It's Time To Consign!

Ugh. This is the thing I dread more than anything else being in business for myself.

The filling out of the consignment tags and inventory sheets.

Do you even know how long it takes for me to complete a relatively small shipment of 100 pieces?

Do you EVEN know!?!

Well, I started at 9:15am. Right after I dropped off Miss. Diva Who Does Not Ride Public Transportation and stopped by the grocery store. Another 5 minutes of my husband convincing me that I like this and I began. 

I finished at 3:07pm.

But I do like this. I would LOVE it if I could hire someone to do it for me but I do really enjoy the steady checks that come in from my lump of hard work. It is also important to keep this option available for small business owners who can't always pay for large wholesale shipments upfront.

Do you do consignment? 

Would you like to but do not know how to get it going?

Here are a few links that help us approach stores that may be good matches for our types of handmade goods. 

http://www.ehow.com/how_4535169_stores-sell-handmade-jewelry-consignment.html

This is pretty cut and dry. But I found it useful when drafting my sales pitch letter;

http://a-web-biz.com/salesletter.htm

And this forum thread covered a lot of good questions;

http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6242359

I definitely recommend setting up a system to help you keep track of the items that are out and how much you should be getting paid for them. I use Quicken Business for that. 

Ask for references when approached online for a consignment deal. The 3rd store I set up an account with took $300.00 of my product and I never heard from them again.

Contracts are a necessity and they must be signed before your product leaves your hands. Not with the first shipment cause it's convenient to include it (Again, learned this the hard way).

I like to create when things are slow online. I also like to assemble display cards as much as I like to create the actual product. This way I always have product to send in and it looks purdy, too!

 Here, let me tell you a little story. At Christmas time we were in a bad, bad way financially. Mike had been unemployed for over 2 months and we were desperate. Because I had spent time preparing a large shipment to a great little store in Oct. I received a $700 check just in time to do some Christmas shopping for the kiddos. We would have had nothing otherwise. Consignment is not convenient, but it sure has come through for me.

I hope this helps anyone looking to expand their business to include consignment. I have met wonderful supporters of handmade goods and feel content knowing little bits of me are all over the world!