About the store
Sundown Ski Patrol is a nonprofit organization that runs one of the longest-running ski swaps on the East Coast, a tradition spanning over 30 years. Once a year, in the first weekend of November, the patrol transforms a ski lodge into a fully operational consignment store. Inventory comes from two sources: roughly 8 local ski shops contributing 2,500–3,000 items, and 300–400 public consignor families bringing in approximately 1,000 more. All ~4,000 items are loaded and tagged in the three weeks leading up to the event, then approximately 3,000 are sold over two and a half days before the entire operation is torn down by Monday morning.
Leading the charge is John Segretta, a ski patroller, nonprofit treasurer, and the driving force behind both the swap program and the organization's technology infrastructure. In a volunteer-run operation with one shot a year to get it right, John's combination of financial oversight and technical expertise keeps everything running smoothly.
The event is staffed by roughly 140 ski patrol volunteers — plus family members, bringing the total to around 150 people — all giving their time to make the swap run. The annual sale is the patrol's sole fundraiser for the entire season.
The Challenge
Before switching to SimpleConsign, Sundown Ski Patrol had used ConsignPro for 7 years. The software served them well enough, but the patrol's unique setup created compounding technical headaches year after year.
Because the entire operation is rebuilt from scratch each year, every device has to be reconfigured on a temporary network inside the lodge. Under ConsignPro, Windows would frequently fail to recognize device drivers after reinstallation, a serious risk when you're spinning up 14+ machines on a tight timeline with no IT buffer.
"I would go in and, quite honestly, fire up 17 devices and upload all the latest Windows software every year. I don't have to do any of that now."
— John Segretta, Sundown Ski Patrol
The credit card hardware situation compounded the problem. When a reader broke, it could take months to get a replacement that properly interfaced with ConsignPro — not a viable situation for a sale with just one chance per year to get it right. With 95%+ of all transactions being credit card purchases, a reliable payment processor is a must.
When ConsignPro announced it would be sunset, the decision was made: it was time to find a cloud-based replacement built for the long term.
The Decision to Switch
John evaluated his options before committing. He was skeptical whether SimpleConsign could handle the job.
"It didn't look like this was a niche that [SimpleConsign] does or would care about. But everything was terrific."
— John Segretta, Sundown Ski Patrol
Three factors ultimately drove the decision:
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The move to a cloud-based system (eliminating annual Windows setup)
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Simpler device interfaces
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A more flexible credit card processing setup
The SimpleConsign team helped configure updated tap-capable readers before the event, a process John described as far simpler than anything he experienced with ConsignPro.
The Migration Experience
Sundown Ski Patrol's data migration was a breeze. Consignor information from past years was carried over without any downtime, so that returning sellers could be checked in faster.
All inventory, whether submitted by ski shops or public consignors, is uploaded or manually entered within the three weeks before the swap begins. With 300–400 consignor families and ~4,000 items to process, speed at intake is critical. The team runs a tight process: consignors must arrive knowing their asking prices, agreements are signed on the spot, and items are labeled and moved inside without delay.
Staff training covered two tracks: roughly a dozen volunteers handling intake (checking in consignors and labeling items quickly under high-pressure conditions), and a separate group trained on cashier functions. The intake flow required some adjustment from ConsignPro's data entry approach, but cashiers found the checkout experience intuitive from the start.
The day before the event, the team ran a full device check-in call with SimpleConsign support to verify the network setup. When the big sale weekend arrived, no support calls were needed. Everything ran smoothly without any interruptions.
The Results
SimpleConsign's first live deployment for the Sundown Ski Swap ran without a single issue, across 14 concurrent devices, ~4,000 items loaded, and hundreds of payout checks written on Sunday afternoon.
"For a brand new system going live with heavy volume, we had absolutely no issues. No issues anywhere. And that feels fairly remarkable."
— John Segretta, Sundown Ski Patrol
Of the ~4,000 items loaded for their most recent weekend event, roughly 75% sold—approximately 3,000 items moving hands in two and a half days, with more than 95% of transactions processed by credit card. Zero payment issues. Zero system outages.
Specific improvements noted by John and his team:
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The payout workflow required fewer steps than ConsignPro, meaningful when writing hundreds of checks in a single afternoon.
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Cashiers preferred the new credit card readers (tap-capable, sourced through SimpleConsign) over the aging hardware they'd used before.
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The annual setup time was dramatically reduced: no Windows updates, no driver conflicts, no device configuration headaches.
As a nonprofit, the stakes couldn't be higher, this single weekend funds the entire patrol's season. The system held.
Looking ahead
For other store owners still on ConsignPro and on the fence, John's advice is straightforward:
"It was simple. It worked great. I'm thrilled I did it."
As Sundown Ski Patrol gears up for another season on the slopes and another November sale, John is open to sharing his experience firsthand. If you run a ski patrol, ski club, or pop-up event and are considering the switch, he's happy to get on the phone and talk through the logistics.
We're proud to be part of what makes this 30-year tradition run, and we can't wait to support the Sundown team for many swaps to come.
