How Consignment Software Helps Consignment Stores

By Kristy Bauer

Consignment shops are businesses that sell items on behalf of their owners, who are usually individuals or other businesses, such as thrift stores, antique dealers, or estate sales. The consigned items remain the property of the owners until they are sold, and the consignment shop pays them a percentage of the sale price, usually ranging from 25% to 60%.  

The consignment shop is responsible for displaying, pricing, and marketing the items, and can also offer services such as cleaning, repairing, or appraising them. Managing a consignment shop can be challenging, as it involves keeping track of inventory, consignors, sales, customers, and finances.  

Consignment shop owners and managers need to ensure that they provide quality service to their consignors and customers, and that they comply with the laws and regulations of their federal, state and local authorities, such as collecting and remitting sales taxes, issuing 1099 forms to consignors, and following consumer protection laws. They also need to optimize their inventory management, pricing, and marketing strategies to maximize their profits and customer satisfaction.  

This is where consignment software can help. Consignment software is a type of software that primarily helps consignment shops and thrift stores with inventory tracking and auditing. Consignment software can also provide other features and benefits, such as automating and streamlining operations. Consignment software can help consignment shops automate and streamline their daily operations by creating and printing receipts, invoices, and labels, scanning barcodes, generating reports, and sending reminders and notifications.  

There are many consignment software solutions available on the market, each with different features, pricing, and reviews. Some of the popular consignment software solutions can help you with:

Enhancing customer service and loyalty

Consignment software can help consignment shops enhance their customer service and loyalty, by providing features such as customer relationship management (CRM), loyalty programs, gift cards, and online access. These features can help consignment shops communicate with their customers, offer incentives and rewards, and provide convenience and transparency.

Increasing sales and profitability

Consignment software can help consignment shops increase their sales and profitability, by providing features such as point of sale (POS), online store, marketing tools and hard goods estimators for pricing recommendations. These features can help consignment shops price items favorably, sell their items online, accept various payment methods, and promote their business through social media, email, and SMS.  

Ensuring compliance and security

Consignment software can help consignment shops ensure compliance and security, by providing features such as regulatory reporting, data backup, and encryption. These features can help consignment shops comply with the legal requirements, protect their data from loss or theft, and prevent fraud and identity theft. There are many consignment software solutions available in the market, each with different features, pricing, and reviews.  

One of the most popular consignment software solutions is Bravo Point of Sale. Bravo is a leading provider of an all-in-one POS solution tailored for a diverse range of specialty retail industries, including consignment stores and buy/sell/trade retailers. We have a deep understanding of the consignment industry with more than a decade of experience and 1,500 customers in the secondhand retail market. Bravo Point of Sale includes built in inventory management, hard goods pricing estimators, customer management, eCommerce, mobile apps, text messaging and compliance.  

Consignment software helps consignment shops with various aspects of their business-like inventory tracking, auditing, customer service, sales, profitability, compliance, and security. Consignment shop owners and managers should consider investing in a consignment software solution that suits their needs and budget, and enjoy the benefits of automation, optimization, and innovation.

About the Author:

Kristy Bauer | Head of Product Management

As Head of Product Management at Bravo, Kristy is responsible for leading Bravo's development roadmap. Kristy has over 15 years of experience working across all levels of pawn and FFL. Having worked as a pawnbroker and in sales and product development for multiple pawn software companies, including PawnMaster, she's a pro at understanding industry trends and market outlooks, and how that can impact Bravo customers. She is a product expert who knows what matters to pawnbrokers, and is known to go above and beyond to help develop the best solutions for their needs.


Kristy holds Masters certificates in Internet Marketing from the University of San Francisco and UX Design from the UX Design Institute in NY.