A fresh take on secondhand

Consignment shops explore new niches, use the Web to give sellers more choices

If you've been trying to figure out how to bring in some extra cash, the answer might be hanging in your closet.

Those $170 Hudson jeans you wore just once? That $10,000 Vera Wang wedding gown? Those Michael Stars maternity tops you haven't worn since baby No. 2?

In these troubled financial times, you might want to consider consigning them. If you find the right sales avenue and have the right brands, styles and volume, you could end up with enough money to pay the bills and maybe even some extra to buy something new for fall.

But if the thought of consigning has you thinking smelly, dank shops with castaways you'd never dare consider, think again.

In the past five years, the consignment business has moved from a mom-and-pop boutique type of operation to a thriving industry where you can find stores that specialize in children's wear, wedding gowns, accessories or designer clothes.

And it's not just done at traditional consignment stores anymore. Consigning has moved online with new Web sites and into the community with once-or twice-yearly blowout sales.

So whether you're looking to sell or it's all about finding steals, here are a few options in the new, improved world of consignment.

Instant gratification

Shoppers love a consignment store for its immediate gratification.

There's no waiting for an auction to end or the anticipation of a twice-yearly sale. Stop in anytime and check out the inventory. There are no guarentees, however, that those Joe's Jeans in size 28 will be on the rack. But half the fun of consignment shopping is the thrill of the hunt.

For the consignor, the traditional store is, well, a traditional store: it's steady and constant.

It's a formula that has worked for four years for Sharon Fender, owner of Class For Half Consignment Boutique off North Market Drive in Raleigh. She has one regular consignor who makes $10,000 to $15,000 a year.

"You can make good money doing it," Fender says. "Volume, though, does count."

Fender gives consignors 45 percent of the final sale price of each piece, an amount that's about average in the market. The range is anywhere from 25 percent to 60 percent, depending on the store.

Figuring out what kind of merchandise store owners will take, however, is increasingly challenging for the consignor these days. Stores don't want your decade-old clothes. They want newer pieces, and the more well-known the brand name, the better the shot at selling and getting a better price.

Here's how you do it

The first step is to make an appointment with the store owner. Often stores only take merchandise during certain times and days of the week. Make sure the clothes are clean and pressed.

Typically, merchandise will be on the store floor until the 30, 60 or 90 days you signed on for are over. You get your money once the piece sells. How quickly depends on the store's policy.

Before you settle on a store, find out whether the store sells the same merchandise you're hoping to sell. Know all the fees up front; some stores have an administrative fee. Make sure you know what will happen to your pieces once the sale is up. Some stores will donate them to charity for you.

How about eBay?

Sure, you could easily do all the work of selling on eBay yourself.

First, take the picture of your Diane von Furstenberg dress and upload it to eBay. Then you need to do the research to find out how much it will sell for. Next comes writing up the listing. Once the auction is up and running, you have to reply to all the questions from shoppers. And once it sells, it's you who has to pack it up and ship it.