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How to handle donations

1. How will the donor find us? ConsignmentShops.com advertises heavily with the assistance of participating charities to their members and beyond.  We suggest those interested in donating only contact the stores on our Member Directory. 
2. How to take donations? To make things easy, ConsignmentShops.com suggests the receiving shop take “ALL” donations from the customer. This includes all seasons and items in varying degrees of usability and condition in which they are delivered.
3. What to do with the donations once they are delivered? Most likely you will need to sort through the donations to inspect for “saleable” and “non-saleable” items. Feel free to toss or donate any item that does not fit your stores standards for resale.
4. When should they be put out on the selling floor? Because donations come without strings, you can put them on the selling floor as you have time. One at a time, all at once, or even next year. Your regular consignors should come first as their consignment period is limited. Because these items are not on a time schedule, it doesn’t matter when you actually put them on the floor, assuming you are putting them out in the appropriate selling season.  Prep the donated items on slow days or between customers.
5. How to keep track of these items? Track the sale and life of donated items just as you would a regular consignor. The only differences are you will be paying a charity and you don’t have to interact directly with the consignor.
6. How do we pay the Charity? Payment period is also up to the store owner. We suggest you pay the Charity quarterly.  Quarterly payments keep the paperwork to a minimum for both shop and Charity.
7. Who will donate to your shop? We do suggest that donations are made to the appropriate store to avoid such things as the donation of a dining room table to a children’s shop.  However, not all advice is taken, so we ask that you, the shop owner, take the donations, whatever they are or whatever condition they come in. At your convenience, decide how to handle the individual items. You never know what treasures you will find at the bottom of a bag.  You are not obligated to sell donated items.
8. Pricing of donated items? In an effort to sell the donations quickly, we suggest pricing them moderately. For some shops, these items will be your low-end sales.  This will enhance your volume which will enhance your bottom line.  Save the high priced tickets for the consignors that are watching their items.
9. Is there a specific donation term? Donation term can be the same as your consignment period. Donations should get 60 days if that is your usual term. We suggest a seasonal term to allow the shop owner to put them on the selling floor at their leisure. Seasonal terms will be the least amount of work for the shop owner. Put the item on the floor and forget about it until its time to purge your floor.
10. What to do with the remaining donations? Remaining items become the property of the shop. Once they have run their course, your obligation is over on that item.  Put these items in your bag sales or dollar racks and add the profit to your bottom line. 
11. Will there be a structured donation policy?  No. Asking people to donate by appointment will only complicate matters. We suggest offering people to donate when it is convenient for them.
12. What about tax deductible receipts? Offering tax deductible receipts is up to each store. In our opinion, keeping track of that would be too difficult and we suggest avoiding this option. However, if the donation check is sent to ConsignmentShops.com, you may request a tax deductible receipt be sent to your donator and we will forward it for you. Other charities may do the same, but you would have to check with them directly.

If you have any other concerns on this matter, please do not hesitate to contact us directory. We want to know what you are thinking.

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