Apart from footwear and accessories, most of the consigned goods are clothes
Consigning and shopping
It is not hard to find information about the consignment warehouses on Facebook. According to the introduction, we came to the "consignment warehouse" branded “2nd Hue’’ which is approximately 50m2 wide, located at 44 Tran Phu (Hue city). At noon, this space is vibrant when dozens of young people are choosing the goods to their taste.
Trying out a dress and then turning to pose with another handbag, Kim Hue (student, Hue City) decided to buy both at a relatively cheap price, that was shown through her smile. Kim Hue is a patron of the 2nd Hue consignment store, not only as a customer but also as a consignor.
Next to her, Thu Van (office worker, Hue City) was also taking advantage of the lunch time to come and choose a few shirts to prepare for summer. After a careful look, Van was happy to spend VND 200,000 to buy two new white shirts which had just been consigned by a young girl a week before.
Standing in this space, it is easy to find that customers are mainly young women, most of whom are students. Occasionally there are some middle-aged customers. "I often go to this store to shop. There are not only nice clothes, but sometimes I can also buy some pairs of shoes that were consigned. I sometimes bring some items that I do not use to this store to consign," Ms. My Ly (36 years old, Tran Phu) shared.
Known as the consignment store, however, 2nd Hue’s space is created as a fashion shop with shirts, pants, dresses, belts, shoes, bags being neatly classified which impressed the customers with youthfulness and friendliness. Each item is priced clearly, which makes it easy for customers to consider.
Similarly, another consignment store also bustles with people coming to consign their goods or to shop in the city. Located on Phan Boi Chau street, the consignment store named Hue warehouse has opened for a few months to receive a variety of goods such as clothes, footwear, accessories, etc. On top of that, the warehouse’s owner, Ms. Ngoc Phuong even goes to the consignor’s houses to get the consigned items. "Initially, only my acquaintances consigned their stuff here, and when people gradually know about this, they also come to do so," Ms. Ngoc Phuong said.
Meanwhile, the consignment store located at 34 Le Hong Phong Street (Hue City) owned by Ms. Bao Anh also bustles with shoppers. Ms. Bao Anh said the items consigned here are mostly new to over 80%, so the customers are very pleased. "For a lot of reasons or just because they like to change to the fashion trends, the items usually cost VND 500 thousand, but over a few days being used, they drop to VND 200-300 thousand, so it is easy to sell them."
Mutual benefits
According to many consignment store owners, the simplest way to understand the consignment store is that it is a place for people to consign their used goods as they do not want to use them anymore for some reasons. They must ensure that these items meet some criteria such as being usable, not obsolete or damaged, and that the consignors must set the price of the items themselves.
This model brings the seller - the consignment store – the customers mutual benefits. Phan Nu My Li (27 years old, the owner of the consignment store 2nd Hue), she started this business model quite accidentally, when reading the information on "giving-away clothes" to relatives, charity groups, or the warehouse, and Li chose the consignment store to do business, as well as her startup business to help herself and many others give away clothes and bags that they do not use any more to find for themselves newer and more suitable things.
Consigning time varies by each store. For example, the consigning time at 2nd Hue is from 30 to 60 days, the fee for the store is 35%. Meanwhile, consigning time at Hue Warehouse is between 30 and 120 days, and the fee for the store is from 20 to 35% depending on the consigning time. "If an item is sold, I charge the fee, and if not, it will be returned to the consignor; everything is simple," stated Ms. Phuong, Hue warehouse’s owner.
In addition to the pre-determined price, if the buyer wants to bargain, the warehouse will also take the responsibility of connecting the buyer and the consignor, and help them come to the most reasonable price, mainly to please both the consignor and the buyer.
According to My Li, Ngoc Phuong's experience, the advantage of this business model is that the owner does not need to put a lot of capital into it. "Instead of investing in a new store with spending money on goods as well as renting a place, this business does not need much investment. Most importantly, you have to enhance your prestige and create the brand, customers will find you themselves," My Li said in a proud voice and revealed that the number of customers following her Fanpage is up to 11 thousand members, and she receives 3,000 – 4,000 items per month.
Story, photo and video: PHAN THANH