Selling on consignment

[PAgirl89]

So I stopped by a local general store today and inquired about their shelves and shelves of craft items. According to their website, they allow local crafters to sell their products within their store.

The girl behind the counter gave me a some paperwork regarding their consignment policies and said that I should call the owner to set up an appointment to show her what I would be selling. Most of what I saw on the shelves was handmade jewelry, crocheted items and quilts.

According to the papers, they will provide free shelf space for 3 months. After 3 months they may ask me to take the items back. They will pay me when the amount due reaches $150/$200 or before if another arrangement is made with the owner of the store. Any outstanding will be paid before 12/31. As the consigner, I will set my retail price.

Their fee structure: $0-$50 25% of retail, $50.00-$100.00 20% of retail, and $100.00 or more 15% of retail.

Every item must be labeled and have removable stickers with a 3 letter code, an item #, and the retail price. They also provide an inventory sheet to keep track of product quantity. The store will be responsible for 50% of the retail value for theft or breakage.

Being I live in a very rural area, and just starting out, I thought this would be a good way to get my name out there. I haven't done consignment before, so this is all new to me.

Suggestions or advice would be welcome and appreciated!

TIA

[Wessex]

The fee structure is pretty generous, I count myself lucky when I find a 30% cut. The only thing I would definately not go for is their "amount due" payment thing. I would insist on actual amounts due at the end of each month. Anything else and it could lead to bad things. If they don't want to pay you on a set schedule, I would think long and hard about it. And the 50% of theft and breakage sounds like a way for them to get half off your products. I would watch that, if they say they are getting theft and breakage on a regular basis, you are getting ripped off. Also might want to talk to others who have their products in the store. Other than that it sounds good.

Cheers,

Steve

[PAgirl89]

Yeah I was thinking too about the amount due. $150 is a lot of sales, when products are retailing $20 or less. I'll have to talk to her about that when we meet. I know some of the craft items in their store probably retail for $100 or close to it, but certainly not mine.

Thanks Steve. Definitely some questions will be asked when I meet with the owner.

[NaturallyTru]

I wouldn't want to wait for my sales to reach that amount before I saw any money. My consignments are every month if over $10-15 (depending on place).

Trudi

[scifichik]

I'd also speak to other sellers there, to get a feel for how their experiences have been. It could be a good start for you, but best to check all the angles. Best of luck!

[PAgirl89]

Thank you for the suggestions! I will definitely do some research and ask questions at our first meeting.

Happy Easter!

[SliverOfWax]

Be sure to ask the owner who is responsible in case of damage or breakage. Since your items will be in her care, she should assume responsibility, but I guarantee you she won't. And remember, other people do NOT take care of your product like you do. They simply don't much care. If people leave lids off candles, dig their fingers around in the wax, drop glass jars, whatever, you're left with an unsellable product.

[PAgirl89]

I have a one on one meeting with the owner of the store on Friday morning.