There’s all sorts of things around your house that your local consignment, resale or thrift shop could use as store supplies. Here’s some things that we use daily:
* Handled shopping bags. Especially those from classy boutiques which we might use for displays, but even generic handled shopping bags are useful as, well, shopping bags.
* Tissue paper. Okay, you’ll never use that half-pack of chartreuse tissue paper again, but we use tissue to wrap jewelry or delicate clothing in, and hey, chances are we think chartreuse is a kick in the pants!
* Movers’ paper. That stiff off-white paper professional movers use? We love it to stuff handbags with so they sit up properly and look perky. (Ditto those air-filled packing pillows and bubble wrap.)
* Replacing incandescent lamp bulbs with energy-efficient ones? Bring us your half-used-up old ones… they’ll light up a for-sale lamp and make it more salable.
In addition, before you toss, ask if these types of things might be useful: Giveaway pens from the last business meeting you attended, those zippered bags new bedding comes in, scrapbook paper, plastic merchandise bags or dry-cleaner bags. Not all shops can use everything, so don’t feel offended if they offer to pass on still usable-but-not-suitable things to the charities they work with.
Some really weird things entered my shopkeeping life that I really used and appreciated from my customers. Or from curbside (that’s where I found a great baker’s rack!) You might want to ask before you offer, though. Not everyone appreciates a broken-seated peacock chair as much as I did.
Reblogged this on Willow's Corner and commented:
I’ll need this stuff too when I have my store (I’m working on it!). But keep your local resaler/thrift shop/charity store in mind when thinking of “out with the old” this year. Okay?