Need some advice about vintage clothing consignment

Theda_Bara

Theda_Bara

Registered Guest
I received a message from an online vintage clothing store today. She asked if I would consider a consignment to her store with one of my items that I just listed.

At first I was flattered. I continued reading the message and came to this part,
"it must be sent to me insured with a delivery confirmation. The split is 40% for you of the price that it sells for & 60% for my store since I am incurring all fees in regard to selling the item plus all the credit card charges which I incur plus the shipping & insurance to the person who buys it.
In the event, the item does not sell, then you would have to pay the return postage & insurance to have it returned to you"

60/40 seems a bit steep to me. Is she going to up the price even more in order for me to make anything close to what I'm asking for it now?

I've never dealt with a consignment shop and I really have no idea how it works with vintage clothing. Is this something I should consider? Any light that can be shed on this would be so appreciated! Thanks in advance!
 
Perhaps if you ask how much she will list it for, and so you can work out your share and how it compares to how much you will get for it by selling it yourself - and deduct the costs for shipping, insurance etc.

If you have a figure, that might help more than thinking about her share (if she can sell it for a lot more, then it will profit you to use her services, but don't forget that you're paying shipping back again if it doesn't).

Nicole
 
I will ask her how much she plans on listing it for, absolutely. I just wanted to get a little more information on consignment pricing and practices so I don't go into this blindly.

Thanks so much, Nicole! :singing:
 
Prices vary and there is tax too: most resellers will deduct an amount for that. From what I can tell, 40% is not an unreasonable amount for the consignor to receive.

Nicole
 
Although I don't think most dealers seek out and solicit specific garments to be consigned to them.
 
if this was me i would be extremely carefull, what if the item is sold, and then returned for some reason would it be you that is refunding postage etc,

also do you know this person who has contacted you? what if they have your stock, and dont pay you if it sells? maybe its just a spam way of getting vintage clothing for free.

It looks as though, this person has no risk at all, and all the risk is on you, and the % split, seems a bit unfair too, because you have all the risk, not them. basically if they dont sell it you have got hte postage charge to send, and to get them back...

I personally wouldnt touch it with a barge poll, if it was me. nothing goes out of my warehouse unless its paid for, no returns, sold as seen etc,
 
Hi Sue! Here's the link to my listing ..
I've decided not to do it. I feel confident that I can sell this on my own. :)

Edited: Sorry, non-members can not link to selling sites
 
Hey Joules! I was going to message you on Etsy, but I didn't want to bug you. Thanks for your advice, and I agree...so many red flags flew up while I was reading her message. Although I'm a bit flattered because she has wonderful pieces on her site.

Talk to you soon!
 
I have never heard of anyone doing this before. Can you share the site that wanted you to consign? We may have some insight for you that way too. In any case, I think this is rather a shady way to do business. Why not just buy it outright for resale if she thinks it is worth so much more than you have it listed at?
 
I've asked people, but only those who have come to me asking to either sell or for help appraising. I haven't sought anyone out online like this......its an intersting angle. At the price you're asking I can't imagine what the seller thinks she can offer. If you can sell it at that price without help, is it that she plans to ask 60% more so you still get the price you wanted on etsy?? If she can sell a Lucie Ann for that much more then she's got some pretty impressive skills......

At any rate, 60/40 is common. I typically do 70/30 with very high end stuff and 50/50 with some friends who send me things that are things I sell in my shop (that I don't have to do the work of photographing and listing). Some places only do 50/50 no matter the item.

Looks like you've made a decision, but in general I'd say you'd have to have a contract spelling out every detail of a transaction like that down to insurance, loss, shipping, pricing, how long to let it sit before cancelling if it doesn't sell, etc.

Ang
 
Her site is **EDITED, AS STATED ABOVE...NON MEMBERS CAN NOT POST LINKS TO SELLING SITES. and she recently purchase my La La's dress. I asked her what she was planning on listing the set for, and she said $1300. I can't for the life of me figure out why she links this would be an enticing deal for me any way? I know I'm a "newbie" to the seller world, but I'm not slow. :USING:
 
As an aside... in general, consigment stores (here in Vegas) do the 60/40 split.
But that's for modern garments.

Also - can joules or another member please post the links for Theda? Is that again't the rules?
 
Hi Leisa! Yeah, apparently I'm not allowed to post images of or links to items for sale. I received 2 strikes because I posted 2 links in this thread, if I break one more rule I'll get banned. :no:

But if a member posts the links, it'll be okay. :fainting:
 
Theda, it's clear to me that it was an honest mistake on your part to post links. Both of them were in response to someone's request.

In the case of your listing, it would be OK to say something like "my userid on eBay is ___ (or etsy) and it's the white Lucie Ann.

Re: the website owner who approached you, you could say "She goes by ____". I think you're even allowed to post ebay item listing numbers. Just not links.
 
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