Thank you for considering consignment with Bee Balm! We’re excited to help you turn your quality, unused items into extra cash. This FAQ sheet is designed to save you time in getting your consignment items together. We try to answer as many questions as possible, and give you the best information to help you decide what to bring in.
How is a consignment store different from a thrift store?
Thrift stores are donation based, and often have after hour drop locations. While you can find some gems at thrift stores, you may have to dig through a lot of ‘meh’ items before you get to the good stuff!
Our consignment store is not stocked with donated items– Consigners bring their best items in by appointment, and we only accept items that we think our customers will love! We split the proceeds of what sells with the person who brought it in. We do a lot of the work for our shoppers up front by looking over and personally selecting only the best items for our store.
Bee Balm specializes in women’s clothing, vintage kitchen and home décor, new, well-made home décor and small to medium sized pieces of contemporary or vintage furniture. We have also brought in lines of brand-new home and gift items, womens clothing and accessories to complement our consignment merchandise.
As our business continues to grow, what we accept on consignment changes in relationship to our past experiences, current trends, current inventory, and the preferences of our established customers and target market.
So… what can I bring in?
Women’s Clothing & Accessories
We currently accept in-season casual wear, athletic & athleisure wear, jeans, business casual wear, coats & jackets, shoes & boots.
Clothing condition must be:
- Relatively new clothing- less than 3 yrs old
- Vintage or retro clothing from the 1940’s to 1990’s- must still be wearable
- Appropriate for the current season
- Clean, unwrinkled, free of rips, stains, tears, pilling or missing buttons.
- Free from strong laundry scents, perfumes, pet hair or cigarette odor
- Items should be on hangers or neatly folded in a laundry basket or tote. Please do not bring items in trash bags.
- Shoes & boots need to be clean inside and out- check your soles before bringing them in!
Designer Handbags – Clean, only minor wear, free from odors
Home Décor Pottery, select art/coffee table books, etc. Not from Hobby Lobby/Walmart/Dollar Stores.
Vintage & Collectables – We love home décor & kitchenware from the 40’s, 50’s, 60’s & 70’s. Condition is important! It’s normal for vintage items to have some signs of use, but we typically will decline items that are chipped, cracked, stained, significantly damaged or dirty.
Furniture Hard surface furniture in good condition such as end tables, chairs, tables, dressers, plant stands, etc. Space is limited for furniture, please check with us before bringing. (Not from IKEA, Walmart, particle board furniture, etc.)
Locally Made Crafts- if you make jewelry, pottery, furniture, work in wood, etc., contact us to discuss consignment!
Other Items We are always on the lookout for fun, interesting, well-made pieces and accept a variety of styles. Not sure? Just call us and ask!
Please note: If you have items that are fragile, heavy, awkward to move or you are just not sure if we can accept them, please call ahead. We want to be certain that we have room for your items, and we don’t want to waste your time.
We Do Not Accept
- men’s clothing
- children’s clothing
- socks, bras, underwear, lingerie, swimwear or other intimates- even if they are new with tags
- replica designer items, because it is illegal to sell them
- used leggings
- scarves or other small accessories
- wedding dresses, mother of the bride dresses or other formal wear
- electrical appliances
- brands such as Wal-Mart brands, Hobby Lobby, Dollar Store
- modern glassware, clear glassware, crystal
What is the process for consigning?
- Schedule an appointment- sorry, but we cannot take walk-in appointments
- Bring your cleaned, ready for the sales floor items to your appointment.
- You may wait and browse the shop while we look through your items, or run errands and come back.
- Items are tagged and placed on the sales floor for 90 days. The price will be discounted after 60 days.
- You will be given the end date of your consignment cycle and must pick up your items within two weeks after the end of your cycle.
- Items not picked up within that two-week period become store property.
Consigner fees- The consigner agrees to split profits from sold items with Bee Balm 50/50, minus a fifty-cent fee per item to offset the cost of supplies and credit card fees. There are no fees for items that are not sold.
Disclaimer Bee Balm is not responsible for items that are stolen or damaged, though reasonable precautions will be taken to prevent such occurrences.
Payment- Store credit or check. Stop in or call after your 90 day consignment period to request a check, or you may spend your balance as store credit at any time. We are happy to mail checks upon request for a $1 mailing fee. Consigners earn an additional 5% if they spend their account balance as store credit!
Due to our large volume of inventory, we are not able to contact consigners at the end of their cycle, nor are we able to collect items for you at the end of the cycle. Consigners are welcome to go through the store and reclaim unsold items after 90 days- these items must then be scanned out of our system by an employee. Per contract, unclaimed items are sold at a deep discount to recoup costs, and eventually donated if not sold.