I have some old pieces of furniture I've been trying to shed for, we'll just say, "a while now" on the ol' Craig' and apparently, some people browsing my local Craigslist just don't think the pieces I'm throwing up there are worth the prices I'm asking for them.. Or, they just don't like what I'm offering... Snobs. Juuuuust kidding! In all honesty, I can hardly blame them as I'm the ultimate stickler for what I allow in my home, so why should I expect them to want my discards? But sadly or not, I haven't given up hope just yet that my not-quite-trash might be one lucky winner's treasure..... Not. yet.
I'm also not going to admit to y'all how long my "treasures" have been "collecting dust online" but just know that it's been long enough that I decided I needed to look into a new strategy. And guess what?! Lo and behold, I recently came to "find out" about furniture consignment just in the knick of time! I mean, I had always known about the concept of consignment when it came to clothing but for some reason, it never occurred to me to look into consignment for "retired" large scale furniture items. Since putting them up online wasn't a viable option when you consider shipping in relation to the price I'm asking and a garage sale would not garner enough visibility for my current locale, it seemed the Craig' was becoming more of a ball and chain than a resource. And just one more grievance I want to air before I digest all of these sour grapes, have you all noticed that "bartering" now seems to be a prerequisite for shopping on Craiglist? (I mean, in reality, I am probably an equal offender myself when the shoe is on the other foot). Which creates the dilema that if you price your items too high, you may not get any "bites" but if you're too low, you're going to get the inevitable "friendly negotiation" thrown at you. But blah, blah enough of my whining, I think you've gotten the idea by now that the consignment concept has shaped up to be an exciting new alternative that I will be dipping my toe into.
Truth.
If this idea is novel to you all as well (which was my hope when I opted to post about this topic), here is a basic breakdown of what the process entails:
* There are furniture consignment shops in each city, just do a basic internet search for them in your area. I would also recommend contacting more than one if you have multiple options, to try to ensure maximum earning potential for your, no doubt, furniture gems.
* My experience with mutliple consignors thus far has been that they will ask you to submit photos of your piece(s) and if they are interested, they will let you know the price they think they can get for it. Also, fairly standard within the industry, the consignor will take 50% if the item sells, netting you the other half.
* If you are comfortable with the price they are willing to set (factoring in your percentage), they will come out to look at the item, to make sure it is in the same condition as it appeared in the photo. If they determine it is and the price still stands, they can either take the item with them to the store for a roughly $50 pick up fee.
* If your item doesn't sell within their pre-established timeline (usually a few months), they will lower the price or you can come pick it up (or have it delivered back to you for a fee). In some cases, they only offer the option to donate it if you don't wish to pick it up. But that would probably never end up happening because all of my blog readers have good taste.
Conversely, given this recent "discovery" of mine, you will probably be able to find me personally at these shops on the regular because... Um, WOAH, a flea market everyday of the week?! Lord help me.
