To Build or Buy

To Build or Buy

There are many shops I love to visit however, I have a love for consignment/ 2nd hand thrift/ vintage shops that offer a variety of clothes, accessories and housing. With the rise of second hand thrift/vintage stores and consignment giants such as Plato’s Closet the cost of the items seem to be rising while the products offered are declining. Consignment shops are second hand clothing stores that cater to people who want nice clothing however cannot afford the new store prices. In developing a competitive second hand store, I would change up the strategy regarding the items sold and accepted as well as incorporate some new items that are not second hand which gives the buyer the chance to purchase new or gently used clothing. There are different types of consignment, vintage and thrift stores.

Major chained consignment shops such as Plato’s Closet only accept clothing that they feel fits within the fashion/style of youth and teens. They do not sell or buy business attire and they are limited on the size of clothing they offer as the largest size I have ever seen in Plato’s closet for women was a size 16 in jeans. To begin, I would ensure that my shop offered sizes for everyone which would attract more clientele as I would have more to offer them. Secondly, I would ensure that I do not limit the clothes I accept based solely on the name on the clothing but on the quality of the clothing. Clothes tend to be trendy for a season then out of style and back in style so I would not base the clothes I accept off of what today’s style is.

While many consignment shops offer second hand clothing only, you have some which gets new items from time to time but not on a regular basis. Instead of my company waiting on people to come sell their clothes to me, I would seek out local department stores and small clothing stores and secure contracts with them to buy their clearance/discontinued merchandise