How to Take Advantage of Online Consignment?

Consignment occurs when one party, known as the consigner, lends goods to another party, known as the consignee, and the consignee sells the goods on behalf of the consigner.
While consignment was originally a way for small brands to gain exposure and sell products without having to worry about the headache of running a storefront, hiring employees and dealing with customers, ecommerce has allowed for online consignment.

Currently, the biggest player in online consignment is the Amazon Marketplace. Amazon carries thousands of brands and products at their warehouses, takes care of the marketing and advertising, runs the online storefront, hires a customer service team and ships the product to the customer. In exchange, Amazon charges a monthly fee in order to list products on the marketplace and takes a small percentage of every sale.

The legal arrangement between a consigner and consignee is outlined in a Consignment Agreement. You can download a free consignment agreement available on internet

Determining Which Online Consignment Store is Best for You

Consignment vs. Wholesale – Wholesale occurs when a company purchases your product directly. The purchasing company gains complete ownership as well as any gains or losses. In consignment, you still own the product and you take the loss if the product doesn’t sell.

Fulfillment Type – Some online consignment services will list the product on their marketplace but will not store, handle or ship the product. You should consigner whether or not you want to take the responsibility of shipping your product in exchange for a higher profit.

Unsold Items – Online consignment stores often have time limits on how long a product will be listed. If the product doesn’t sell, you may have to pay for it to be listed again or to be returned to you.

Product and Inventory Tracking – There should be a clear system in place to track the sale of goods and the movement of inventory. You should be able to see where your inventory is at all times, when your inventory sells, and the selling price.