“Do you have sales?”

Ever wish you could come up with a good, quick, polite answer to the perennial  question, “Do you have sales?”? My reply (which isn’t

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Aw, come on. Help me out here.

Have you ever had the experience of not recognizing an acquaintance in a place you don’t associate her with? I did, the other day, when I saw my hairdresser in the grocery… I just couldn’t place who she was. That happens

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Are your clearance racks chaotic?

Towards the end of your seasonal clearance sale, the remaining bargains can look a bit, well, messy. Couple of jeans, a tank top or three, five dresses… you get the picture. Which is where this picture comes in:

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Add value. Get full price. Everyone’s happy.

So it’s not selling. Sittin’ there, takin’ up room, boring your customers, prohibiting you from using that space for goods that will sell. After all, that’s what you’re here for. To sell stuff. So what’s the obvious thing to do? Mark it down. NOT. Well, I take that back. It may be

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Consignment & Resale Strategic Planning: The Final Dregs

Last week, we asked readers about their merchandising strategy for the very tail end of their clearance sales: goods which hadn’t sold during a scheduled markdown, then didn’t sell at the seasonal clearance sale either. For the cheapest of the cheap, what’s their

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A Poll: How would cheap stuff sell best?

Let’s say you’re at the absolute lowest point in your price markdowns at the end of a season or marketing cycle. How do you move the final dregs? Maybe you’re thinking of a Dollar Rack or a BOGO event, or you are contemplating a 99-cent sale. Or a bag sale or a rack/ table on [...]

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Oh my aching head….

Why do consignment, resale, and thrift shops force their shoppers to do math?

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A picture’s worth a thousand more bucks… in increased sales.

Consignment, thrift, resale shops market their markdowns a lot of ways…Twitter, Facebook, web sites, blogs, broadcast email. Not to mention traditional media! And we’re always fighting

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Silliest fine print I have ever seen.

Received in my email recently, a message from a consignment (or maybe it was a resale) shop looking to rid themselves of the last vestiges of winter merchandise (“We’re getting great spring stuff in and we need the space! $1, $5, $10 racks! Come see!”) In the email, a coupon for 25% off any item. [...]

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How to get browsers to buy less

First, read The Jacket I Left Behind. I STILL lust after it. I still regret it. So there I am. A consignment shop owner, author, editor, and consultant, shopping in another consignment shop while on vacation. I’m thrilled to find a shop, thrilled that DuH has a magazine that he can sit in the car [...]

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My first post. Isn’t it CUTE?

Just imagine the damage I can do to the world by letting you know my true thoughts. Scary, huh? Like today, I was thinking about the never-ending discussions that go on amongst resale shopkeepers about how to handle merchandise markdowns, and why I am so adamant about the fact that the color-tag system is so [...]

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