Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/51643
the initial appointments through inputting and tagging the merchandise, pressing it, and getting it on the rack. Of course, it all starts with picking the right items. Fincke admits that there was a learning curve in deciding what to accept from sellers. Initially, some 40 percent of the items she took in wound up unsold. Now, that's closer to 25 percent or 30 percent. For Gordon, the biggest challenge was price point. "At the beginning, I was way too expensive," she ad- mits. "Now, I think I'm at a good price point." Matthews finds pricing challenging as well, but for a dif- ferent reason. In this economy, she works hard to keep her average price point around $25. For that reason, she tends to shy away when people bring in high-end designer goods that, even at resale prices, would skew well above that tag. Pricing in a Down Economy "Right now, I'm very price conscious," she says. "I spend hours and hours hunting down bargains." She notes that as the economy improves, she may loosen the purse strings and take in more high-end designers on the resale side. Loop's Gordon agrees that the economy has a strong ef- fect on her shoppers. "We all overindulged" during the good years, she says. "People still want to do things the way they used to—to change up their kid's room or their living room— but they have less money." At her store, she says you can walk away with a child's complete wardrobe for a season for less than $100. While Fincke agrees that economy is certainly a driv- ing force in the boutique consignment trend, she also sees another idea at work—perhaps one that will permanently change the way people shop. "People have realized that not everything is disposable," she says, adding that since recy- cling plastics has become the norm, people are more com- fortable with recycling other things. Ultimately, she hopes, that will add up to a permanent change in the way people shop. "I don't know how you can go back to paying $1,000 for a Prada bag when you've paid $300." ● n Divine Consignment Top finds at Re-find (72 Washington St., Salem) include Citizens of Humanity and 7 for All Mankind denim for $36 to $44. The brands can retail new for up to $190. At Loop Consignment (503 Humphrey St., Swampscott), jogging strollers are a top seller, priced from $40 to $200. Visitors to Francie's Boutique (30 Main St., Topsfield; 14 Dock Square, Rockport) might find a new Rebecca Taylor dress ($380) marked down to $65. Boots from Frye, Louboutin, and Ugg are flying off the shelves at Chic Consignment Closet (46 Main St., Andover), which opened in mid-2009 and was named Boston Globe Magazine's "Best of the New" in 2010. At Mint (174 Cabot St., Beverly), which opened in 2010, shoppers might find a pony-skin Fendi purse for $185.