1442 Torrey Rd

Fenton, Michigan 48430

FRATZ' Ebay

FRATZ' Consignment, LLC is a family owned household consignment store in Fenton, Michigan.  FRATZ' has just expanded to 10,000+ square feet.  Established in 2001, FRATZ' continues to experience bumps and potholes along the way and have learned to adjust our policy/procedures as necessary.  FRATZ' is open seven days a week, accepts household consignments without an appointment, maintains a low 55/45 percent consignor split, employs eight staff members, gives employee bonuses, has a consignor and customer rewards program,  pays consignors monthly (800-1,000 printed checks per month), consigns 300-500 items per day, pays web site fees (fratzconsignment.com), pays Ebay fees (Ebay name fratzconsignment), pays for advertising; both radio and print, maintains 5 desk-top computers, two lap-top computers, 3 professional printers, one copy machine, one fax machine, one credit card processor with debit card pad, two cash registers, full security system, has four full-size file cabinets to maintain consignor records, pays rent, pays electricity,  pays for wireless service, purchases reams of paper, tape, tags, printer ink, and pays ConsignPro upgrade fees.  This is an expensive business!

FRATZ' Consignment makes it look easy but it is not.  FRATZ' has watched small consignment stores come and go.  Most last about 16 months.  They either close or try to sell their business.  The business value is minimal even after they have dedicated time and money.  The value might be in the hardware and the consignor list - but in reality - the consignment store does not own the inventory.  This is a transparent business; if a consignment store can't make their monthly consignor paychecks then they have a real problem.  When a consignment store owner over-spends, he/she is not spending the store's money but the money due to the consignor. 

Owning a consignment store is not as easy as it looks.  Here are some suggestions:

• Do your research.  Visit consignment stores in your area.  Get copies of their contracts.  Write your own contract, do NOT copy.  Assess what you like and don't like about the business.  Think about what you would differently and why.  Keep in mind that selling volume is more profitable than a pretty store with over-priced items.
• Search your community or a nearby community where the rent is reasonable with a good traffic flow.  Avoid communities with a well-established consignment store that have a loyal customer base.  The exception is if you plan to offer different merchandise. 
• Invest in a good computerized system to track your consignments, sales and consignor paychecks.  Commit to pay your consignors monthly.  Monitor your sales and update your unaccepted item list to reflect items that do not sell well.
• Remember that you are a partner with the consignor.  Listen to their input.  If their expectations are unrealistic, let them know at the time of consigning or you will store their items and not sell them.
• Hire great staff.  They need to be friendly, helpful and trustworthy.  Firing an employee is much more difficult than hiring the perfect employee.  Reward your employees with a lower consignment percentage and store gift certificates for daily sales goals met.
• Be consistent in your store policies.  You will damage your reputation if you modify your policy to benefit an individual consignor or customer.  Do reward your best consignors or customers with a reward program.
• Offer a limited return and layaway policy.
• The best advice that FRATZ' can offer is to keep excellent records.  Be pleasant, be fair and be thorough.