Sometimes, folks are hesitant to take their under-loved clothing and accessories to a consignment or resale shop, because they’re afraid of “being rejected.”

Of course, it’s nothing personal when we have to let you know that something you once loved and now want to pass on… just isn’t what our clientele is looking for. Every shop has its own target customers, and if they won’t buy a specific item, it would be bad business for us to accept it from you. We wouldn’t want you thinking that it’ll sell… when we’re pretty darn sure it won’t.

It’s also nothing personal when we have to say that the lovely [whatever] you inherited from a beloved family member isn’t something we have the market for. Believe us, if we thought we could sell that Limoges china service for 12 or those solid-maple side tables, we’d gladly take it on consignment, or buy it from you. But the marketplace, not we, sets the price on goods… and sometimes, that price simply doesn’t exist here, now.

Just like a restaurant known for one type of cuisine wouldn’t invest talent and kitchen space to making a dish their clientele wouldn’t be apt to order, our shoppers are looking for

the shopping adventure and unique finds that they expect

from a business like ours. Sure, sometimes something that’s not quite our customers’ “cup of tea” will sell… but we would be foolhardy… and possibly out-of-business… if we didn’t curate incoming goods for our clientele. And alas, sometimes that means that your underloved possessions, and our ability to sell same, don’t match up very well.

That’s why HowToConsign always recommends that you

visit the shop you’re considering using

before you gather up your gently used good items to bring in. Yes, that slinky elegant cocktail dress you wore once, and invested a lot of money in, is perfect for someone somewhere… but perhaps not at Crazy Larry’s Cowgirl Duds. Same goes for your pearl-snap fringed rodeo shirts. Great at Crazy Larry’s, not so perfect for Ye Haute Couture Shoppe. Take a look at the shops that are convenient for you to use: which would be the best match for the items you want to pass on to a new owner?

Remember:

It’s not you, it’s us.