Consignment shops: bargain or bust?

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - Village Kids Consignment Shop has been swapping children's clothes in the Village of Hamburg for nearly 70 years.

Lisa Eszack is the store’s fourth owner. What keeps her customers coming back?

"Basically, we have the greatest consigners--loyal consigners--that have been coming here for many, many years."

So Lisa was shocked to hear Patti Ferrentino, the owner of a new consignment shop, Acquired Attire, which is right around the corner from her store, has been charged with ripping customers off. Just by their nature, Lisa told us, consignment shops nurture relationships between owners and their customers.

But Eszack still keeps track of all her transactions, for her protection, and for her customers, "if a tag falls off one of our customers' orders and we don't know who it is, we go back to our book, and this tells us everything--everything that comes in for the day, the week, the month. This is our Bible."

Customer Brenda Cox says, it beats shopping at the mall.

"She knows all of us. She knows my son and his age. I can ask her, hey, do you think you will be getting this in, or I am looking for something, and she will say, I will write that down for you, and I will call you."

Debbie Walker, owner of Ragamuffinz, a shop in East Aurora, told us, consigned property belongs to the customer until it is sold, so keeping good records is a must, "anything that is on the inventory floor is assigned with their number, and would not get lost."

Peggy Penders of the Better Business Bureau told us, selling and trading at consignment shops is a skill, so you might want to start small, until you find your comfort zone, "bring them a small item that your are willing to risk, and see how your experience goes. You really want to make sure that you can feel good about giving your personal items to this particular shop."

But there is another kind of resale shop, like Plato's Closet, that pays customers on the spot for newer, brand name teenage apparel. A mananger told News 4, "we sell our clothing for 75% less than retail prices. We pay you 35% to 50%, on the spot, of what we are selling the item for--but we pay you today."

When Debbie Walker bought Ragamuffinz, it was a same day resale store, then she converted the store to a consignment shop. Her customers' reaction?

"They have been happier because they are earning more. They might wait a little bit longer to get paid. Obviously they are not getting their money right then and there on the spot, but they are earning more."

Consignment shop owners point out, if they can’t sell the consumers’ property within a certain period, usually 6 months, they will either give the merchandise back to the owner, or donate the goods to charity, so there is little to no risk.

The resale shops that pay on the spot, do assume some risk that they will lose money from the transaction, so they will generally pay slightly less for the merchandise.