It started in the hallway of my mother’s house. A large pile of clothing was growing in the middle of it one Saturday afternoon.
“What are you doing, mom?”
“Just cleaning out the closet.”
I surveyed her pile and nodded.
“I’m going to donate this stuff later. Want to come?” she asked.
“What?!” I exclaimed.
“Mom, some of this stuff still has tags on it. You know I work for a consignment store, right?
She did know this, of course. I couldn’t understand why her first thought wasn’t to bring her clothing to the consignment store, especially the great pieces with the tags still attached. Then my mother said two things that made me understand why consignment was not her first thought…
“Would Finders Keepers even be interested in my clothes? Besides, isn’t consigning a lot of trouble?”
The first question was easy for me to answer. Finders Keepers looks for clothing in like-new condition that is currently in style. Some of my mother’s items were new, and the others were in pretty good shape. They were styles she’d picked up from the mall and department stores in the past couple years. So yes, a consignment store would certainly be interested.
Her second question was more difficult to answer. Isn’t consigning a lot of trouble? For her, it wasn’t. But, not everyone has a daughter who works for a consignment business who is willing to haul their stuff to the store for them. I understand that, and my mother is not the first person to ask me this question. I’ve certainly had customers inquire about consigning, and several have asked about the amount of trouble or time it takes to establish an account. The bottom line is that establishing an account will initially take a little more time than dropping items at Goodwill. However, once you’ve established an account, it can be just as easy as a trip to Goodwill.