Last week I had the chance to go to a Girl’s Night Out at our local Clothes Mentor. Clothes Mentor is a consignment store for sizes 0-26. I’ve sold some things at this store, but haven’t had an opportunity to shop much there. I put an invite out on Facebook so I met a couple friends at the store, including the Parmesan Princess! During the GNO, there were refreshments and a raffle for a Coach bag (The Parmesan Princess won the bag!) and 20% their already good prices.
The store has a ton of inventory including purses and shoes. I saw a mix of name brands (Vera Bradley, Talbots, Ann Taylor, Coach). Many things still had tags on and most showed minor wear. The store was super crowded due to the GNO, so I didn’t have a chance to thoroughly check everything out, but I did see a lot of cute stuff.
I have to admit I am more of a consignment store seller than buyer. I’ve sold a fair amount of stuff over the years and I have a few tips for any newbie sellers out there.
1. Take the best of the best. No one is going to want to buy your worn out yoga pants. When I purge my closet, I make three piles, trash, donate and sell. I put any higher end brand name items in good condition in the sell pile. Be sure to be honest with yourself about the condition of the clothes you want to sell. Make sure they are clean and mainly wrinkle free. Check the store’s policy on how they want to receive clothes, I have sold to a store that requires everything on a hanger and others that just want them folded.
2. Don’t expect to make full price or even half price. Consignment stores work two ways, either they pay you right away or they pay you once your item sells. I have tried both types of stores and while I make more money at the latter, it takes much longer to get paid and you have to go pick up your unsold items to donate them (or you can let the store donate for you, but you can’t take the deduction). The first type of store (like Clothes Mentor) pays you at the time of drop off. I then can add anything they didn’t opt to buy to my donate pile and drop it off on my way home.
3. Don’t take offense if the store doesn’t take your item. Just like everyone thinks their home is a castle, we all feel we are doing the store a favor by selling them our awesome clothes. It can feel like an insult if they don’t take your items. Don’t be offended! Most of the time, it is because they already have a large inventory of like items or it is something that hasn’t sold well for them in the past.
4. Find out if the store has a store credit bonus versus receiving cash for your items. Some stores offer you an additional percentage if you take a credit and use it in store.
5. If you have a very high end piece or a designer bag consider selling it on eBay. If I am selling something very expensive and I have the time to deal with eBay, that is the route I go.
Let me know if you have any questions about selling to consignment stores! Do you frequent them? What are your tips and tricks?
