How to Get the Most out of Your Consignment Experience

Katie Surritt
Feb 3, 2021
7 min read

If any business owner tells you they have the happiest clients in the universe and they are singing praise while sliding on rainbows and dancing with unicorns, let me tell you two words: they're lying.

There are good clients, and bad clients.

You make people happy and mad.

And that's just the truth of business.

My most favorite thing about running A-List Tack is hands-down the people I meet.

Horse people are definitely a love-hate part of our industry, but let me tell you...I have met some simply wonderful people who continue to be friends long after I have sold their tack.

But my least favorite thing is also the fact that not everyone is happy all the time.

I have learned there are some really strong characteristics that separate happy clients from unhappy clients.

So here we are.

This post is going to give you some tips on how to get the most out of your consignment experience with me.

You might realize we are basically BFFs already.

Or, you might realize we are better off apart.

And both are totally OK with me.

Guys, it's USED Horse Tack

No but really. It's USED.

Sometimes consignment clients want absolute retail value for their used items and a lot of these clients don't end up selling a lot of tack for a few reasons:

If someone is going to pay retail price, they will just buy it from the store.
Most of the time my buyers also have to pay shipping ON TOP of retail price.
I don't offer coupons like big-box stores, which means they can usually use their 30% code on Statelinetack.com and get the same item for less.

If you have ever consigned with me, you know how upfront I am about pricing items.

I have turned down so many items that I just really cannot sell for the price the client wants and I'm totally OK with that because I'm useless to you if I can't get the price you need and want.

Now I'm not saying that I don't price items what they are worth.

What I'm saying that if you want $15 for a halter you paid $15 for and someone can get it for $12 at their feed store, the sale ain't happenin baby.

The unhappiest consignment clients are those who are only selling a handful of items per month, most likely due to the "retail" mindset.

To get the most out of your sales, it's important that you enter consignment with the flexibility of the market.

Clean Your Tack!

There are some things all of the natural light photography skills I have just can't fix.

And those things are dirt and horse poop.

If you want to get the most out of your consignment, it's always a good idea to clean your tack before giving it to me.

My favorite clients are the ones who clean their horse blankets before they pass them off to me.

NEWS FLASH: I keep your items IN MY HOUSE.

I don't want horse poop in my house!

Buyers don't want horse poop in their shipping box.

Also I don't want horse poop in my house if I didn't already say that.

I simply cannot out-photograph dirty items.

And most of the time dirty items do not sell or they sell for much less.

Some tips for cleaning your items:

Take a horse brush and simply brush your items: horse boots, blankets, saddle pads, and even saddles (with a soft brush). It makes a big difference.
Feeling ambitious? Take your horse blankets to a laundry mat. I can usually get at least 20-30% more for a clean blanket.
Do you have a dish rag that already looks a little grimy? Awesome! Just run that puppy over your leather items to collect any surface dirt.

I offer cleaning as an additional service on saddles and leather tack, and most of the time this will increase your value. However, I always recommend clients taking just 2-5 minutes to brush off the dirt.

It really does make a world of difference in your sales.

Know What and Why You're Buying

All of my bad experiences with buyers have been in-person sales.

Like I'm talking about people who messaged me, wanted to meet IN PERSON, checked over the tack and/or sat in the saddle for MULTIPLE MINUTES.

My worst experiences have been with people who have carried on an hour long conversation while making the purchase. With the item in front of them. IN THEIR HANDS. UNDER THEIR BUTT.

Does this make sense?

No it doesn't.

Let me tell you why.

Because they saw, felt, smelled, and looked over the items in the FLESH. Then, they took them home for multiple days and declared "I HATE THIS!"

Ummmm.............

The problem is not the tack. Or me. Or them.

It's called impulsivity.

The clients I'm talking about here are clients who saw something, loved it, had to have it. Then realized it wasn't what they wanted or didn't have the money to buy it.

Which sucks because I don't do returns/trials to protect my consignment clients and their items.

I don't care if you buy from me, another consignment shop, a private seller, or a store.

But please, for the love all things horses, be realistic about what you are buying.

As a buyer, you do have a responsibility to purchase items that work for you.

I can't tell you what will work for you because I don't know your horse, finances, or other needs.

If you do not know why you are buying an item, or you do not know what you need...you might not want to buy from me. Consider spending your money somewhere that will do returns or saddle trials for several days.

Let's keep a good thing going and not ruin it over an experience like this one.

If you have doubts, please ask me.

If you can't tell already, I'll be real with you.

Don't Buy to have me Re-Sell

This story usually goes like this:

Introduction: Consignment clients sells a lot of tack and makes a lot of money, thus resulting in ultimate happiness.

Rising action: Consignment client thinks..."Wow I could make more money if I only had more tack..."

Peak: Consignment client buys ALL THE TACK LOTS

Falling action: Consignment clients want me to sell ALL THE TACK LOTS

Resolution: I can sell the tack lots for exactly the same amount you bought it for.

Pleasepleasepleaseplease do not buy more tack for the sole purpose to have me sell it.

This has never ever worked out for any consignment client ever mostly because:

If you buy a tack lot, you are getting a bundle deal and pricing for a reason.
You usually want more money than what you paid for it AND what its actually worth which I cannot always deliver on.
I don't always have room for mass amounts of items on consignment - I limit my consignment clients so I can work for each one and ultimately sell fairly for each client.
I still take a consignment fee on all items, which means you probably won't make any more money.

Clients who do this almost never make money on the items.

It's usually best if you just clean out the tack you already have and take your cash to buy tack you really want!

If you have the urge to do this, please check with me before purchasing to avoid any potential disappointment.

I'm a One-Horsewoman Show

Actually, I'm a full-time teacher.

And a wife.

And a horsewoman.

I devote a lot of time to running A-List Tack. If I had business hours, they would look like this:

M-F: 5:00 am to 7:00 am, 3:01 pm - 10:00 pm

S-Sun: All day

But I also do other things like: sleep, teach small humans Ancient World History, and ride & show my own horses. Sometimes I even eat dinner. Crazy, I know.

Sometimes I forget to reply to a message.

Sometimes I forget what day or time it is.

But I really try, and I haven't forgotten about you.

Please remember that.

If you are someone who wants to call me at 10:30 am on a Tuesday and talk about your consignment sales, I'm not the person for you. Chances are I have 30 twelve-year-old students starting back at me (on Zoom) and 28 of them are asking "What do I do?" at the same time.

If you are someone who needs me to update you on every item sold as soon as it's sold, I'm not the person for you. I sell items every single day, but I also have other clients and other parts of my life. But you can check your itemized spread sheet 24/7 :)

If you are someone who needs your items sold within 48 hours of consigning them with me, I'm not the person for you. Again, I sell items every day, but I never guarantee sales within a certain period of time (although I'm usually pretty good at guessing!).

If you are someone who is not flexible on sale pricing, then I may not be the person for you. I can sell a lot more of your items if you let me have some very limited freedom to negotiate. I just simply don't always have the time to call you with an offer for $10 on your $11 item, but if you're flexible - I'll sell that bad-boy instantly for you!

I'm not everyone's person, and I'm OK with that because I am 120 students' teacher, a wife, a daughter, and a horsewoman too.