I have been thinking seriously about opening a children's consignment shop. This would be mostly for clothing, some accessories and toys. I wanted to get some advice from anyone out there who maybe owns one or used to. Are they profitable? I'm not looking to make a million dollars, but would want to be in the black. Do you find that people like to shop and or consign at consignment stores? What has prompted me to think about opening one is that I found one that I just loved about 30 miles from where I live. I consigned there and shopped there several times a year. It recently closed because they were going to an all online format. (I'm not sure even what that means). I would like to open something similar in my home town. Any advice or comments would be greatly appreciated!!!!
I think that would be a good idea. I wish we had more in my area. A suggestion for you to keep in mind is maybe carry maternity as well as kids clothes. I know a lot of mothers that recently had babies and always complained that there is no where to get decently priced maternity clothes. None of them minded the idea of used but could not find any second hand stores that carried it. Just something to consider.
Consignment shops are getting really big now due to the economic downturn, definitely have a good business plan, location, price points...
She owned a shop for many years and has some excellent advice here, in two parts:
http://www.rosylittlethings.typepad.com/posie_gets_cozy/2...
Once Upon a child and Kid to Kid are both chains that you could look into, look them up.
I love consignment shops! I buy a lot of from Other Mothers ( which I think is a chain) As someone who shops a lot in consignment stores I would just suggest dont overprice things. Sure you are a for profit, but dont mark something that has clearly been used ( and isnt even clean) allmost the same price as the item was new. I saw the same double stroller I have a few months ago at other mothers and it was the same price as a new one from babiesrus (and it had been well used) Good luck I hope you are successful
I love consignment shops. The ones I return to are the ones with real bargains, either with everyday low prices or a special "color of the week" deal or "if the date on the tag is before July 1st, then it's half price". You'll keep me coming back to the store if it's organized by size and if there are no stained clothes. And if I come in once a week, gotta make sure the clothes are in a good rotation.
I hope it works out for you!
There are brick and mortar consignment shops.
And there are also, ONLINE consignment shops.
Like any store, you have to see about traffic flow, parking, walk by traffic, area, demand etc.
Or do a 'niche' type consignment store. Meaning, instead of selling everything and anything, specialize in one type or item/product.
Baby clothes/items, purses, women's clothing or men's, home items etc.
The Once Upon a Child consignment stores do great. They are even a chain with several in the St. Louis area. If you go to their website they have information about joining their chain. We LOVE these stores.
I love consignment shops for my kids! One thing against the online thing is you (the customer) can't touch and feel the clothing or hold it up to your kids. Some things shrink in the wash and go from 2t to 24 mos. in its lifetime. The one I go to only takes beautiful, like-new stuff- you find treasures. Strive for that kind of inventory.
I wish you lived here. A couple of my daycare moms decided to bring me a bunch of clothes to go through and divy out to the various kids in my care. The bags of clothes are overwhelming they are so big!
I would recommend doing as much research as possible first. What would all the expenses be? How much money would you have to make to end up in the black? How much merchandise would you have to move to make that much profit? How much do you need to pay people for their things to get them to sell to you? How is pricing done? What types of people shop consignment? How many people that fit that description live within X miles of your location?
The first question I would take to the store that is closing, is why are they closing, and what makes them think that online will work better?
