How to Select and Prepare Clothes for Consignment
- 1). Search your old clothing to locate the items that you want to consign. Finding all of your items at once will ensure that you only need to visit the consignment store once. Plus, if your consignment store charges a fee for each clothing drop-off, this will ensure that you pay the minimum fee.
- 2). Determine if your chosen items are appropriate for consignment. Clothing that is timeless and basic is great for consignment. However, dated items may not be as appropriate or may not command an appropriate amount of money. Decide if your clothing items are appropriate for the consignment store that you work with. If you work with a high-end consignment store, for example, your items should be from high-level brands.
- 3). Wash each item of clothing that you want to consign or have items dry cleaned if appropriate. Hang each clothing item on a hanger. Many consignment shops will not accept clothing items unless they are clean and hung up, so ensure that your clothes comply with the rules of your consignment shop.
- 4). Inspect each item of clothing for holes, stains and other defects. Note each defect on a sheet of paper. Sometimes consignment stores will not accept defective clothing, but a shop owner may be willing to overlook or repair small flaws. While it may be tempting to ignore flaws and hope that nobody notices them, it is important to be honest in order to build a strong relationship with the owner of your local consignment store.
- 5). Write down the minimum amount of money that you will accept for each item of clothing. To do this, consider the price you paid for the clothing, the usage that you have gotten out of the clothing, current market value for the clothing and the pricing structure at the consignment shop. For example, some consignment stores take half of the sales price and award half to the consignor. Others keep 70 percent and offer 30 percent of the profit to the consignor. Use this information to determine the minimum amount of money that you want to make for each item, and from this, the minimum sales price.
- 6). Decide whether you will allow the consignment store owner to donate or discount clothing that does not sell, or whether you would prefer to pick up the unsold clothing. Discuss this choice with the consignment store consultant when you drop off your items.
