Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Uniform Consignment in Denver

I connected recently on Twitter with @UniformConsign. After checking out their website, I wanted to learn more.  I exchanged a few emailed with Kim Vigil, the company's owner to conduct this virtual interview.  I also think its worth noting that she offers highly personalized customer service to local customers in the Denver area, they have expanded to partner with schools in El Paso Texas and Birmingham, Alabama.

Q) What motivated you to start this local business?
A) Uniformconsignment.com is a  family owned business based in Denver, Colorado that wants to make the buying and selling of school uniforms a simple and less expensive process. We are committed to our schools, the children, and their families to help provide quality garments at all times. We understand that it is hard to make it to the uniform shop during their hours, especially if they are across town from your home or workplace. We support our children, and any type of clothing swap that happens at the schools, but we wanted to provide an alternative since, let’s face it, most of us get up early and stay up late to keep our families running!

Q) So how does it work for parents that want to sell gently used items for consignment at Uniform Consignment?
A) We specialize in Dennis, Educational Outfitters and French Toast Brand uniforms but do carry various other brands that meet basic uniform requirements. The clothing is offered in all sizes and will be labeled as good, better, best.
  • An example of "Good" is no tears, some wear, maybe some slight markings but still acceptable. We sell good items at 50% of retail.
  • "Better" is considered no tears, less wear, looks like we’ve loved the garment and are easily able to pass as “nearly new”. “Better” items are sold at 65% of retail.
  • "Best" is categorized as looking close to brand new but someone did wear it before you. The items are free of all tears, marks, wear, etc. The “Best” items are sold at 75% of retail.
We buy your items at 20-40% of what we will sell them for and the price is determined based on the condition the merchandise is in, the season, current resale values and our experience of how quickly the merchandise will sell based on any current trends. We will pay you right away so you don't have to wait for your items to sell in order to get paid. The proceeds of the sale are split with 20-40% of the sale price going to you, our clients, and the difference will be retained by Uniformconsignment.com to keep the website in operation, allow for free local delivery in the Denver Metro Area, and any other unexpected expenditures.

Q) You don’t have a physical retail location or an online store, so how does a parent buy items from Uniform Consignment?
A) We set personal shopping appointments or sell online. We love personal shopping so your child/children can try items on to insure the best fit. Email us to set a convenient appointment today. We are always getting new items in and inventory changes constantly. If we don’t have what you need right now, we will notify you once we do and offer free delivery if you’re located within the Denver Metro area.
We typically sell items at 25-50% off retail pricing but since we haven't raised our prices since the spring of 2011, on most items marked "best" we're finding the pricing is more like 30-35% off retail.

Q) You donate some proceeds back to the schools. Tell me how that works?
A) We give 5-10% to the school that the uniform is purchased for as a charitable contribution to aide in their fundraising efforts. 5% is given to schools that are not yet signed up as affiliates and 10% is given to all affiliate schools (also called “school of choice). Some families donate items and choose not to take any proceeds; instead your full proceeds will be donated to your school as a donation in your name. Checks are sent to all schools that have credited sales quarterly unless otherwise requested by the school.

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