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Table of Contents
Too Good to be Threw, The Complete Operations Manual for Resale & Consignment Shops by Kate Holmes

Chapter One: What am I getting myself into?
Why should I open my own business? k But first, a warning: It’s tougher to make a go of it now k Do I have what it takes to open a consignment shop? k What do I want my business to do for me? k Should I have a partner? k How about buying a business? A franchise? k What about competition? k Where will I get the money? k How much will I need? k Let’s add it all up k Your "shopping" list of basic equipment and supplies k Will I be able to make it? Figuring your Break-Even

Chapter Two: Where do I start?
What can I sell? k How can I choose? k Where’s my market? k What will make my shop unique? k Where should my shop be? k What should I look for in a location? k Should I move to the neighborhood where there’s a lot of resale shops already? k Understanding square-foot quotes k How about the lease? k What hours of business will I have? k What will I call my shop? k Some ideas for names k How will I know what to accept and how to price it? k Time to get serious: Your business plan

Chapter Three How about Buying Outright?
Would it be wise of me to buy my merchandise outright? k Examining the Buy-outright Option k The pluses and minuses of buying outright k How much should I pay? k Fine-tuning buying outright k Figuring your Opening Open-to-Buy budget k The Fallacy of "No Bookkeeping" k Examining your Ongoing OTB budget k Cost Codes, in any event k Legal concerns k Markdowns k Why Consignment may be the way to go

Chapter Four Setting your consignment procedures
What does your potential consignor look for when deciding to bring items in? k What else will my consignor be concerned with? k The Ideal Consignment Shop agreement k Time for Questions and Answers k Consignment fee? Or Preferred Consignor Club? k Buyers’ Fees: To use them, or not to use them k Your Consignment Info Line works non-stop, 24 hours a day k How do I develop consignors? k Your How-to-Consign Handout k Some notes on the consignor information handout k Building your consignor base

Chapter Five Accepting Merchandise
How do I accept items? k Accepting, Step-by-Step k How should I describe it? k What price will I put on it? k Pricing hard goods k How will I keep track of consignments? k How can I say no? k What is a "Drop & Run"? k How will I handle these groups of clothes? k The Drop-&-Run Flier k How do I keep consignment records? k What are the traits of a good control system? k The simplest manual bookkeeping system k Wait a minute. . . Shouldn’t I use a computer for all this?! k Accepting Procedure: k Tagging Procedure k Selling Procedure: k Posting Procedure k Returning Unsold Items to Consignor: k Additional Consignments: k How do I do markdowns? k Why should I mark consigned items down based only on how long it’s been here? k What about missing items? k How do I pay by check? k What a lot of work! k Am I keeping my goals in mind? k A Too Good to be Threw EXTRA: Tools of the Trade

Chapter Six: Am I ready to open?
What does my public want? k What should I fix up first? k Where will I put my fixtures? k Some quick fixes for your interior before you decide on fixtures: k Where will I put my fixtures? k Ten Questions to consider before deciding on a retail layout k What do I need to get started? k What goes where? k Some more tips on arranging your categories k Can I please have a back room? k Hey, what about household goods? k Where will I get my opening merchandise? k How will my customers pay me? k Will all sales be final? k What about keeping track of sales? k Balancing the books k The Daily Sales Summary k What if you don’t balance? k How will they know I’m opening? k Your opening day checklist k Can I have a Grand Opening? k What do I do next?

Chapter Seven How do I sell this stuff?
What is marketing? k How can merchandising help me? k What are some proven merchandising tips? k The Swing Shop k What’s the best way to do a window display? k What tools are needed to create inexpensive, terrific window displays? k What can I feature in my window? k What’s the second most important display area? k What am I selling? k How can I still sell if I’m busy? k More ways to have happy customers: k What’s my magic selling tool? k What if she doesn’t find anything today? k How do I sell the consignment/ buy-outright idea? k Is my marketing paying off? k Some ideas to get you thinking

Chapter Eight Promotion, Advertising, and More
What will promotion do for me? k How much should I spend? k What can I write an ad about? k How can I create an effective layout? k Why do I need fliers? k Is direct mail good for my business? k How can I get free publicity? k What are promotional activities all about? k How does my business card sell? k What about the web? k What other ways can I advertise? k How can I improve my ads? k Is advertising necessary?

Chapter Nine How am I doing?
How do I keep financial records? k How can I keep up with all my tasks? k Am I keeping my goals in mind? k Keeping a Shop Journal k What will my monthly books show me? k Am I controlling my costs? k What’s the best way to deal with slow seasons? k How can I find more time— and room? k Speeding up Intake k One thing you should never do. Never ever. k Switching seasons k What is my most important job? k Are you the Ultimate Resale Shop?

Chapter Ten Staffers, Shoplifters, and Sale Mavens
What about employees? k How will I hire someone? k How about employee training? k How can an employee manual help my shop? k Can I stop shoplifting? k What other problems will I encounter? k Managing your Merchandise k The incredible importance of markdowns k How can I sell it without a markdown? k When should bought-outright items be marked down? k Should I have a sale?

Chapter Eleven Dealing with Challenges
What one thing will help my shop prosper? k What are pakaways? k I’m spending too much time—and space!—on not-for-sale items k How many ways are there to increase my traffic? k Why is my competition getting my customers? k How can I increase my profits? k Ringing up those Sales k Gross profit doesn’t mean a dollar for you, a dollar for me k Cut those expenses today! k See your net profit grow k Keep your profit for yourself k How can I keep my business from getting in this fix? k Why isn’t my shop making a profit? k How can I raise cash quickly? k Garage sales are killing me! k How can developing my creativity help me? k A Too Good to be Threw EXTRA: 13 Days to a Better Shop

Chapter Twelve The Future and Beyond
How successful can I be? k How can I change my policies? k Let’s talk about selecting a software program k Switching from manual bookkeeping to software k Should I buy items outright? k Should I open a second shop? k How can I promote my shop by community participation? k How about expanding my services? k Can I sell my shop? k I’m a success! k A Too Good to be Threw EXTRA: First-Rate Reasons for Shopping Second-Hand

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