doesn’t, in this case, stand for Internet Technology. It’s that little word, “it,” that we all know by its cute little appearance. See? Isn’t IT cute? <<<<<

And then, there’s its.

Use an apostrophe with the word “it” when you want a contraction for “it is” or “it has”. Otherwise, its indicates possession. For example, “The dog is eating its bone.” This may seem confusing, but it follows the same pattern as other possessive pronouns: his, hers, its, yours, ours, theirs.

If you can’t substitute “it is” when saying/ reading it’s, then use “its. ”

It’s simple. It IS simple. Remember this phrase to keep it right:

TGtbT.com: It’s Resale at its best!

Now there’s (oohh look there I go!) dozens (note, no apostrophe) of other uses for apostrophes. You can visit the National Punctuation Day site, Catastrophe’s site about catastrophes, and many more. At least I don’t devote my entire blog to apostrophes.

We’ll discuss sale (the NOUN) versus sell (the VERB) another day.

And then there’s (ooops!) who, who’s and whose. And their and there, not to mention thier. (And I sent out an email the other day with “your” when I meant “you’re”…sorry Erin!)

‘Til then (oohh, and what’s THAT APOSTROPHE DOING THERE?) toodle-oo.

A resale shopkeeper asked me, a while back: [I'm] thinking that we as resale shops should pay especial attention and try not to add to the litter of merchandise bags. But re-using old grocery sacks just doesn’t do a thing for my shop’s image. What can I do that’s not only eco-savvy, but will build my shop’s reputation and word-of-mouth?

Auntie Kate answers:

Oh wow am I glad you asked that! Here’s what I said here on Auntie Kate a while back: OOOHHH, let’s go GREEN… by buying more STUFF

And of course my buddies in the consignment, resale, and thrift industry could have the solution…and a fund-raiser and a great PR angle…at their fingertips. A way to cut usage of one-time plastic or paper bags WITHOUT causing the environment to shudder once more at the solutions that short-sighted consumers think up.

Here’s the deal. Think of your customers and suppliers (consignors, sellers, or donors, doesn’t matter how your resale shop operates.)

Now imagine how many tote bags, shopping bags, mesh bags each one has accumulated:
Canvas “registration” bags from conventions
Totes that the cosmetic companies give away with purchase
Bags they got free when they signed up for a loyalty card
Totes that PBS sent them when they contributed to a fund raiser
Fabric shopping bags they received at a charity gala
Special-event totes handed out at festivals and fairs

I mean, they alREADY have reusable totes. And how many, after all, can one person use?

Well, let’s say they’re not overly fond of carrying a tote that says SillyFest 2004 on it. Or using the Lancome bag to carry stuff home from Target.

Well, how’s about they SHARE… and let people who have, gasp, come shopping in your resale shop without their reusable tote… get their items home in fine shape anyway?

Okay, so Ms. Overstocked-with-Totes brings in the dozen or two she and her family own but don’t need. She donates them to you (if you’re a charitable resale shop) or to an account which benefits a charity (if you’re a for-profit shop.)

You tag them with a nice eco-message price tag (I’d suggest cutting up a brown paper bag to make these tags, and tying them on with twine) saying something like: A Fellow Citizen brought this in for you to use… because recycling means we ALL take part… or whatever you come up with.

You price them at a nominal price, and add to your tag that proceeds or profits will be donated to [name a LOCAL eco-friendly charity].

So every day, in your shop, you can have a 2-way or 4-way full of donated neither-paper-nor-plastic totes which your shoppers can use.

Got some folks who don’t have their “own” reusable bag, don’t want to spend a dollar or 50 cents or $3 on one from your “Recycle Tree that saves a tree”? Rent it to them! Tell them to take one for the price on the tag, and when they bring it back within a week, you’ll refund their contribution, you’ll take it right out of your wild-flowers-in-the-median or save-the-bluegills fund if they insist.

Of course, you will still have to have some merchandise bags on hand for the sour-pusses who could care less…. but you could charge ‘em for those if you like… and put the nickel right in a big clear glass jar in front of them, labeled “I needed a bag so I’ll pay the price… all nickels donated to [your charity again].”

Because you are helping a charity and being eco-conscious, these events can be turned into a newsworthy story that might get you some free press.

I was inspired to re-present this promotional idea written earlier for inclusion on Too Good to be Threw, The Premiere Site for Professional Resalers,  by an entry on another blog, The Environmental Cost of a Free Canvas Bag

I kept waiting for one of the resale or consignment shops who send out broadcast emails to send one entitled

“Cash for Clothing Clunkers.”

Thought it would be a good subject line for a message about bringing in merchandise. You’ve read about Cash for Clunkers, we’re offering cash for those “clunkers” in your closet, the things that are fine just not for you…*

Cash for Couches? Cupboards?

Alas, I guess I missed whoever used that for a catchy subject line.

Oh well, there’s always the upcoming holiday season.

Cash for Christmas Clunkers/ Bring in those un-adored holidays gifts…

Think anyone will have the nerve to use this?

* Yes, even if you’re not a buy-outright you can use this approach: receive CASH when your items sell. Heck, even if you’re an NFP looking for donations: You can help OurCharity by letting us turn your Clunkers into cribs, cellos, corned-beef-and-cabbage!

What with Target finally “going green” with reusable shopping bags (and taking a tip from consignment and resale shopkeepers who’ve been giving a nickel “rebate” for years!) and CVS getting a dollar cash and four trips in out of you to give you a dollar store credit (weird, I know. Think it’ll fly?)  and people in Priuses (Priusi?) glaring at your empty arms as they tote their eco*conscious bags into Publix, now might be the time to ask:

Is your bag CLEAN?

Sure, you pile your purchases in your own bag, whether that’s a chic print bag or a political statement. Day after day, week after week, you’re doing your bit.

But are you making yourself…and the cashier who handles your used bag…sick?

A reuseable bag manufacturer’s blog mentions this, but I had to hunt high-and-low for the poop on getting rid of the grunge in well-traveled, well-used reusable bags.

Here’s what I found, beyond the obvious nylon bags which you can wash like your windbreaker:

• Made from recycled plastic bottles?  Hand wash or sponge wash in cold water, hang to dry
• Made from hemp? Spot clean only. May solve a fashion problem, but doesn’t address health issues
• Made from old outdoor ad banners? Simply toss in washing machine (after all if they hung above a carbon-spewing highway, they should survive your washing machine.)
• Those bags you get at NARTS Conferences (And that many shops use as part of their advertising programs)? You can wash them, but no drier. They don’t end up so pretty, but they’re tough as nails…I’ve used one several times a week to tote Products for the Professional Resaler to the post office for over 4 years.

And some tips: Keep separate bags for meats and fish and don’t store bags between uses in some dark airless place (so much for my glove compartment.)

Dream away…and maybe plan a bit? Make out your letter to Santa?

Many consignment and resale shops send out terrific broadcast emails (if you don’t, I recommend it. *)

I got one the other day. Made me sit up and take notice.

Print out this email and get 30% off everything…and EVERYthing.

Heck, who could resist that? So I dutifully printed out the email, tucked it in my purse, and went shopping.

The store’s nice. The folks there are nice. But alas, I didn’t happen to find anything I needed, even with that 30% off .

So: they got a customer IN due to the email, even though I didn’t have an opportunity to use the coupon. But they never knew it.

I left thinking that the shop might have gotten a clearer reading of how effective their email had been at driving traffic IF they’d provided for my situation: wanted to use the coupon; regretfully didn’t find anything.

How could they have done this? Perhaps by saying, in their email, Even if you DON’T find anything today (and we are pretty sure you WILL) hand us this coupon for a free… anything. Earrings? Spot removal stick? Coupon for an item next month? Doesn’t really matter what you’d offer. What matters is learning that the email worked…but no purchase was made. Important customer information.

Heck, if I worked there I’d even ask the presenter of the coupon 2-3 questions such as Why didn’t you find something today? What would have thrilled you to find…what selection are we lacking?

Valuable opinions to get, personal interaction, the customer feeling you’ve listened to her. That’s worth a “consolation prize”, isn’t it, to get that kind of feedback?

Try it, next time you send out an email coupon. You may be surprised!

* Haven’t tried broadcast emails yet? I recommend it. You can even get a free trial and then a $30 credit, 1 or 2 months’ fee, when you click that referral link.

As you can imagine, I see a LOT of resale, consignment and thrift shop web sites. And I’m always on the lookout for good ideas and designs, and most of all, functionality, on these sites.

So here’s the Top Ten as seen this year, in my opinion. Take a look…then VOTE! Please notice that I restricted my choices to shops that have brick-and-mortar locations, since that’s what most of you have. Perhaps another time we’ll explore online-only shops and seasonal consignment sales.

What I was looking for: Besides the obvious does it work? and Is it carefully proofread? I was looking mostly for:

If I saw this web site, would it motivate me to grab up my wallet and go shopping?

Is it tempting enough that I’d send a link to it to my buddies who live in that area?

Does it make me feel like there are treasures to be had in the world of recycled possessions?

In other words: does this web site add to the perceived value of the shop’s offerings? Is it pre-educating customers well and elevating the status of “used” stuff?

So here they are, in no particular order. This year, I’ve added to my comments what I’d change if it were mine... mostly because I just redesigned my web site and am hyper-aware of how difficult it is to get every little nuance right. Take notes as you look through these, there will be a test at the end.

http://www.dannieduluth.com/
why? cute links on the price tag, clean look, to-the-point copywriting.
what I’d change if it were mine: shop photos, at LEAST the outside, so I’d know when I got there, or so I’d notice it if on the way by. At least a LINK to a map if not a map on the site. But them, I am a map freak. A contact email address.

http://www.tradingplacescanada.com/
why? The main page graphic functions as a ad. The site is professionally done, leading you to believe it’s a much larger store than just 4000 sq ft.
what I’d change if it were mine: in the gallery, I wouldn’t insist on the customer taking one more step (emailing) to find out about the pictured items. That’s like having a customer on your sales floor have to dial a number to get a salesperson or even just see the price tag…and then check my messages an hour or a day later.

http://peoniescouture.com/
why? Another “clean” site, no blinking words or bouncing pigs or anything else to detract/ distract. Personality is rampant (notice their contact email name.) And most of all, because all this site is…is a well-executed blog. Blog. That’s as in free software. As in I can add to it any day all by myself.
what I’d change if it were mine: Again, no photo of the shop or its environs. What is this, is everyone ashamed of the look of their storefront?

http://thedressconsignment.com/
why? I defy any bride to look through this site and not make tracks over there ASAP. Or any single woman to go find a guy just so she COULD shop here.
what I’d change if it were mine: You have to look fast to see where to click for the gallery of shop photos. It’s only linked one place…on a page that is possibly the LEAST-visited on their site.

http://chictochic.com/
why? Photo of the shop front! Yay! Great about-us page makes you feel welcome even before you enter for the first time. Love the angled photos (angles=energy) and the lady dreaming on the park bench is eye-catching.
what I’d change if it were mine: The video is great, but a lot of effort was put into it, too much to allow it to date itself with a coupon offer that’s already past. Steer clear of limited-time offers if you want your masterpiece to last. Also, a procedural note: the site loses paragraphs at the end of each page when viewed in Firefox broswer instead of IE. Almost half of all viewers use Firefox now, so insistour site looks good on all browsers.

http://frontandcompany.ca/
why? Because with this site, No one would guess it’s a consignment shop! I hate that phrase, but you know exactly what I mean, don’t you?
what I’d change if it were mine: move it about 3,337 mi southeast. So I could shop there. Don’t you have possession-lust from this site?

http://www.amazinggoodwill.com/
why? This site, for the 30+ Goodwills in the Milwaukee-Chicago area, is full of stuff…and cheerful and bright. Something dear to me: the audio IS NOT turned on when you arrive there. (Click the radio controls upper right; it’s a cute jingle.) Don’t you hate sites which figure they have your ears in captivity? Me too. A site to study: even though their budget is probably multiples of yours, it’s an idea source to do your own!
what I’d change if it were mine: Not much. I mean, orange and lime’s not my color scheme of choice, but on them it looks good.

http://www.designitconsignment.com/
why? Tells a big story…including their staging and rental programs…in a direct and simple way.
what I’d change if it were mine: Got pages in the navigation (so people will click over to them) but have nothing on them? A giant no-no. Even if you haven’t any content yet, give the person who bothered to click something for her effort. Never ever just say “coming soon.”

http://hwga.com
why? Love the attitude and approach. Light-hearted and friendly.
what I’d change if it were mine: Put it all in one place. What’s the point of Twittering (signup required) to send people just to your Facebook page (another signup required)…never getting them to your site where your business is the star performer?

http://newleafgalleries.com/
why? Another good use of a blogging platform. Lots of info available at every turn. Interesting use of classified ads, although it didn’t seem to resonate with users. And let me tell you, I’m an expert on that.
what I’d change if it were mine: Same thing that I’d change on Trading Places. If it’s worth taking a photo of and posting, it’s worth 25 words of great selling copy and basic info, probably followed by Want us to measure it for you? Hold it til this evening? Call right now.

Okay, now let’s see what you think. Choose your 3 favorites. Vote. Your opinion is important!

See last year’s 10 Best

Take a cruise through the Sponsor Shops on HowToConsign.com

Don’t miss the mini-seminar on Perceived Value.

Know your Store Brands Update:

Robin Caldwell, back last spring on her blog Luxe Redux, listed many store brands, and lots of consignment and resale shopkeepers lauded her. She promised…and now she’s DONE! and update with more brands. Many thanks, Robin!

My original post, where you’ll find the link.

It’s a ritual, with me, picking out the calendar for the next year. It has to be JUST right. For the last 2 years, I’ve chosen a calendar that has photos of paths… wonder what that says about this part of my life?

So for 2010, I am going to pretend, just pretend, that I have arrived at my destination. Which makes the choice of a calendar particularly crucial.

Is the design of a calendar as important to you? Wouldn’t it be great to give a download like this out to your customers, like tire companies and Coca-Cola used to?

The calendars featured on decor8 are downloadable. How great is that?

And if YOU were to design a downloadable calendar for your consignment shop’s customers…what would it be?

See decor8’s gathering of downloadable calendars. And while you’re there, don’t miss the tag line. For folks like me who collect taglines, this is a goodie!

I am now going on my 10th month of renovating my main web site. Although I have maintained it myself (well, with the kind assistance of Charlie, Forrest, Deb and others) for over mumblemumble years, this is the first major renovation I’ve undertaken.

About time you’re probably saying. Too Good to be Threw has gotten pigglywiggly, worse than any consignment or resale or thrift shop even. But how to decide what stays and what goes? How can I kill An Interview with the Author even though everyone on the planet who could possibly be interested in a consignment shop mystery already has a copy of The Picker Who Perished? Or how about that great example of an advertorial that so many Sharers have appreciated in the past? And the Save-the-Earth Pass It On page I worked SO hard on? And on and on. PS If these links don’t work, you’ll know what I decided. Go take a look at TGtbT.com to see.

And then there’s the internet sources who deleted me. The Wall Street Journal. Entrepreneur. The Christian Science Monitor. Even NARTS.

How web masters manage to cope with all this…and our egos as well…is a mystery to me. God bless them, every one.

In an effort to avoid putting the final touches on the new look of TGtbT.com and sending it out in the world, I’ve been surfing today.

How to wear sequins. Wouldn’t a 2-way look spectacular with this?

Need a focus/theme for a GBO (Girls’ Night Out) in your children’s shop? (great way to get those ladies who are awaiting a blessed event in, too.)

Why you need to send your competition a thank-you card

Perhaps you’re as much a procrastinator as I….