Do you think a consignment shop would be a good idea?

Yup, get a lawyer and write up the contract for consigned items.
Take pictures and document everything.
Get the person (with photo ID & keep a copy of it) dropping off the item to agree how long their item will be displayed.
Get a storefront with high visibility.
Advertise in local paper, “Gently Used Items For Sale.”
Control the inventory with computer database.

Must be more . . .

A couple of friends have tried to run consignment shops. The rent on the space was more than the money they took in for the items, plus they had to be in the shop all the time, as a regular job. E-bay is a better way to make money, with very low overhead, and you can make your own hours. You can work in the middle of the night or the middle of the afternoon if you want. But you would have to buy, outright, the items these other people are advertising to sell. If the stuff doesn’t sell, then you are stuck with it.

@Tropical_Willie…. I’ve owned my own business before. I know what is involved.

Ebay would be a good idea, except I’d have to have a shed of some kind, preferably on my own property. Shipping / delivery would be the big problem with Ebay. The stuff I could make the most profit on are larger items, like furniture and appliances. I once saw an almost-new front loading washer, almost brand new, for sale for $50. I jumped in that line real quick! But I was number 5993, so not a chance.
I was actually a seller on Ebay (user name Catdancing) after we closed the shop. I quickly learned that buy and selling/shipping the small stuff just wasn’t profitable at all. I mean, I never took a loss, but $3 here and $5 there wasn’t cutting it.

It was just an idle though, and now I shall idly drop it! It would be a lot of work for just one person.

Can you make enough on the charge to the consignee to pay the rent? I had a friend who tried this. Traffic was pretty good, but she wasn’t making enough margin to pay the rent, insurance, power bill, etc.

Also, you’re entirely dependent on a new supply constantly arriving. Is there enough traffic in your town to stay busy?

It wouldn’t be in my town. It would be in Wichita, and if the classifieds fb page is any indication, there would be plenty to stay busy. I just don’t know how profitable it would be.

I’ve owned a business. I know what all overhead I’d have to be able to cover. Not just the rent, but utilities, phone, office supplies, new item purchases, gas, mileage, advertising, etc. And that’s something you’d have to project. I’ve made business plans in the past. They show a projection of how many people you think will walk through the door, (and why they will walk through the door,) times the average purchase etc. etc. to get an idea of what kind of income and profit you could make.

It would be more trouble than it’s worth, really. I mean, I suppose some folks would bring things to me, but mostly it would be me going to get it. It was just a temporary dream. It came about because I see all this cool stuff advertised in the Wichita classifieds, but it takes me an hour just to get there, and I wouldn’t want to have to drive from one end of the city to the other after to find this stuff.

The last mall I was in (I paid rent, then priced and sold my own stuff) lasted 7 weeks. The one before that, 8 weeks.

By ans large if you can afford the rent for an enterprise like that, the traffic won’t be there. Appears that if you can do it on the scale of Goodwill, there’s good money there, but having a large, modern, well-stocked store seems to be key. Long hours, 7 days a week and lots of employees.
Yee. Haw.

Mall? I seriously doubt any mall would allow anyone to set up a second hand, thrift store in their building! Unless you’re thinking of a different type of mall, like a flea market.

We call them Antique Malls around here, but most no longer have many antiques, @Dutchess_III. Single shop owner rents booths in exchange for staying open set hours, collecting the money and taxes, and keeping track of each renter’s sales. Locally we have malls specializing in designer/decorator re-purposed items, antiques, thrift and free-for-all.

And yes, our local thrift stores are in Shopping Malls. A developer built a small mall with the Goodwill as anchor store. A faith-based thrift took over Goodwill’s previous space in a shopping mall.

The ‘malls’ I rented space in were much like flea markets, but with a different, single-proprietor structure.

I’m certain that our local indoor/enclosed mall would welcome your thrift shop if you could meet the rent. I think there’s a tattoo parlor in it now, and they take all kinds of seasonal and temporary businesses. That was even before the Penny’s anchor closed this summer.
Maybe the owners need to contact Savers, since our large thrifts have built new buildings or moved to shopping malls?