USED GEAR
How does a shop keep up with and encourage that type of growth, especially when dealing with all the moving pieces of consignment? “The real key has been having great staff who keep things organized and moving quickly,” Frank says. “October is always crazy because of the seasonal change; people are both bringing in and buying gear. This year is the first time we’ve added extra staff; usually it was just two people a day, which wasn’t enough. We’re also looking at expanding into some unused basement space because we’re
around at the store and asked her father, Todd, the owner (and current chair of the Grassroots Outdoor Alliance board), “Why aren’t you doing used gear?” His response: “I don’t have time. You do it.” So the two worked together to get the operation set up—Todd already knew the POS system—and The Trailhead launched its consignment busi- ness in November 2020. Since then, The Trailhead’s resale operation has grown 20% year over year. Consignment now makes up roughly 25% of the shop’s total business.
“The model works—just look at other GOA members doing it successfully.” — LARRY DESAULNIERS, PEAK SPORTS
overall, it’s steady and reliable. It’s not a part of the business I stress about. It’s consistently good, sometimes great.’ Making It Work When Megan Frank graduated college in 2020, her options were limited by the pandemic, so she came home to Missoula, Montana, and The Trailhead, the family business. She looked
gear has slowed down—it’s because the rest of the store has grown faster.” Gerston sees the resale busi- ness as a safeguard to the ups and downs of new gear sales. “Used gear can be a protective part of your business. Early on, it really kept us afloat—helped with cash flow when things were tight. Sure, there’s a chance it cannibalizes a few new sales, but
Five Tips for Resale Success Want to add used gear to your business? Pay attention to these tips from shops who have been doing it for years. Say No It’s simple: Do not take everything that customers want to put on your shelves. Don’t be afraid that you won’t get enough to sell—you will. “When we started, we took everything because we wanted to fill space. Now we’re much more selective,” says Megan Frank, of The Trailhead in Missoula, Montana. “Some staff find it hard to tell consignors no, but you have to. Other- wise, you end up six months later with racks of unsold items.” This is a bit of a corollary to the previous point, but it’s also important to be selective when it comes to the brands you carry used as well. Just as you carefully curate the new gear you offer in an independent outdoor specialty shop, make your resale gear look desirable and worth the money. You don’t want to come off as cheap. “Keep the quality high,” suggests Larry Desaulniers at Peak Sports in Corvallis, Oregon. “Don’t take low- end or off-brand items just to fill shelves. If your store starts looking like a thrift shop, it changes the whole perception of your business.” Desaulniers goes on to stress that a good used business should look a lot like a high-end new business. “ We don’t take Orvis [apparel] or even Columbia unless it’s an exceptional piece. Stick to true specialty outdoor brands and top-tier condi- tion—it keeps your store’s reputation and presentation strong, especially if you’re displaying used and new gear side by side.” Furthermore, be intentional about how you set up your de- partments. “We tried to mirror our consignment categories with our new retail departments so we could track where we might be cannibalizing sales,” says Frank. Price Consistently Training staff how to take in used gear from customers and price it correctly for both shop margins and customer expec- tations is the secret sauce when it comes to consignment.
“It takes about four to five months for someone to get fully comfortable handling consignment intake,” says Frank. “The key is consistency—making sure similar products from differ- ent consignors are priced the same. We have a pricing guide to help, but staff still have to look up items, check retail prices, and assess condition. It’s a skill that takes time to develop.” Make the Space Don’t let the layout of your store be an excuse. There are plenty of ways to incorporate a resale business into your floor plan. “Even if it’s just a small rack or section, it can be huge for cash flow and customer acquisition,” says Desaulniers. “The biggest hurdle for most shops will be space—where to put it. I was lucky to have an empty storefront. If you don’t, you’ll need to carve out a section of your store or warehouse.” Expand Your Offerings Engaging customers and encouraging them to return to the store is always a solid long-term strategy. Don’t think of used gear as a cul-de-sac, but rather as an opportunity to expand customer reach. “I really want to add a repair component— something that helps complete the product life cycle,” says Frank. “We get tons of calls asking if we do repairs, so it seems like a natural next step. We’re also planning community events where people can learn to do simple repairs themselves. It adds an educational piece and keeps gear in circulation longer—a full-circle approach to sustainability.” Stay Away From Kids Gear Sadly (since everyone loves getting kids outdoors), children’s gear is not the best bet when it comes to the used gear business. “We mostly stopped doing kids’ used gear,” says Chris Gerston at Backcountry Essentials in Bellingham, Washington. “There are so many kids’ consignment shops in town that our pricing model didn’t make sense. We’d end up with racks of kids’ clothes that wouldn’t move. Now we just take kids’ outerwear—ski jackets, pants, boots, skis—and that works fine.”
GRASSROOTS STORIES 15
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