Start A Consignment Sale Business - Business Ideas

Updated: September 15th, 2022
Start A Consignment Sale Business

Please note that the data provided in this article are estimates and may vary depending on various factors, and should not be considered as perfect or definitive.

Consignment sale businesses involve purchasing or accepting used or gently worn items from individuals, and then reselling them at a markup to other customers. This can include clothing, furniture, home decor, and other items.

To run a successful consignment sale business, a few key considerations must be kept in mind. Firstly, it’s essential to clearly understand your target market and the types of items most appealing to them. This could involve researching local trends and popular brands and reaching out to potential sellers to gauge what types of items they may be interested in consigning.

Another critical element of running a successful consignment sale business is effectively pricing and marketing the items you have for sale. This will involve keeping track of the original purchase price of the items and the current market value of similar items to determine a fair selling price. It’s also essential to have a strong online presence, whether through a website or social media, to help attract customers and showcase the items you have available.

Finally, it’s crucial to have a system in place for managing the consignment process, including tracking the items you have for sale, communicating with sellers, and handling any disputes that may arise. This could involve using software or a spreadsheet to keep track of everything and having clear policies and procedures in place for dealing with any issues that may come up.

Overall, running a consignment sale business can be a rewarding and profitable venture for entrepreneurs who are able to source and sell quality items to their target market effectively. With the right planning and attention to detail, this can be a successful and lucrative business opportunity.

Starting a consignment sale business requires a great deal of effort, dedication, and most importantly passion.

If you're interested in how to sell consignment sale, or selling consignment sale online, you can use this page as a guide for everything you'll need to know.

Key Stats

starting costs
$13.7K
gross margin
40%
time to build
210 days

Startup Costs

Min Startup Costs Max Startup Costs

Office Space Expenses

$0

$7,000

Inventory Expenses

$350

$14,750

Software Expenses

$150

$2,794

Website Costs

$13

$215

Advertising & Marketing Costs

$0

$2,450

Total Startup Costs

$513

$27,209

Successful Businesses

Business URL Rank

Ricochet

ricoconsign.com

853,760

SimpleConsign

simpleconsign.com

965,161

Rhea Lana's

rhealana.com

1,690,894

Itty Bitty Boutique

ittybittyboutique.org

1,883,107

Fine Estate, Inc.

finesf.com

2,105,653

Upscale Consignment

upscaleconsignment.com

2,552,942

Miracles Consignment Shop

miraclesconsignmentshop.com

2,576,474

ConsignCloud

consigncloud.com

3,067,075

Home Again Consignment

homeagainconsignment.net

3,924,970

My Girlfriend's Wardrobe - Women's Consignment Shop

mygirlfriendswardrobe.net

4,593,856

Bowie Texas Consignment Horses

bowietexasconsignmenthorses.com

4,664,649

Pros & Cons

Pros Description

Flexibility

You can put as much time into the business as you'd like. If you like the work and have some initial experience, you can start small and manage all aspects of the business on your own.

Ability to start your business from home

It's not necessary to have a physical storefront or office space to get your business started. You can do everything from the comfort of your own home, at least in the beginning!

Little startup costs required

The cost to start a consignment sale business costs significantly less money than most businesses, ranging anywhere from 12 to 27,209.

Rewarding work

Starting a consignment sale business can be really rewarding work. After all, you are solving an immediate issue for your customer and you're working on something you truly care about.

Scalable

With businesses and processes changing daily, there will always be demand for new features, products and services for your business. Additionally, there are several different business models and pricing tiers you can implement that will allow you to reach all types of customers.

Traffic to your website

A consignment sale business gives people a reason to visit your website and to keep coming back to you!

Cons Description

Crowded Space

Competition is high when it comes to your consignment sale business, so it's important that you spend a good amount of time analyzing the market and understanding where the demand lies.

Finding The Right Supplier

Most businesses in this space go the supplier/manufacturer route, which isn't a bad thing! However, finding the right supplier can take a lot of time, energy and trial/error. If done properly, this process can save you months (if not years) of time and energy. More on this below in the "finding a supplier" section.

Security Issues

With any Saas business, data loss and security issues may arise throughout your process of building your product. It's critical that you understand exactly what you're responsible for and how to avoid potential issues down the road.

Lack of benefits

With a consignment sale business, you are typically self-employed and responsible for finding your own insurance, which can be quite costly and time-consuming.

Isolation

Often times, as a consignment sale business, you typically work alone and do not have much face-to-face interaction with other team members.

Taxes

As a consignment sale business, you typically pay self-employment taxes which can be quite high. It's important to understand what you will be paying in taxes each year so you can determine if the work you're taking on is worth it.