Read more: Local, Economy, Business, Consumer, Consignment Shops, Marquette Consignment Shop, New Business, Used Items, Used Items Sold, Cheap Furniture, Cheap Clothing, UP Consignment Shop, Pre Owned
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MARQUETTE -- It's an age old concept: one person's trash is another's treasure. It's an idea that's exploded in consignment shops, and it works because everybody wins. Ordinary people have a venue to make money off items they no longer need; consignment shops take a percentage of that profit, and consumers get a bargain.
"There probably isn't any place else you can go to get the most bang for your buck," said Marquette consignment shop, ReBlossom co-owner, Sharon Rule. "At a consignment shop, you can purchase something at a fraction of its original cost."
While retail has struggled in our tight economy, resale has grown. The National Society of Resale and Thrift Stores showed a growth in net sales of 12.7 percent between 2008 and 2009.
7's consignment owner, Steven Pupak, is part of that statistic. He just opened his Marquette shop last month.
"Business has been good, profits are up, and so are consigners," said Pupak. "We had 40 consigners the first month."
Pupak consigns just about everything at his shop, but there are specialty shops, too. Just down the road, ReBlossom consigns women's designer clothes.
A lot of people have the common misconception that consignment shops are old or smelly, but that's not the case at all. In fact ReBlossom has a lot of unique new items that have never been worn.
"Oftentimes the items that we receive here have the tags on so they haven't even been worn or they've been worn maybe once or twice," Sharon Rule said.
Bottom line: consignment is contagious. Whether you want to buy or sell at a shop, if you visit one, you won't walk away empty-handed.
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