I just got back from taking my card samplesto the store I found on Sunday… now I have to wait a week for them to look over my stuff and get back to me about whether they want to carry my cards in their store. I decided to hold off on the other two stores for now, until I get some feedback from the first store. The three stores I checked out on the weekend are all on the same pedestrian mall, within 10 blocks of each other. The store I left samples with today was the only one that was able to give me concrete info last weekend – the others just gave me a name of a person to talk to, but in two attempts now I have not been able to get ahold of either person. The first store said that they prefer that their artists don’t have stuff in all the other stores along the mall, although it’s not necessarily a deal breaker. But if they’ll sell my cards, I won’t pursue any other stores on that mall, and might even go to another town to check out other stores. We’ll see.
Another little venture that I tried today… We have friends who own a consignment store on the same pedestrian mall with the art store. I’ve never consigned any clothes there, but we were in there last weekend and it got me thinking. We live very close to an out-of-the-way thrift store that sells all of their clothes for $2. Doesn’t matter whether it’s a Wal-Mart t-shirt or a pair of Armani pants – everything’s $2. So yesterday I went in and bought several things – all upscale stuff with good brand names. Today, I took it all to the consignment store, along with a bunch of stuff that I weeded out of our closets. But alas, I forgot about the seasons that clothing retailers work with. Turns out a bunch of what I had was winter stuff, which they don’t start taking until September. And a bunch of it was summer stuff, which they have stopped taking until next spring (strappy tank tops and the like). Aaaagh!
They took 3 pairs of jeans and a pair of boots, and told me to come back in a month with all the winter stuff (and in about 7 months with the summer stuff….) So, lesson learned. But I’m excited about it anyway. We still have more stuff in our closets that we canconsign (in the past we’ve always just given it back to the thrift stores as a donation, which we can still do with the stuff that’s not high-end enough for the consignment store). I go to the $2 thrift store about once a month, so I’m sure I’ll find other good stuff. There have been lots of times that I’ve seen great stuff in there that isn’t my size – now I can just get it anyway and consign it. I just have to remember my seasons!
Kelly says
Great idea about the consignment shop. I’ve done this as well. There’s a thrift store that I like to go to which is on the way to my children’s nanny’s house, and a bit further down the road, but also on the way, is the consignment shop. So, for the gas costs of turning my car on and off twice, I can sometimes (potentially) make a very nice profit.
Two things to be aware of, in addition to seasons, are the length of time the shop will keep an item on consignment, and what they will do with it afterwards. My consignment shop keeps clothing two months, and then donates it, and everything else a year. So I prefer to consign non clothing items, or at least be on the ball about picking up the clothes afterwards, because I could sell them on Ebay, pass them on to friends etc.
Great blog, btw, I really love reading it.
Mrs. Micah says
That’s a really good idea. There was a consignment shop in my area called Plato’s Closet (I don’t know if it’s national or not) which paid up front for clothes. Not too bad, either, if you’re getting them for $2. I think it was $5-$10 per item (and they only accepted fashionable teenage things, but that shouldn’t be hard to get at thrift store). It’s not as good a deal as the other type, but might be worth looking into.
FrugalBabe says
I’m glad to hear that thrift store to consignment shop has worked for other people. The store I’m using keeps stuff for 45 days, and then donates it, or I can go pick it up. We do have a Plato’s Closet nearby, but I haven’t checked them out yet. We’re very good friends with the ladies who own the store I’m using now, which is why I picked it. I’m going to wait and see how things go with that store, but I might look for some teen-specific stuff and take it over to Plato’s closet aswell.
Krystal says
Interesting idea about the consignment clothes! I might have to look into something like that!
Kim says
I’ve done that with baby clothes, spent 25-50 cents an outfit at yard sales then got $2-3 per outfit at the consignment store. It doesn’t sound like a ton of money but you can do it in bulk for just a little effort.