Consignment can easily be seen as a waste of time. And rightfully so, because sometimes, consignment is not worth the time and effort. That being said, we have seen lots of stores convert from Buy-Sell-Trade to consingment stores, and the benefits of sneaker consignment operation are huge.
In its best form, consignment serves as an extra revenue stream. Your consignors do the hard work for you, your store sets a % gain from selling the shoe, and your store gets more inventory without having to track it down. And usually, consignment is that easy. Local sneakerheads become regular consignors, and your store gains a source of inventory while earning money.
There are two main reasons stores choose not to consign, though:
- Organization/time- Lots of storeowners say that the time and effort is not worth the money. Stores don’t usually make huge profits off of each shoe, and the stress of organizing payouts and keeping track of when a shoe sells is not worth it.
- Not enough inventory comes from it- Maybe a store isn’t in a bustling city where there are a lot of consignors. If there are no people to supply inventory, then what is the point? Organizing consignment for one pair of shoes a month is silly.
And if you choose not to consign for those reasons, fair enough. But, there are easy fixes to both problems. Let’s talk about how ANY storeowner can start a successful consignment and reap the benefits of sneaker consignment.
- Consign online- Your store may not have the largest in-person audience for consignment, but the internet is global. If sneakerheads can do anything, it’s shipping boxes. Make connections through Instagram, Discord, and other platforms. One of Copyt’s biggest consignment stores is Elevate Kansas. It’s literally in Kansas. Shoutout to those guys, though.
- Put more effort into organization- This might seem like a big ask because this is bigger than starting consignment, but it’s a common thread we see in brick-and-mortar stores. Using spreadsheets on a daily basis is more work than switching to a more formal system. This makes taxes, keeping track of inventory, and everything else attached to business easier. There are programs where you put your % gain in, list the shoe, and payouts are automatic when the shoe sells.
The potential revenue from consignment is endless. There are people on the internet who will pay $200 for Panda Dunks easily. If somebody’s mom is buying something for their son for Christmas, she has no idea (sorry mom). By keeping all inventory in-store and not tapping into any online resources, the potential customer base is remaining 99% untapped.
If you are looking for any of the solutions above, check out Copyt’s Enterprise Plan. It will simplify your consignment process and divide your time on consignment spent by 10.
Mateo Moyon