St. Louis? Really?

That’s what I’ve heard some folks say about the locale of next month’s NARTS Annual Conference (their 25th!) Well, yes. St. Louis. I mean, it isn’t Paris, but then who is? Here’s

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Deja Vuesday: The Lushness of Life

Deja Vuesday where you can visit a gently-used  blog post in case you missed it the first time. It’s even better the second time around. Of all the holidays

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Volunteers: Need ‘em? Tell ‘em!

If your shop relies on volunteers to function smoothly, what are you doing to motivate them? That’s a standard question I ask when I do non-profit store consulting. All too often, the answer I hear

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To blog or not to blog. You’re the experts.

Okay, it’s time for me to condense 562 pages of notes about why consignment, resale, and (yes even) thrift shops should have a blog. Yes I really do have reams of info, graphics, links and resources that will help shopkeepers build their businesses with a shop blog. My opening session workshop, Who, ME Have a [...]

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2 Word of Mouth Stories that are super-useful for resale

Andy Sernovitz, the Word-Of-Mouth guy, tells this story about an amazing event that you might remember: In 1999, 60,000 people drove their plain Saturn sedans to Spring Hill, Tennessee to meet the people who made them. Why? They felt taken care of by the company’s no-haggle concept. They were amazed when they got a friendly [...]

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Deja Vuesday: Improving your SEO

Deja Vuesday where you can visit a gently-used, blog post in case you missed it the first time. It’s even better the second time around. SEO, or “search engine optimization,” is a scary phrase to most shopkeepers. After all, we can sell the pants off (or on) anyone, but we’re not internet gurus. Trying to [...]

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What will your customers buy for Mother’s Day gifts?

I’ll bet a lot of your current, potential, and future customers will not think about your store this week, as Mother’s Day gets nearer and nearer. Maybe you’d like a little hand? Glad to oblige: we’ve crafted

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Deja Vuesday: Is your consignment shop investing wisely?

Deja Vuesday where you can visit a gently-used, blog post in case you missed it the first time. It’s even better the second time around. Do you, when considering a purchase for your business, look at the price? Well, of course. Resale shopkeepers are, as a class, the most frugal folks on Earth. But sometimes

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The officially unofficial pre-NARTS Conference get-together

Okay, a vote has been taken! The official annual unofficial gathering of TGtbT.com resalers at NARTS Conference will be ***Thursday at 6, hotel’s lobby bar*** Come as you are (well, theme-related accessories are encouraged!)… we’ll get (re)acquainted, then go en masse to the NARTS reception at 8. The theme will be

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Deja Vuesday: Heaving ho? Nah. Use your mouse.

Deja Vuesday where you can visit a gently-used blog post in case you missed it the first time. It’s even better the second time around. One of the most important ways to keep your shop fresh, your browsers engaged, and your till full, is to move stuff around. I can hear the groans now. But [...]

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Happy Earth Day. Just in case you forgot.

Sometimes, we consignment, resale, and thrift shop keepers, shoppers, and staff forget, in the flurry of fashion and style, that “saving the Earth” is a valid reason to run our businesses! I’m always flabbergasted

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Bored? Here’s how to ruin (yes, you read that right) your resale or consignment shop

Don’t sit there on Facebook. Or play endless games of Solitaire or Angry Birds.  Or daydream about weddings past, present or future on strangers’ Pinterest boards. There are over 50

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“I like it. What is it?”

Lots of ideas on Too Good to be Threw’s Pinterest Board called Tips for Thrift, Resale and Consignment Boards. If you’d

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Adding hand-crafted items to your consignment shop: What they fear.

For all you consignment shop owners who would love to explore showcasing local crafts and artists in your shop, here’s

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Deja Vuesday: TMI can getcha.

Deja Vuesday where you can visit a gently-used blog post in case you missed it the first time. It’s even better the second time around. We are bombarded with messages right and left. There’s so much information out there that

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