Melissa Adams shows purses to Claire and Tony Parasiliti
at Dzines Consignment in Boca Raton.
By Paula Detwiller
Got stuff? Sure you do. Stuff your kids left behind. Stuff your parents left behind. Stuff you bought but don’t use anymore.
Whether we’re downsizing, settling an estate, or just cleaning out the garage, we’ve got stuff we need to get rid of. The natural question arises: Can I sell any of this?
Well — maybe. If your stuff has market value, you’re in luck: There’s an entire service industry here in South Palm Beach County built around selling used goods. We visited coastal-area consignment stores, auction houses, and one busy eBay selling assistant to give you a taste of your options.
At Great Stuff Previously Enjoyed, on George Bush Boulevard
in Delray Beach, Susie McTighe sells antiques and high-end decorative
items for a 50/50 split. Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
Consignment: No two shops are alike
A 4-foot-tall silver Buddha stands prayerfully in the front window of Great Stuff Previously Enjoyed, a high-end consignment store just west of the Intracoastal in Delray Beach. Like all of the pre-owned treasures inside — the pink satin loveseat, the Pang Jen paintings, the mounted African antelope head — Buddha is living here temporarily until a buyer comes along.
Owner Susie McTighe has been running this shop for the past 15 years. She splits the proceeds of her sales 50/50 with her sellers, as do most consignors. But if you brought McTighe something valued at more than $5,000, she’d gladly reduce her cut rather than have you sell it elsewhere.
Prices are based on research into the value of the item, and then negotiated with the seller.
“My pricing model is kind of opposite the auction houses. The auctioneers start low and let the bidding move the price up. I start the price up here,” she gestures, “and I’ll work down if I have to.”
With six rooms to display her eclectic mix of consigned items, McTighe doesn’t have a hard-and-fast time limit for how long things can stay. “I’ve sold things that have been here for a year.” she says.
At Off the Wall Consignments in downtown Lake Worth, the merchandise is just as eclectic, but tends to be more affordable.
“We sell a lot of smaller-scale items, beachy-looking things, for people who may be outfitting their rental or seasonal condo,” says owner Liz Lipman. On this day, two white midcentury modern leather chairs sit in the middle of the store next to tables, lamps, and décor from various vintages.
Sellers agree to a three-month consignment period here. If their stuff doesn’t sell, they must pick it up or arrange to have a charity do it.
At Way Too Cute boutique down the block, the consignment period is 60 days, and the merchandise is distinctly different. Shabby chic, French cottage, and Florida-coastal furnishings rule the day. Owner Marcia Sheehan has a painter friend who transforms consigned furniture into MacKenzie-Childs look-alikes.
“I’m very picky,” says Sheehan. “I take top-of-the-line, unusual, unique things. And I rearrange the store frequently to keep it interesting.”
When it comes to selling used clothing, shoes and handbags on consignment, opportunities are plentiful in our coastal area.
In Boca Raton, a favorite store is Dzines Consignment Boutique on Federal Highway near Spanish River Boulevard. Owners Paula Adams and her daughter Melissa sell everything from ball gowns to blue jeans. You’ll even find consigned Lilly Pulitzer items hanging from a rack labeled “Lilly’s Pad.”
Paula Adams says sellers need to understand consignment-store principles of supply and demand.
“For instance, we have plenty of size 8 pants right now,” she says. “Even if you brought me wonderful size 8 pants, I couldn’t take them.”
Adams and her daughter price items at 30 percent of estimated retail cost. “If the clothes have brand-name tags, or are the hot color of the season, we’ll move up the price,” she says.
Under their 60-day contract, if an item doesn’t sell by Day 30, the price is cut 30 percent; at Day 45, they may mark it down 50 percent. If it doesn’t sell, you must pick it up within three days or else it’s donated to Boca’s Hospice by the Sea Chest thrift store. You’ll get a receipt for the tax deduction.
Nathan Mayell accepts bids from online customers
during an auction at Bill Hood Auctions in Delray Beach.
Bill Hood II accepts live bids during an auction at his family’s gallery in Delray Beach.
Auction houses: Going once, going twice …
There’s a public auction once a month at Bill Hood & Sons Art & Antique Auctions in Delray Beach. Over at Bruce Kodner Galleries Inc. in Lake Worth, they hold three or four auctions a month on the premises. But here’s the best part for sellers: Both auction houses list their items on websites that enable bidders around the world to participate as if they were present.
“The three most important words are exposure, exposure, exposure,” says Bill Hood Sr.. “You have a lovely item, and the more people who are exposed to it via Internet live auction, the more people we have bidding.”
At a recent auction, an Internet bidder somewhere in the world jumped the bid hundreds of dollars ahead, beating out all competitors for a flawless Art Deco Rosenthal figurine.
“If you’re a buyer, you hate that,” says auctioneer Bill Hood II. “But if you’re the seller — wow!”
Local auction houses charge sellers a commission of between 30 and 40 percent of the final bid price. Both Hood and Kodner emphasize they are willing to negotiate that downward, depending on the value and amount of the items you have to sell. And both have secondary options for items that get no action: The Hoods have quarterly tag sales, and the Kodners run an antique mall next door staffed with vendors who may buy or consign your stuff.
Kyle Reinberg, 17, presents an item for auction at Bill Hood’s
Auction house. The Rosenthal plaque sold for $375.
Assisted eBay sales: Skip the learning curve
You could spend a lot of time and energy trying to sell your own stuff on eBay. Or you could have Gus Enos do it, from his humble “e Drop N Sell” shop on the corner of Federal Highway and George Bush Boulevard in Delray Beach. It’s one of the few outlets of its kind still in business.
If Enos believes your item will fetch at least $100, he’ll do extensive pricing research, take the photos, write the description, and set up an eBay auction or a fixed-price listing, whichever is better for you.
He asks for a 30 percent commission on the final sale price of the item. You must also pay eBay 15 percent. But oh, the convenience.
“I answer all the questions, handle payment processing, and take care of shipping. You simply get a check,” he says.
Among his biggest sales: the mint-condition Hermes handbag he sold for $9,000, and the grand piano he sold for $12,000. He is proud of his eBay status as a Top Rated Seller with 100% positive feedback. But be forewarned: He turns away about half of the items people bring in.
“They come in with Beanie Babies and Barbies, and most of the time there’s just no market for it,” he sighs. “I tell them, maybe you should put it on Craigslist, or have a yard sale, or donate it to charity.”
Places to sell your items
A sampling of businesses that offer consignment or auctions:
A Consignment Gallery
350 S. Federal Highway
Deerfield Beach
(954) 421-2395
www.aconsignment gallery.com
A Summer Place
131 E. Hillsboro Court
Deerfield Beach
392-0336
or (954) 426-6106
www.asummerplace
consignments.com
Bill Hood & Sons
Art & Antique Auctions
2925 S. Federal Highway
Delray Beach
278-8996
Blast from the Past
640 E. Atlantic Ave.
Delray Beach
272-8290 or 424-1660
Bruce Kodner Galleries
Auctioneers/Appraisers
24 S. Dixie Highway
Lake Worth
585-9999
Consignments by Sally
306 W. Mango St.
Lantana
547-4848
www.consignments bysally.com
Coconut Consignment Company
68 S. Federal Highway
Boca Raton
362-7040
Dzines Consignment Boutique
3333 N. Federal Highway Boca Raton
362-0234
Great Stuff Previously Owned
901B George Bush Blvd.
Delray Beach
243-0010
Email: stuffs@bellsouth .net
Jamie’s Classics Consignments
103 S. Third St.
Lantana
585-9808
www.jamiesclassics.com
Kofski Antiques
Multiple locations
585-1976
Off the Wall Consignments
513 Lake Ave.
Lake Worth
582-0212
www.offthewall consignments.com
Mark’s Interiors on Consignment
67 S. Federal Highway
Boca Raton
391-1052
www.marksconsignment .com
Palm Beach Home Interiors
716 Lake Ave.
Lake Worth
249-7002
Past Perfect Consignment Showroom
99 NE Mizner Blvd.
Boca Raton
338-5656
Perfectly Imperfect Consignments
3333 N. Federal Hwy. #2
Boca Raton
756-9267
True Treasures
Multiple locations
(877) 235-8110
Way Too Cute
617 Lake Ave.
Lake Worth
547-6100
boutique.com
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