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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RE-inventing jewelry in your thrift, resale, consignment shop.

If you buy gently-used costume jewelry outright from your suppliers, include in the batch offer, and also save, ALL bits and pieces. You can

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Online Oxfam: NFP with real staying power!

If you’re a resale fan, and if you’ve visited Britain, chances are you’re familiar with the Oxfam charity shops. In fact, in my pantry I have a cherished tea canister that I bought in an Oxfam shop… in Bath, if I remember… almost 30 years ago! It’s fun to poke around other shops, and enlightening [...]

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Are most of your customers women? Do they support other women?

Are most of your customers women? Do they support other women? If so, you might wish to encourage them do so, using your consignment or resale shop to help. March 8 is International Women’s Day. Not a lot of

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Untapped consignment or donation resource?

I got a phone call once from my area’s foremost dry cleaning company. “Wanna come look at our unclaimed stuff?” So there I was, in the

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Eavesdrop on a consignment experience

Eavesdrop on a consignment experience. This video is a great case study for shopkeepers and accepting staff. If we look at it not as “how to consign”… but “how to treat a potential consignor” we can take the opportunity to fine-tune our shops. See if you can spot the lessons to be learned (I’ve listed [...]

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New use for old entertainment centers

Okay, for all of your furniture consignment shops, resale home decor places, non-profit thrift stores who get all those entertainment centers in…. that no one wants anymore. I’ll bet you’re tired of suggesting to customers they could be turned into home offices or pantries. Or even laundry room organizers. So here’s a new idea. Super-cute [...]

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Good karma t-shirts: Good for your thrift shop’s cause?

Saw this UNICEF idea, and immediately thought of all the NFP thrift stores I have worked with. One of their greatest challenges is bringing their cause’s needs to the forefront, having buying customers understand that the profits of the store go for very specific help. That’s the idea behind the $300,000 t-shirt. Can’t you just [...]

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Can you help your clients be charitable?

Tis the season for charity. Your shoppers are thinking how they can help the less fortunate, and that’s a good thing. But your customers are also thinking that

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A button a consignment, resale, AND thrift store could love.

Take a look at the button labeled “Yes of course” on

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Deja Vuesday: Still funny, even if (hopefully) a bit less true

A Deja Vuesday post from last year, which (hopefully!) is a bit less true than it was last year.

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Motivating donations… or incoming of any sort!

Recently, “Our Thrift Store” (yes, they use the quotation marks) has had a 10 Days 10 Bags campaign, to inspire the non-profit store’s fans and friends to go through their homes and bring in items they can resell. To make the task more fun (and less overwhelming!), the store suggests going through a room a [...]

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Emergency costume: Thrift stores, right up your alley!

This story of mine is a couple of years old, but still might work for you today!

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Even the smallest shop needs this. Not to mention the largest.

It amazes me that some consignment, resale, and thrift shops don’t

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Kate concedes, but watch your language.

Now you know that a big bugaboo for me, when I am evaluating consignment and resale stores, is making your shopper do her own math re markdowns. But as a consultant in the real world

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