Consignment Tips: Housewares

One of Labels’ hidden gems for first-time consignors who come in expecting your everyday clothing store is our housewares section. Not only will we take your gently used garments and accessories, but we are more than happy to sell your gently used home goods and decor! Whether you’re getting ready to pack your first box of consigned goods or you’ve been bringing in gadgets for years, here are some Housewares Consignment Tips from our staff to keep in mind during your next visit!

Tip One: Daily Limit

Like our daily clothing limit, we have restrictions on how many houseware items we can take in a day in order to maintain the organization necessary to process each item. We accept 10-15 housewares per store per day.

(Note: a set of dishware can count as 1 “item”, however, we do ask that you refrain from bringing in multiple large sets of dishware at once, as we want to take care and time to inspect each set).

Tip Two: Cute, Clean, Current, Condition

When housewares are taken in for inspection, we are looking for common signs of previous use to determine if they are consignable. These signs include fading, cracks or chips in paint or material, stains or wear on fabric, missing pieces, and items that have not been cleaned. Although our Intake desk is equipped with gentle wipes to clear away dust or small spots, we ask that consignors do a quick overview and cleaning of their items before they bring them in.

When we look for housewares that are ‘current’, that doesn’t necessarily mean high-tech, flashy items. We want to provide goods that can fit seamlessly into most modern homes, so niche items such as crystal, china sets, and novelty pieces are hard sells. Mid-century modern is a very popular home aesthetic right now, so we look for neutral, timeless items.

Tip Three: Packaging

It’s no question that finding a stand mixer or coffee maker at a secondhand store is exciting, especially when it’s in good condition. However, it can be tricky when the appliance doesn’t come with its original manual or packaging to confirm it has all its parts. It’s for this reason that we tend to only take in appliances that come in their original packaging.

It is greatly appreciated by our Intake staff when fragile items are separated from clothing or other items being brought in so that we can be aware of which bags or boxes need to be handled with extra care. Wrapping glasses or mugs in old newspaper or cloth is one of the easiest ways to make your consignment experience one without any broken glass, and we are happy to take any unwanted wrapping materials off your hands to use when bagging items for customers!

Tip Four: Know Before You Go

For harder-to-transport items such as furniture or large dish sets, it can be tedious to haul it into your car and drive it to the store, only to be told it’s not going to be taken in. We want to help our consignors avoid this situation as much as possible, so we provide an avenue for you to get these larger items pre-screened for Intake! Simply take a few pictures of the item or items (the entire item, close-ups of any key details or imperfections, measurements/dimensions if possible) and send them to us at labels.bellingham@gmail.com with your name and any information on the item. Our team checks our inbox multiple times a week and passes these houseware inquiries to our home goods experts to get their insight on whether we would take the items or not, so you can expect a response typically within a week.

For any other questions about consigning housewares, feel free to reach out to us via email or call us at either location!