Consigning at Labels: 5 Tips and Tricks

Whether you’re consigning for the first time or the hundredth time, we are so excited and grateful for your business! We at Labels pride ourselves in creating a quick and convenient service for you to bring in your items with the knowledge that you might earn a couple of bucks from what you consigned! As fashion trends and processes evolve, we want to share some of our best tips and tricks for consigning with Labels!

Tip One: Cute, Clean, and Current

Those three words are emphasized on our consignor contract, but what exactly do they mean? For our Intake staff, that motto refers to items that are gently used or new with tags–items that are on their first or second life as a garment. These items are washed, true to size (not shrunken), and without stains or accidental rips.

In addition to their condition, we are looking for current styles to keep Labels a fresh and trendy place to shop! Our Intake staff is looking for items that fit with trends and styles of the last five years–this can also impact the brands we select, as certain brands lose or gain relevance and cultural value over time. There are always exceptions to this rule–unique, good-condition vintage is a showstopper at our stores when we take it in!

Note: Seasonality of an item is part of our ‘current’ factor–we sell items with the intent that they will be seasonally relevant for about two months from the time they’re brought in. Because of this, we ask that our consignors bring items in that correspond to the season we’re in! Approximate season-change dates at Labels are as follows:

Fall: August 1 | Winter: October 1 | Spring: February 1 | Summer: May 1

Tip Two: Daily Limits

If you’ve stopped by the Intake counter at either of our locations, you may have seen the sheer amount of items we receive in a day. Our staff works hard each day to go through every consignor’s items with care, but the physical constraints of the store create limits to what we can achieve with the adequate organization required. Because of this, we ask that our consignors limit their daily volume to 25 clothing items (including shoes and purses) and 10 household items per store per day. If you have items in your car that you have been meaning to donate for months and aren’t sure exactly how many items there are, this limit is equivalent to about 1 standard kitchen garbage bag, 2-3 paper grocery bags, or 2 small to medium boxes. For large and/or heavy houseware items, you are always welcome to keep them in your car and ask for one of our Intake staff to come out and give a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ before you haul them into the store.

Tip Three: To Donate or Not to Donate?

When you bring items into Labels, you'll be asked if you would like to donate your items or take them back, should we not find any of the items consignable.
How you answer the question determines our staff’s next steps.

Donate: If you opt to donate, our staff will tag your items according to our color-coded system, so that when an Intake employee is going through your items, they know that anything that does not adhere to our Cute, Clean, and Current standards is okay to put in a donation bag. Those bags are then stored in a separate space that is emptied out weekly by our partners at the local non-profit, WeCare of Whatcom County. WeCare has a large facility off Meridian where folks in need can pay $5 and fill a bag with whatever garments or items they need. When you opt to donate, you are not only earning money off the items we take from you, but you are also supporting low-income citizens and families in the area!

Take Back: If you opt to take back your items, our staff tags them accordingly, and you immediately move up the priority line of bags Intake goes through first. We want to be sensitive to your time, and we want to get your items back to you as soon as possible. The wait time for a take-back is typically 10-15 minutes. However, if the store is busy, the wait could be as long as half an hour. Our staff will tell you your approximate wait time when you are checking in, and you are more than welcome to leave and come back later in the day if you need to. In order to allow for adequate time to go through your items, we ask that consignors who wish to take back their items come in at least half an hour before we close.

Once your items are looked through, anything we decide to pass on will be put back in the container you brought them in and put in front of the Intake counter. Our standards at Intake are the same at both of our locations, so any items that are passed on at one location will also be passed on at the other location. If you have any questions about why a particular item was not taken, you are welcome to ask our Intake staff and they will walk you through their thought process. Please note, any items in front of the counter that are not claimed by the end of the business day will get donated, in order to clear the space for the next day.

Tip Four: Bagging Your Items

The key trait of our Intake process is organization so that we can ensure your items are tagged to your account and you are earning exactly what you are entitled to. In order to keep this process efficient and effective, it is best that your items are brought into Labels neatly folded and placed in bags or boxes that can easily be stored together. Kitchen garbage bags, paper/plastic grocery bags, and cardboard boxes are the best and most common ways our consignors can transport their items. Reusable bags and storage containers are also welcome, however, if you would like your bag or box back, please communicate that to our Intake staff so that they can get it back to you as quickly as possible.

Please note: items brought in on hangers will be unhung, and we ask that consignors take their hangers back with them, whether they are okay to donate or not. We do not take hangers nor does WeCare.

Tip Five: Price Concerns

We are so proud of our ability to provide unique and luxury items to our customers at a more affordable price than traditional retail stores. We achieve this by pricing our items 60-80% marked down from their retail value. Additionally, we are honored to provide a place where people can earn some money back from their contributions to our store, as consignors who bring in items earn 40% of our sale price immediately after an item sells. After your items are looked through by our Intake staff, they are passed along to our team of taggers, who take considerable care to research each piece and price it appropriately, considering its retail value and current condition. If you bring items into Labels that are high-priced and you are concerned about their sale price or what you will earn off of the sale, our Intake staff can take note of how much you spent when you initially purchased the item and our taggers will take that information into account when pricing. To keep track of your items and their sale prices, be sure to ask our Intake staff how you can set up your consignor account online!

Thanks to you, Labels has cultivated a community of over 50,000 consignors and customers, and we are so excited to continue providing Whatcom County and the greater Pacific Northwest with style, convenience, and fantastic deals!