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April 2011, Cover Stories, Community
Consignment Shops
Consignment shops, resale, and thrift stores are certainly one of the most successful "recycling" methods of our time.
Historically waste has been buried in landfill sites. Many important archaeological finds today are from what is basically an ancient landfill. Our uneaten food, wrappers, drink cups, utensils, furniture, home goods and clothing go into the trash can. We don't think about that waste again. On trash pickup day in our neighborhoods, we push the can out to the curb, and workers dump the contents into a big truck and haul it away.
But maybe you have wondered as you watch the trash truck pull away, just where that garbage ends up. Do you know whats in our lanfils?
Americans generate trash at an astonishing rate of 4.6 pounds. 2.1 kilograms per day per person, which translates to 251 million tons per year [source: EPA]. This is almost twice as much trash per person as most other major count ries. What happens to this trash? Some gets recycled or recovered and some is burned, but the majority is buried in landfills.
Consignment shops, resale, and thrift stores are certainly one of the most successful "recycling" methods of our time. These stores provide consumers with a convenient and eco-friendly option to rid themselves of excess clothing, and other material things. These stores “extend the life of material things which reduces environmental degradation from the manufacturing of the new and makes for a healthier planet” and to save some green at the same time.
We are highlighting three different furniture consignment shops each with all basic working of a traditional consignment shop. You bring in or they pick up the merchandise you don’t want but would like to make money on. Enter into a mutual agreement with the shop on what percentage you will receive and the shop will receive when the item is sold. But each one these shop has a little different twist to them.
Phantastic Phines
Located in Erdenheim,PA Phantastic Phines sell furniture and home good / decorating items and has been in business 7 years. Owner Angela Sipe started this business as a hobby; she would refinish or paint older or worn furniture to give the pieces an updated look. She then started selling the pieces online and to friends and family. For Angela she really hates to see things that still have use get thrown away or put curbside, where there is still value and life in them. So she built a website to showcase the pieces she had for sale to make viewing the inventory easy. “I always wanted to own my own store, but I was never clear on what kind of store I wanted to own. The idea of selling NEW items never really appealed to me. I have always felt that there are so many stores that put new items out into circulation why not do a twist on an old idea”. Consignment is an old concept, but a very useful one for what she loved to do. The idea for the business came soon after, when she realized so many people
have useable items that others may want but they have no way to make them available for sale. “I started with the website, and went from there. Today the website is really what continues to drive the business”.
The goal of Phantastic Phinds has always stayed the same: Save the Planet & Your Wallet, Buy Second Hand. Instead of putting useful things on the curb, Phantastic Phinds wants to help you make a little green, while being green for the environment and turn your clutter into cash.
Phantastic Phinds, 631 Bethlehem Pike
Erdenneim, PA 19038
Assisted Moving Consignment
Located in Plymouth, MI. Assisted Moving Consignment sells gently used furniture, home accents and décor. This store take on a bit of a different angle to the consignment business. Owner Bryan M. Neal at one time was an Assisted Living Director. In 2003 he started the business as a licensed moving company for the downsizing senior. He says the mission has always been to help seniors and their families decide what to keep, pass-on to family friends and associates, discard and sell. Then in 2008 he opened Senior Citizen Consignment Outlet because it is a natural fit for the downsizing senior citizen. Most seniors do not know how to begin the downsizing process and they definitely love the fact their cherished items will used by someone else who needs it.
Bryan says the most rewarding part of owning Assisted Moving and Assisted Moving Consignment knows that “we truly are helping downsizing senior citizens and their families”. “I saw firsthand how emotionally and psychologically difficult it was to make the transition. I also knew that the physical downsizing ramifications were dynamic. We have helped so many seniors transition, and we have been told time and time again how "wonderful" it is that we exist”.
Assisted Moving, LLC,
246 N. Main Street, Plymouth, MI
Home Again Consignment owner Brenda McManaway was threatened with a layoff from an organization that she had been with for several years decided start a business plan for a dreams she had years before. When eventually permanently laid off she immediately started putting her business plan into action, with the help of others that had also been laid off by the same company, they opened up the store in July of 2010. The Plymouth MI store sells Furniture, home furnishings such as lamps, wall art, unique decorative items, pottery, mirrors, floral arrangements, linens both current and vintage, Comforters, Rugs, Decorating and Cook Books, Collectibles such as English Tea cups and Saucers, Longaberger baskets, Fine Crystal, Jewelry both vintage and costume, Purses including designer and non-designer.
They provide a unique concept, there is a page on there website called “Furniture by Appointment” . The furniture pieces
featured on this page is furniture that is actually at the consigners home. When someone is interested in a piece, we make an appointment with the consigner, and someone from the store accompanies the potential buyer to the consigners home. The consigners like this concept for several reasons :
- The customer is not having to move the furniture into the store
- Once the piece is sold, the buyer is the one that makes arrangements for the piece to be moved.
- In addition, since they are working with our store, they are not opening their homes to total strangers.
Home Again Consignment, LLC,
277 N. Main, Plymouth, MI 48170
