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Why I love consignment shops
There are so many reasons to love consignment shops and shopping, but here I am narrowing them down.
Shopping at consignment stores is more than about saving money. It’s also a fun and entertaining hobby. Each consignment shop has its own personality, partly from the owners, the policies and pricing, the ambience, the consignors, and the shoppers. Shopping at consignment shops is a hobby for people of all ages, incomes, and lifestyles.
I’ve listed the reasons I love shopping at consignment shops. They are in no particular order.
Reason 1 why I love consignment shops: Free entertainment
Not only do consignment shops save you money, but they also offer free and fun entertainment. I may not buy anything during a visit, but I am usually entertained, one way or another.
Most of the shops I go to have a great play list of background music, which, for me, is mostly classic rock music.
Sometimes the people, either in front or behind the counter, are the entertainment. As you are browsing, you may hear the most intriguing stories, or gossip. Then there are times I feel sorry for the owner or employee. They get trapped by a customer who pours out their health, marital, or other woes.
Once at my favorite shop, Classic Consignments, a long-time fixture in Sudbury, Mass. I overheard a a particularly annoying browser. She let everyone within hearing know, that she had been living in Asia for years. She kept insisting that the hand-painted Japanese china was priced too low for the work that was put into it, not knowing the going rate. She treated the employees as if they were volunteers in a charity thrift shop who didn’t know what they were doing. She was the ignorant one.
Sometimes I meet someone I haven’t seen in years. A few times I discovered someone who remembers the same shops I used to go to when I was growing up. We have several pleasant moments mentally traveling down memory lane.
Then there’s the times when there are items that stun you, amuse you, or educate you. You may not want to take them home, but they make for an interesting visit.
Reason 2 why I love consignment shops: Education
This relates to Reason #1: Consignment shops can be educational, as your world is expanded by the eclectic nature of the items on display. You may get glimpses into high end tastes and designs you might never otherwise experience. The closest I chose to get to new high-end merchandise is through the windows in the mall. At some consignment shops I can handle lots of items up close.
The sheer variety of items I never knew existed and can study up close is incredible. Some shops which lean towards antiques and collectibles, can resemble mini-museums.
Reason 3 why I love consignment shops: Adding to your collection at reasonable prices
At some shops, you have a chance to add to your collection at a significant savings, rather than buying at an antique mall or shop, or on eBay. The owner of the consignment shop doesn’t wait for the top dollar and most shops have an automatic markdown system, so you may find some great items at reasonable prices. I buy vintage photos and ephemera and many times I have picked they up after their final markdown.
Reason 4 why I love consignment shops: Finding old favorites and repurposing
If a shop has a blend of eras, you may find items of character and design that are better made of better materials that suit your taste and living space. And, you can find items to repaint, refinish, and repurpose. You might also find a replacement for something that you loved and wore out. I am searching for some kitchenware that were my favorites. I don’t like the design or feel of some of the utensils available today.
Reason 5 why I love consignment shops: Better goods at lower prices
I touched on this before, but it’s not just saving money, it’s also having opportunities to buy higher quality gently used items for the same or less than those of much lower quality. We recently bought a piece of furniture at a well-known online retailer as a requested gift. We assembled it in the recipient’s home. Some components didn’t line up as well as they should have. And it was smaller than expected. It was definitely not designed for long term use. I would have rather put the money into a slightly used solid wood, better constructed item with some character.
I pick up charming English porcelain plates and pressed and lead glass dishes and serving ware for use when we have company. I also use vintage damask cloth napkins and tablecloths when entertaining.
Reason 6 why I love consignment shops: Learning the value of heirlooms
Consignment shops can also give you an idea of the value, or not, of your family heirlooms, or your household goods. You might think, or hear “Oh, my grandmother had one of these!”
But, as a sign that I have seen in some vintage and collectible shops says: “The only one who’s interested in what your grandmother had, was your grandfather.”
While a lot of “yesterdays” items are interesting or durable, or usable, like old Federal bureaus, only a fraction have any significant value. I owned an antique and collectibles consignment shop for 12 years. A memorable consignor insisted on discussing each item he consigned often saying “Now, this is really old,” expecting a high price just because it was old.
Well, it is true that sadirons like the one he had are old. But, unless the example is unusual in some way, and even then, they are common and not particularly sought-after.
Every winter I see vintage wooden sleds like Flexible Flyers, at consignment shops like Classic Consignments, but I also notice that they either don’t sell, or are coming to the end of their consignment period without any takers. They just give the shop a seasonal ambience.
So, either I see something my mother or grandmother had, and get a sense of the going prices, or if I try to sell something they owned, the market tells me what is valuable, and what isn’t.
Reason 7 why I love consignment shops: Make money
While it may not be, buy low, sell high somewhere else, sometimes I have made money doing just that. Either I bought an item at a consignment shop and sold it at another place, or online on eBay or Etsy, or bought an item at a yard sale and sold it on consignment.
Sometimes, it’s just easier to have someone else do the pricing and selling for you. I bought a group of vintage Easter postcards at a thrift shop. I scanned them and created a digital product and sell the images for download on Etsy. I also created a book for scrapbooking, junk journaling, and crafting that you can buy here on Amazon. Then, I consigned them in groups four to eight and most of them sold. I made back my investment and more just from consigning them. However, I do have a lot of sweat equity invested in the scanning, layout, and design of the digital and physical products sold on Etsy and Amazon.
Above are the main reasons I love consignment shops. They offer so much, as far as entertainment and education and they don’t cost you anything until you buy something.
Why do you love consignment shops? Leave your comments below.
Also visit my other blog posts about collectibles and consignment shops:
Clear your clutter and cash in with consignment shops
The British Royal Family: Memorabilia feeds collectibles mania
I talk about other ways to save money on my blog. Here is a post about it.
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