Sign Up to Explore Consignment

A couple of months ago, an organization called “Women at NBCU” surveyed a sample of 2,000 women selected to be representative of American female consumers ages 18 to 49. The “NBCU” stands for NBCUniversal. Women at NBCU develops advertising campaigns employing the NBCUniversal media channels.
     The major conclusion of the survey: When purchasing merchandise, most American women are now thinking about how they will dispose of the item, preferably by selling it.
     For instance, respondents were asked which of the following they’d be more likely to buy:

• An item costing $100 which could be sold for about $35 after one year’s use.
• An item costing $50 which could be disposed of only via donation.

     Two-thirds of the respondents said they’d be more likely to make the $100 purchase.
     This phenomenon suggests that your store might profit by buying and then reselling used merchandise. However, there’s a twist: Women at NBCU used the label “Auctionomics Marketplace” because most of the women said they wanted to handle the resale themselves rather than go through a store-based retailer. They’d use online auction sites or sites where consumers buy directly from each other.
     They expect to find fun in the selling process. Almost 90% of the survey respondents said they’d prefer to own and then resell a wide variety of items than to rent the same items. Other survey findings indicated women want to become expert collectors who can advise other consumers. The women want to have a personal participation in the transactions.
     But how personal will the women end up wanting to get? As the presence of “We’ll sell it for you on eBay” retailers shows, many consumers find that they appreciate a consignment arrangement. You—the retailer—accept the merchandise, facilitate the sale, and keep a portion of the sale price as your fee.
     Consider if this type of business model—whether arranging online sales or conducting store-based consignment sales—could become a profit center for you.
     An advantage of consignment over you purchasing the merchandise is that you’ve less tied up in inventory costs. An advantage to the seller is she can feel that desired personal involvement. So when an offer comes in for an item you’re selling on consignment, make it a point to emphasize to the prospective seller, “It’s your choice whether to accept this price,” and tell the prospective seller a little information about the prospective purchaser.

Click below for more:
Resell Consumers on Buying Used Items
Know How Customers Dispose of Products
Reconfigure Your Own Endowment Effect