Candice Wagener
At Simply Savvy, finds might include designer bags from Cole Haan and Coach.
Spring cleaning often leads to bagging unwanted items and schlepping them over to Goodwill or, if you’re hoping to make a little profit, holding a garage sale. However, a frequently overlooked option is selling through consignment.
Simply Savvy in Middleton has been helping people unload their unwanted goods since November 2011.
“I’ve always loved repurposing quality things,” says owner Erin Dubas. “I would much rather find a quality piece that somebody else is done with than go out and find it new.” It’s one of the factors that sets consignment sales apart from standard thrift stores.
Simply Savvy has specific consignment guidelines and will accept only high-quality or name-brand items that look like new, or darn close.
Candice Wagener
Accessories and art work in many styles are welcome at Simply Savvy.
Consignment works as a partnership between the store and the consignor. For an initial fee of $10, anyone can bring in as many as 50 items at a time for the store to determine their potential value. Accepted items remain on the sale floor for up to 12 weeks, after which time consigners have four days to pick them up; otherwise the store donates them to Middleton Outreach Ministry.
Consignors receive 40% of the sale price of items that are less than $75 and 50% of the sale price for anything $75 and above. On a website called MyResaleWeb, sellers can check on how items are selling and view the credit on their account.
Though the storefront looks small from University Avenue, there’s almost 5,000 square feet of space that houses furniture, dinnerware, housewares, artwork, women’s clothing and accessories and children’s clothing (sizes 2-12).
Dubas says the store currently has 3,000 active consignors and works with 50 to 80 consignors a week. She receives an average of 1,000 new items a week, sometimes twice that: “That’s the great thing about shopping here; there’s something new all the time.”
Staff offers support to those looking to sell their items, too. A woman whose father had just passed away came by to see what could be done about selling some of the estate. Sensing she was overwhelmed with going through her father’s things, Dubas offered to come by later that afternoon to go through the house, room by room, and assess what could be consigned. It’s refreshing to see that kind of immediate, personal attention.
Simply Savvy 6333 University Ave., Suite 102, Middleton, 608-819-8933, simplysavvyconsign.com, 10 am-6 pm Mon.-Fri., 10 am-5 pm Sat.
