Why You Should Consider Consignment
The idea of getting a bit of money for your excess possessions can help you make the decision to let them go, and while there are lots of ways you can sell things, some take more time and expertise than others. Self-serve websites such as eBay and Craigslist have become very popular, but not everyone has the time and energy to invest in doing the selling themselves.
For many people, consignment is the best option. Although you will generally pay a slightly greater share of the total sale to your consignment specialist than you would on eBay or similar auction sites, the extra cost makes sense: the consignment specialist stores, sells, and ships the item for you, so you’re really paying for storage space you don’t have, sales expertise you don’t have, and time you don’t have to waste on packing and shipping arangements. Furthermore, when you choose consignment, you don’t need to worry about scammers and chargebacks as you might when selling on your own.
I have worked with Allexandra K. Franklen of Home Consignment Corner. She is located in the Kerrisdale area of Vancouver, Canada, but has buyers from all over the world. She will come to your location, by appointment, to evaluate the items you wish to sell and let you know how much you can reasonably expect to make on them—if you’re interested, she can be reached for more information at 604-261-9000.
If you decide to use consignment, keep in mind these four tips to ensure you’re happy with the outcome:
First, do your research. Don’t spend a lot of time on this (your goal is to save time, right?), but do quickly look up your items on eBay or Craigslist to see what similar pieces are selling for, as a comparison to what the consignment specialist might quote.
Second, you can negotiate. There are no fixed prices in the consignment business. Most consignment specialists are open to negotiation, especially if you have a good piece that they would like to sell—and if the person you’re dealing with refuses to negotiate, there are lots of other consignment businesses and you’re free to take your items elsewhere.
Third, get them to do the work. Your consignment specialist should take care of all the arrangements to pick up the items you’re selling, let you know when it sells, and send or deliver your payment promptly. You should not have to run around delivering and picking up.
Fourth, and finally, I have found that following up weekly with your consignment specialist is a good technique for keeping your items fresh in his or her mind and thus a priority for selling.
