Does anyone get good deals at them? They definitely have good deals on old TVs, assuming you want the type without flat screens. Nonetheless, those types are good to use with gaming consoles. By the way, do you think a consignment shop would be a good idea for a business? Do you think most of them do well? How do they do it?
Consignment is a kind of business venture which the business owner is giving much trust to their business "partner". I would enclosed it in a parenthesis partner for consignment style of business, the consignee is the actual partner of the owner of the source of the items and commodities to be sold. This is actually common among malls and marts. It is too limited in a small business enterprise.
I've shopped in consignment stores, and I have gotten some good deals. You can often get designer clothes and other brand name items that are gently used and highly discounted. It was a great way to get some nicer things for the kids, and things like dresses to wear to a dance, etc. It's usually a good idea for higher priced items like coats and stuff too. As for a business, I think it depends a lot on the area. You are counting on the community to supply your inventory, so you wouldn't really want to set up shop in a "poor" neighborhood. At the same time, you wouldn't want to be in a very affluent area either, since most affluent people won't shop with you. I think you have to find just the right balance.
Consignment is quite common among local businesses in my country. It's a good way for stores to expand their inventory at almost no cost assuming they have the space for the items and also a way for distributors/manufacturers to widen their market without the expenditures associated with running a physical store. Consignor-consignee agreements will vary. Here, it's quite for the consignor to conduct an inventory count at the agreed period of time and to charge the consignee for whatever items are not found on the inventory. For the bigger stores where sales are well accounted for, the consignee pays the consignor an agreed percentage of the items sold. However, they won't be responsible for pilferage or items lost in whatever way. This means that the consignor takes most of the risk.
In the US, these shops are also a good source of income for building owners. Generally, these downtown buildings and abandoned shopping centers are only good to be museums or demolished. However, due to consignment shops, the property owners can still juice cash out of them. Also, on the other side, the buyers are saving a ton of money cause they're not operating a traditional store - so the rent is way cheaper.
I shop at consignment shops quite often. I usually can find some good deals at them and at yard sells. I buy a lot of my little girls clothing at consignment shops because she out grows them so fast. Usually, I can find her designer clothes that if they have been worn it has been very little. As a little side note, I have been noticing recently, a lot of the shops have now began carrying flat screen televisions.
You can find some really great treasures and some people have found some nice antique paintings and collectibles at these shops as well. You could do a little study at the library though and keep a eye out for vintage glassware,antique paintings and other valuables as well. So do some research and have fun when you go treasure hunting at these consignment shops.
