The holiday resale shopping season is ending fast!

With only 1 Saturday left for shopping, you need to make the most of every opportunity. Double up on social media, customer service, and merchandising. Here’s a quick recap of what you should be doing during this last week of a very short resale shopping season.

The final week

What’s the one thing shoppers can’t get at a big box store? Personal service. In my 4th Quarter Marketing Tips, I encourage store owners to concentrate on the customer. Shopping mayhem and employee weariness get in the way of phenomenal customer service. Make sure this is still your focus. Encourage your employees to keep smiles on their faces.  Remember, even a small gift like pastries in the morning, pizza in the afternoon, or even just a hand-written thank you note can go a long way to cheer up your staff. If not already, be an active participant on your sales floor. Go the extra mile.

Keep up those holiday hashtags

Hashtags are the perfect way to get in front of shoppers during this short resale shopping season. Create your own store hashtag as well, this allows for all your posts to be found in one place and can encourage your customers to use it. You can create multiple hashtags with different purposes, such as a hashtag for your sales. Using trending hashtags is an excellent way to gain more followers, this is because Instagram allows you to follow hashtags. Not only do they do that, but they also let the user know when they have liked multiple pictures with the same hashtag to encourage them to follow the hashtag. Finding popular hashtags is the key to growing an Instagram following, here are some popular holiday hashtags.

Tidying daily

Your store needs to be spotless during this season. Assign the task of checking on dressing rooms, clearing your cash wrap, and maintaining the racks and shelving throughout the day. Part of excellent customer service includes the organization and look of your store.

Adding contacts

Even though this is your busiest season, it’s still the best time to add contact information for new customers. With SimpleConsign, a cashier can add a new customer directly from the Checkout Tab. Every cashier should be asking if a customer wishes to receive notices about special events and sales to gain contact information.

Keep watch

Billions are lost each year to shoplifting. Stay vigilant. Post signs that say “Shoplifters Will Be Prosecuted.” Remind your salespeople what your procedure is when a shoplifter is suspected.

If you enjoyed reading this, here are more holiday ideas.

This post was updated from the original August, 2016

How to woo the best consignors to fill your shop’s shelves

You know the dance. You’ve been here many times before. A potential new consignor walks through your door and wants to consign the items she has brought in. She’s sizing you and your shop up while you’re taking a close look at her too. An abundance of clientele and inventory is wonderful, but what if you are accepting the wrong type of merchandise from the wrong consignors? Find the best consignors with items that will sell quickly in your shop. It’s all about timing and attitude.

#1. Know your market

You won’t know who your best consignors are until you study your sales and best-selling merchandise. It doesn’t matter if you have a ton of items or the most expensive items, it’s about having the right items. How do you determine which items are the right merchandise? Take a look at your sales data. Your POS system should have a wealth of information for you. SimpleConsign, for instance, has a Dashboard that allows you to view your top consignors based on the number of items they’ve sold, the average price per item sold or your split by items sold. In addition, you can see your top items sold by category and even down to the brand. Once you know who your best consignors are and the merchandise that flies off the shelf, it’s time to court them.

#2 The “Remarkable 50”

Create a club. Women particularly love to belong to special, exclusive groups. According to Bridget Brennan, author of Why She Buys, women are the gender of gratitude. That’s so true. We love to thank and we love to receive thanks. So start a special club for those Top 50, Top 25 or whatever number of consignors. Offer them an exclusive peak at the newest merchandise, perhaps an extra 5 or 10% discount or a better split. Plus, throw in a special shopping party just for them. Some type of “appreciation program” will go a long way in keeping those top consignors coming back.

#3 Two words…White Glove

When you make it easy for your best consignors to do business with you, it’s a win/win situation. By going to their home, you’re able to view all of their items. They sense their importance and feel appreciated. You can offer suggestions and even discuss pricing if you’re so inclined. If you find an item they may not be ready to consign, let them know it would sell quickly when they’re ready.

Cailin Laughlin, our personal customer launch specialist

By offering a white-glove pick up service, make sure that you’re capable of taking as many items with you as possible. If you’re visiting them regarding furniture, have someone with you to assist in loading your truck or van. If you’re taking expensive clothing, purses or jewelry, have special clothing bags. containers or even a lock box to place them in. The consignor won’t be happy when he/she sees you tossing them into the back of your car. White glove means you treat the customer and their merchandise carefully from beginning to end.The white-glove treatment goes a long way in building loyalty and trust. At SimpleConsign, we’ve added a white-glove specialist, Cailin Laughlin. Her official title is Customer Launch Specialist. She takes every new customer completely through our start up process. Customers don’t leave her and move on to Tech Support until they fully understand the system and its capabilities for their store.

#4 The all-important survey or questionnaire

In most cases, your consignors are also your customers. Getting feedback from your best consignors shows them you value their input as both. Women in particular notice the details of a shop and if they’re given a chance, they’ll happily tell you about them. Sending surveys or questionnaires requesting their opinions assures them you care about their experience with your staff or with the consignment process as a whole. A bad experience with either of those will likely result in a good consignor never returning. A questionnaire also gives you the chance to make amends, if necessary. At the end of every survey or questionnaire, ask for referrals. Do they have friends that might be interested in consigning too? Use Survey Monkey‘s free plan to send and analyze surveys

A fun way to reward your best consignors is with a special challenge. Read Build your inventory with a surprising consignor challenge. By courting your best consignors, you’re assured of having quality merchandise that sells quickly in your shop. Give them a little extra attention and it will pay off.

Boosting consignment sales may be easier than you think

Sometimes, it’s the little things. Seemingly insignificant actions that make all the difference to a customer. Oftentimes, boosting consignment sales can even be pretty easy. Try a few of these and see if they don’t make a difference in your overall sales next month.

1.) Snobby salespeople required?

What is it that brick and mortar stores have that online retailers don’t? People! You can’t make a day of it with friends by shopping online. Boosting consignment sales starts with the right customer service. For most of you, your staff should greet everyone with a smile and a genuine “Hello!” A friendly sales staff in the right environment can increase sales by as much as 23%! However, research has shown that if you sell luxury items, “the ruder the sales staff the better the sales.” Train your staff to sell according to your merchandise and your brand.

The Whizbang! Tip of the Week #617 suggests adding a little something special to your sales experience. He sites several examples. One is as easy as the way Nordstroms hands you your purchase when the transaction is finished. They come around the counter rather than schlepping the bag over the top.

2.) A captive audience

Take a good look at your Point of Sale (POS) area.  Is it neat and tidy? Do you offer smaller, impulse items for sale? This is the fastest way to increase store sales. Whether you’re offering jewelry and accessories at a clothing store, wood cleaning products at a furniture store or small toys at a children’s shop, make sure you take advantage of this captive audience. Change it up so regular shoppers are always surprised. The quicker you can complete the sale, the better. Younger generations get extremely frustrated if the checkout process takes too long. Make sure you have an updated POS system that runs quickly and easily.

3.) Somewhere between the floor and ceiling

Consignment and resale are in a very unique position when it comes to pricing. Since most of your merchandise is used, the value is arbitrary. Brand, quality and age all determine an item’s price. Many retail stores use cost-based pricing and most experts suggest anyone selling physical merchandise should do the same. Cost-based pricing begins with the manufacturing cost of an item. Then, a range is set for the selling price. The range is referred to as the floor amount (the lowest possible price) and the ceiling amount (the highest). Value-based pricing is determined by a customer’s perceived value of an item. The perception changes according to rarity, brand name or even the amount of personal service a customer receives. Make sure your price points maximize your profit. Read 4 tips for setting correct price points.

4.) Engage the eyes, ears and nose

E-commerce, at least at this point, cannot give consumers the full shopping experience. Physical contact is still the #1 advantage for brick & mortar shops. Let customers experience your store fully. Free up rack space and floor space so shoppers can move around and easily touch the merchandise. Make your store memorable with a delightful smell too. Did you know that scent is the strongest sense influencing memory recall and emotions? Emotions happen to drive 80% of decision making. Hello! Buying! When a store wants to sell its most important items quickly, they are always placed at eye level. Whether it’s shelving or wall racks, make sure you’ve placed them at a median height, 57″ from the floor. Lastly, play music that appeals to your target market. If I walk into a store and hear Chicago, The Doobie Brothers or Earth, Wind and Fire, I’m not only dancing, I am shopping!

5.) It’s time to give back

In 2017, Forrester released their findings on the impact of customer loyalty programs. They stated, “loyalty program members on average spend $42.33 more with traditional retailers than shoppers not in a loyalty program.” Boosting consignment sales means giving back to your most loyal customers. Make your loyalty or rewards program easy to enter. The points or rewards need to accumulate quickly. In fact, one study found that if shoppers are given points when they enter the program, they’re likely to spend more in a shorter amount of time. Remember, those happy program members are often tremendous store ambassadors too. Many POS systems such as SimpleConsign have a built-in Rewards Points program. Check a box, set your values and let the program do the rest.

Updated on 4/12/2021

Adding consignment fees will make a difference

A wise consignment shop owner sees the value in covering their costs with added consignment fees. Many times, adding various fees is the difference between being in the black or in the dreaded red. Never be uncomfortable with the idea of added fees. As long as you openly and honestly state how you use them in your consignment agreement, everyone will accept them. Your business belongs to you, not your consignors or customers. After all, adding consignment fees is merely part of smart business ownership.

The following are fees SimpleConsign provides. Check with your software provider to see what they offer.

1.) Buyer’s Fee

Let’s face it, overhead is costly. You need to recoup some of those expenses. This fee is added on and paid by the customer at the time of sale. A Buyer’s Fee is set either by a fixed dollar amount or a fixed percentage. You determine how much you want to add. Let’s say you decide all merchandise priced between $20 and $50 will receive a $1 Buyer’s Fee. A new item is entered in the system for $20. This is the price the consignor sees and the price your reports show. However, when the item is tagged and placed on the sales floor, it shows a price of $21. If your consignor split is 50%, the consignor receives $10 and you receive $10, plus the $1 Buyer’s Fee.

2.) Item Fee

Consignors have the privilege of selling their items in your shop vs. having strangers trudge through their homes. When floor space is at a premium, you need to add a fee for taking up that space. Unlike the Buyer’s Fee however, an Item Fee is taken off the consignor split. Once again, you set the Item Fee range. Let’s say you want to add a $0.50 fee to every item sold in your shop. A new item is entered into the system and tagged for $20. If your shop has a 50-50 split, the consignor would receive $9.50 and the shop would receive $9.50, plus the additional $0.50 fee at the time of sale.

3.) Credit Card Processing Fee (%)

Shops no longer need to “eat” credit card processing fees simply because it’s the “price of doing business.” SimpleConsign especially wants to help our customers recover some of these costs. A percentage is set by the shop owner and taken from every credit card transaction. Let’s say you have set a 3% fee. A customer makes a purchase of $100 and uses their credit card to pay. The 3% fee of $3 is automatically removed off the top of the purchase leaving $97 as the amount to be split. If your shop has a 50-50 split, the consignor would receive $48.50 and the shop would receive $48.50. Essentially, both the consignor and the shop are sharing in the “price of doing business.” It then becomes a true 50-50 split.

4.) Check Fee

It’s the little things that add up. When you are printing and mailing individual checks to consignors, you can easily spend $0.50 to $1.55 depending on the number of consignors you pay out. This isn’t an area where you want to make money. Recoup at least some of that cost with a nominal check fee. The fee will be deducted from a consignor’s account when it’s time to send the payout check.

5.) Consignor Access Fee

Many consignment shops offer their consignors online access to view their accounts. Consignor access saves time for the busy shop owner who can’t constantly answer calls or emails from consignors wanting to know if their items sold. When offering this special feature, why not also charge for the privilege? A Consignor Access Fee is charged the last day of the month to all consignors that have had at least one item on consignment for that month. You determine the fee and with SimpleConsign, you also determine how much information you want the consignor to see in their account. If you set the fee for $1 and have 200 active consignors for that month, you will automatically add $200 to your bottom line.

6.) Online Transaction Fee

As the Consignment industry continues to venture more and more into the realm of online sales, SimpleConsign offers a fee for all online transactions. Combined with the SimpleConsign Shopify Plugin that allows for stores to seamlessly sell online, this fee allows for the transition to be effortless and more importantly, painless. Often times stores have to spend more time preparing online items to ship, this fee helps a shop mitigate the costs.

7.) Monthly Fee

This is a fee that works differently than Consignor Access fees. It’s a fee that unlike the Consignor Access fee, charges regardless of a consignor having active inventory/consignor access permissions. If a store rents out space, such as a vendor mall, this is the perfect tool for that store. This can also be used as a way to add a premium price to be a consignor at your store.

8.) ACH Payout/SimplePay Fee

This works exactly the same as a check fee, except quicker and without the headache of printing checks. Often times ACH payments have a cost attached, and while most stores see that cost as a necessary measure to save time, and just eat the charge, some feel as though this is a luxury to their consignors. For people in the latter group, the ACH Payout fee allows for a shop owner to charge their consignor for the “luxury” of being able to paid out effortlessly.

Being honest

As you can see, consignment fees can make an incredible difference. If you aren’t using them but want to add them, start by drafting a new consignment agreement. Add a line to your contract stating how the consignment fees will be added or subtracted from a consignor’s account. Make sure they understand clearly who is responsible for paying the fees. Auntie Kate, in her book Too Good To Be Threw writes, “Do not delineate exactly what amount this fee is, so you have the flexibility of raising or lowering it in the future. But if a consignor asks, tell. It’s easiest to say something general like ‘It ranges from fifty cents to five dollars depending on the price, but mostly it’s fifty cents or a dollar.'”

Your consignment POS system can make or break you

A couple of years ago, our son moved into an apartment of his own. Since he was about 700 miles away, I wasn’t able to pawn off old dishes, furniture and towels. He needed to start fresh. So, we headed to a furniture consignment store close to him. It was huge. Shoppers wandered everywhere. He found a couch and TV table. I found a great picture. At the sales counter, the young woman took out a Sales Receipt Book to total up our purchases. Unfortunately, she made a mistake. She scratched through the final price and made the corrections which we could barely read. I mentioned SimpleConsign, but the boss was “old school” and didn’t want a Point-Of-Sale system. I think that will change when his son takes over the business. Nowadays, a consignment POS system is not only convenient, it’s essential. Here are 7 reasons why.

1.) Can you guarantee accuracy?

Any shop owner that invests in a consignment POS system, printers and barcode scanners is automatically assured of accuracy at the time of sale. There are no “fat finger” mistakes. Scan the barcode on the tag and the information is immediately entered into the system. You can keep track of daily, weekly, monthly or even yearly sales knowing the figures are correct. Checkout is faster, reliable and you can even give a printed receipt. Plus, as one industry leader reminded me, your customers and consignors can rest easy knowing you’re charging the right amount.

2.) Are you able to track inventory?

A good consignment POS system will provide you with a ton of reports to track your inventory, consignors and customers. With SimpleConsign, you can easily see sales statistics, track trends and view either automated and/or customized reports. Conveniently separate new and used inventory, plus distinguish between consigned and store-owned. Use the data you receive to determine which brands are most popular and which consignors bring in the best merchandise.

3.) Would you like to speed up checkout?

With the advent of the internet, our world is spinning faster. Shoppers are impatient. I’ve even received a sigh of frustration for writing a check in the checkout line. If you can speed up the process, do it. A consignment POS system offers faster and more efficient transactions.

4.) Is theft something you’re currently dealing with?

It’s the sad reality of owning a business. Theft. Whether it’s employees or customers, consignment shops are particularly vulnerable to theft. Why? Without a consignment POS system, you can’t accurately track your intake process, a consignor’s individual account or a given employee’s sales. Many an employee theft has been discovered because of SimpleConsign’s system. Plus, employees who know inventory is being tracked are less likely to help themselves.

5.) Would you like to earn money without adding customers or inventory?

The cost of doing business is higher than ever and only going to go up. With SimpleConsign, you can easily share credit card processing fees, add buyer’s or item fees, plus charge consignor access fees. You set them up and we’ll take care of the rest.

6.) Could you use a little more time?

A business owner’s productivity automatically increases with a consignment POS system. The tedious job of adding information to spread sheets is over. Even your CPA will have more time. Plus, choosing a web based system means you can access all of your information from anywhere you can access the internet. Need to be home with the kids? No problem. Taking a much-needed vacation? Log in and see what’s happening at the store. Details like knowing how much money is in the cash drawer is available to you at any given time.

7.) Are you easily marketing to your customers?

Again, the data that is available to you in a consignment POS system is invaluable. Enter a customer’s name, address, phone and email quickly. You can even add special notes about their preferences, purchases and personality quirks. Then, take that information and segment your list for more personal emails.

Once you’ve chosen a system, be sure to use it to its fullest. Otherwise, you only have a glorified cash register. Make sure you get all of the features that are important for running your store. If not, you’ll have to create work-arounds. You will also want to choose a system that is capable of growing with you. Be sure your staff is fully trained and remember, with SimpleConsign, training is on the house. Read 13 questions to ask before buying consignment software.

The takeaway for today’s consignment shops

“RIP Sears.” That was the subject line in a recent RetailWire email. According to the article, Sears is close to liquidation. They’re hanging on by their last thread. It’s sad. A trip with my Dad to Sears for tools was a regular Saturday morning event at my house. For over 125 years, it was an anchor for many suburban malls and a staple for tool and appliance buyers. So, what are the lessons consignment shops can learn from Sears’ downfall? Listen to the words of a few retail experts.

Experts say Eddie Lampert, current chairman and former CEO of Sears Holdings, ruined Sears. His expertise was in finance, not retail. In fact, incompetent leadership is rumored to have caused the downfall of  Toys “R” Us and JC Penney too. Of course, wisdom tells us that very few consignment shops (if any) have greedy CEO’s looking to rake in millions to line their own pockets. However, we do know without strong leadership, any business fails. Success always begins at the top.  What can you do in 2019 to improve your leadership skills? Sign up for our Consignment Business CheckUp. Examine your shop as well as your role as the business owner. For example, the CheckUp asks about your future vision, financial planning and current team of employees.

Growing and changing within our industry is part of the path to success. Neil Saunders, Managing Director of GlobalData lists the lessons learned from Sears, “don’t starve business of investment, aim to create financial stability…create a sound internal organization…have a clear point of differentiation and reason for existence, and evolve with the times.” That’s a mouthful, but the lesson for consignment shops is clear. Invest in your business, offer stable management, market your differences from other stores and be open to change. 2019 is your year. Upgrade the look of your store. Or, modernize your POS system. Don’t merely rely on past successes.

Many experts blame Sears for not sticking to its strongest message. While growing up, we always thought of Sears as a man’s store. The only reason my Mom shopped at Sears was for a new refrigerator. Buying clothing seemed downright weird. When they sold off their exclusive brands such as DieHard, Craftsman and Kenmore; stopped offering services like auto repair; and didn’t convert their infamous catalog to an online store, they lost their branding. Consignment shops need to have a solid brand. If you’re not sure about yours, read 6 tips to build your secondhand store’s brand. Success comes with a confident store identity.

As always,  it revolves around your #1 resource, your customer. How well do you know your shoppers and what they expect of you? The customers of consignment shops are unique. They choose you for that personal attention. Likewise, they love hunting for a bargain. As Jeff Sward, founding partner of Merchandising Metrics writes, customers “shop product, pricing, presentation and path-to-purchase.” Owners of consignment shops need to remember these 4 P’s. Train your staff thoroughly. Read 10 customer service tips your sales team needs to adopt today. Remember, customers want to connect with like-minded people, not buildings.

It remains to be seen whether Sears can survive. Heated negotiations are going on even as I write. Above all, remain true to your customers, employees and brand. You’ll be in it for the long haul, I’m sure.

Never fear consignment competition

Do you consider yourself competitive? I tell people I’m not competitive, but then I start playing a game and secretly, I can’t stand to lose. I imagine a strong demographic for a consignment shop owner is competitiveness. After all, when I compiled my research of the Typical Resale Shop Owner a year ago, the majority of you were firstborn, early-to-rise shop owners. In my mind, that means competition charged. So, consignment competition should be just another challenge you take on.

How healthy is consignment competition?

In July of 2014, I referenced an article from The Muse in my post, Team up with other resale shops. The author gave 4 good reasons why competition can be good for you.

1. Together you help build your industry
2. It helps both of your bottom lines 
3. Competition can motivate you to be the best you can be
4. It helps break your fall when you need it

You only need to look at the success of NARTS

Every year, members of Team Traxia head to the annual NARTS (National Association of Resale Professionals) conference. We go not only to introduce potential shop owners to our wonderful software, but to also connect with customers and friends we’ve met over the years. NARTS is a perfect example of how consignment competition is good for you. At conference, you can meet with fellow shop owners to discuss everything from merchandising to marketing. Everyone is hungry for advice and information. Not only does it strengthen our industry as a whole, it encourages shop owners to be the best they can possibly be. Knowing what I know from NARTS, everyone has something to offer about how they do business.

Our own consignment competition

If you’re a seasoned consignment or resale shop owner, you are very aware of the different consignment software programs that are currently on the market. Some have been around for decades, while others only within the last couple of years. At first, I get a lump in my throat when I see a new program come on the market. Let’s face it, we all choke a little when competition pops up, don’t we? Then, I realize according to national statistics, there are over 25,000 resale stores across the nation. I believe that’s plenty to go around. Also, I know that our competitors have made us better. Adding new features, upgrading current ones and building the program according to the needs of shop owners is a continuing practice for our team. We’re challenged to put out the best software we possibly can because of the consignment competition.

The one thing you should be afraid of

I read this quote on Inc.com, “the one thing you should fear: Complacency.” That’s the truth. Everything changes. Your customers, consignors and inventory are constantly changing and adapting. You should be too. Don’t settle for, “We’ve always done it this way.” Make a commitment to be the best resale shop you can be, to find your niche in your market and support one another wherever you can. Come and join us at the NARTS conference in June. We’d love to meet you and have you teach us about your business.

You’ve got to see our new website and new consignment features

Change is exciting. With SimpleConsign, our software is flexible and always improving. That’s where our website and new consignment features come in! I’m thrilled to be able to share them with you.

We’ve designed new consignment features to make life easier for you

• eCommerce Solutions

Nowadays, everyone is jumping on the eCommerce bandwagon. SimpleConsign makes it easier than ever for you to smoothly integrate online sales with your brick and mortar store. Choose from a templated eCommerce site or have a custom site created specifically for you. Sites are designed for desktop, tablet and mobile shopping. Plus, every transaction is reflected in SimpleConsign. It’s the easiest way to broaden your selling opportunities.

• Simple AdKiosks Marketing

If you’re looking for a creative way to promote your merchandise, AdKiosks Marketing is for you. Add Simple AdKiosks to your current website and Facebook page. You can attractively display every item in your inventory with a photo and description. Then, customers conveniently contact your shop to purchase the item. Simple AdKiosks let your shoppers browse in real time when it’s easiest for them. The best part? Once an item is sold, it’s automatically removed from the AdKiosks. There’s nothing for you to do.

• Photo App

SimpleConsign has developed our very own Photo App. Download our photo app and take pictures of both your inventory and customers. Every photo is automatically saved into your SimpleConsign account. Obviously, it makes entering inventory for eCommerce and AdKiosks a breeze.

• Consignor Central

Consignor Central has been available for awhile. However, this is the first time I’ve talked about it. Consignor Central automatically notifies consignors about the status of their individual items. Are a consignor’s items going into a grace period or expired? Let Consignor Central send a message for you. Are you looking for specific best-selling items? Consignor Central will put the word out. Plus, Consignor Central lets you generate, view and print customizable consignor contracts. It’s one more way we free up your time.

• Dealer Remote Item Entry

This new feature is perfect for shops that have vendors and dealers. It gives them the freedom to enter inventory remotely. Then, they come to you to have their tags printed. With Dealer Remote Item Entry, every tag in your shop looks the same. Therefore, checkout is efficient and you save time.

These are just a few of the exciting features we’ve added to our new website. Head over to SimpleConsign and check out the rest of our site. Let us make your life easier.

The best consignment software should act like velcro

In order for velcro to work, there has to be 2 different sides. One side is the loop (the softer part) and the other is the hook (the prickly side). In the resale business, imagine the soft side made up of people…your loyal customers, a full range of consignors and great employees. The other side of the velcro is the business aspects of your consignment store. You need a good location, a solid business plan, contracts and inventory. Put the 2 sides together and what do you have? One of the firmest ways ever invented to hold things together, but one of the easiest to pull apart. The best consignment software should act like velcro.

Your consignment software should conveniently manage the soft side (your customers and consignors). Plus, it should allow you to quickly manage your inventory and contracts. Your software must hold your shop together firmly, but easily allow you to peel it apart and readjust where necessary…just like velcro.

2017 is the year to make a change to the best consignment software

You need to be aware of the alternatives to your current software. If your consignment software provider does any of the following 10 things, it’s time to make a change.

1. You’re required to sign a contract.
2. You can only get technical support when you pay additional fees or hire someone outside of the software company to do support for you.
3. Updates are only available when you purchase the newest version.
4. Data backup is not done continuously, plus you have to pay a fee to have your data backed up.
5. Pricing for integrated credit card processing is not competitive. It’s their way or the highway.
6. You’re at the mercy of technical support’s hours and they’re never available in the evenings or on weekends.
7. You are charged for each individual terminal rather than one price for one location.
8. Business is booming and you’ve opened a 2nd location, but your software doesn’t merge the information from each location.
9. Consignor access is not provided in real time.
10. Training for you and your employees requires you to pay a special fee to attend an event.

The best consignment software does the hard work for you

The best consignment software improves the flow of inventory from consignor to customer. Every aspect of your software is designed to make your life easier. With SimpleConsign, you’re not required to sign a contract, pay for a training event or purchase the newest version to get the most recent updates. We do the heavy lifting. Your inventory and consignor searches are faster, and your data entry is easier saving you lots and lots of time. You don’t sign any contracts. You and your staff are fully trained with live weekly trainings and/or videos. Updates come to you automatically and your data backup is done free of charge too.

Do yourself and your staff a favor in 2017. Get the best consignment software. Sign up for a free 15-day trial now.

Don’t wait. Protect your shop online today.

You know the feeling. It’s that nervous hesitation. Should I open that email? Is it really safe to “Click here?” Did I give too much personal information? Today, staying cyber safe is always in the back of our minds. Protect your shop online. Follow these 5 practical steps.

1.) Strong passwords

Did you know the most common password is the word “Password?” It’s followed by the 2nd most popular password, “123456.” According to a 2015 report by ThreatMetrix, the point of login is especially vulnerable for cyber threats. Women, because they tend to use common words like their pet’s or children’s names, appear to be more vulnerable to hacking. When creating a strong password, make sure you add all of the following.

• Numbers
• Upper and lower case letters
• Symbols when it’s possible
• At least 8 characters

Change your passwords regularly no matter how clever you think you are.

2.) Basic security software

There are several basic systems you can put into place to protect the information on your desktop immediately. “Ask Leo!” gives you the bottom line.

• Add a router, even if you only have one computer. It can be used as your main firewall.
• Use Windows Defender which is already installed on Windows 8, 8.1 and 10. This can help to keep your computer secure.
• Check to see that Windows Update and Windows Firewall are both turned on to keep your computer as current and safe as possible.

Wrongfully, Mac users assume their computers are safer. If you’re using a Mac for your business, regularly check for updates and make sure your firewall is running as well.

3.) A social media policy

As part of your Employee Manual (which every shop should have), include a social media policy as another way to protect your shop online. Upfront, your Manual must state any discussion of their employment must be handled in person rather than online. Although disgruntled employees have the legal right to complain online about their working situations, make it understood that you are willing and eager to discuss it with them first. Add these other ideas to your Social Media Policy.

• Ask that employees leave their place of employment blank on their Facebook page. By doing that, their private lives won’t reflect on your shop.
• Outline what is considered a confidential topic not to be discussed on social media.
• If you give your employees access to your shop’s social media accounts, make sure their contact with your customers is always respectful and friendly.

4.) Secure your shop’s email account

Choose a trusted email provider to send business emails. A provider has stronger filtering capabilities. Educate your employees about what to look for when opening an email that looks like Spam or a scam. Receive emails without images being displayed first. Once you know the email is from a reputable sender, click on “Display images below.” Often, images and logos are tied to Spam accounts.

5.) Now’s the time to move your shop’s data to the cloud

If you have done these basics to protect your shop online, it’s time to move your data to the cloud. Hardware failure, theft of your computer, fire or flood damage, or a virus are just a few of the risks in keeping your data only on your computer. By converting that data to a web based system, you are automatically assured that your shop’s point-of-sale (POS) data is kept safe somewhere else. In a shameless plug for SimpleConsign, these are just a few of the safety features we provide:

• Your data is continually backed up.
• Traxia has the strength and protection of Amazon Web Services (AWS) behind us (AWS also provides security for organizations such as the US Navy, Pfizer and Intuit)
• Backups of your data occur on both the east and west coast. If something were to happen to one data center, the other still has your information.