A page from Kate's journal....

Once you've made the decision to part with some of your possessions, and you've selected the things that are better-than-garage sale in quality and style, you're faced with just one more (I promise!) choice to make. And that is: is it better to consign or to sell outright?

Sometimes, the choice is made for you. If there's only one shop in your town, then you go with that choice. But more and more, there are shops out there competing for your goods and you can choose which system to use.

Consigning has pluses:

• Since you are paid a predetermined percentage of the actual selling price, you share in the income your carefully-prepared items generate. 

• Consignment shops are more willing to try an unusual piece, since they are not investing money in something with perhaps limited appeal.

Consigning, though, has some aspects that you might consider disadvantages:

• Most consignment shops only accept items in season.

• Some shops limit the number of items to be brought in at one time.

• You must wait for items to sell before receiving any money. 

• If it doesn't sell, you make nothing.

Selling outright has pluses as well:

• You receive immediate payment for the items accepted. 

• Often, buy-outright shops will purchase, for a reduced amount, off-season goods or goods which they must store for a time, such as prom dresses or Halloween costumes. 

• You're done with that batch of prior possessions in a few minutes.

Selling has disadvantages as well:

• Because the shop must make a profit, and is taking all the risk, you will receive less per item than you might if consigning.
• The shop will be more choosy about what it will buy, since there’s a financial investment being made on their part.

And finally: Should you simply be a good person and donate your gently-used items to a charitable thrift store? Yes, if you believe that is the best use of these goods. Be aware, however, that not all shops which market themselves as helping charity are actually doing so to any reasonable extent. If you have doubts in your mind that your wonderful items are truly helping your favorite charity as best they could, ask how much of the proceeds actually go to the cause. There might be better ways to donate, which we’ll talk about in another page from Kate’s Journal.

So which will make me more money?
The best way to make money with consignment shopping... is to shop. True, your under-appreciated items, whether clothing, decorative items, equipment or furniture, can make you some money or, if donated to a legitimate charitable thrift store, generate some tax savings. And that is a wonderful bonus: you've gotten your use and pleasure out of something that can now bring joy and utility into someone else's life.

But for true savings, it's true: Shop secondhand whenever you can! Charles Dickens did it (The Old Curiosity Shop). Presidential hopefuls' wives do it. Heck, even Julia Roberts does it for her children!