Back By Popular Demand Consignment

And then there was the customer I will never forget.

I hadn’t owned the store more than two years when a woman walked up to the counter holding a shirt. Dead serious, she said, “I’m going to buy this shirt, but it’s too small for me, so I need you to discount it.”

I honestly thought she was joking.

I looked at her and said, “I’m gonna need you to think about what you just said and then get back to me.”

Without missing a beat, she replied, “I know exactly what I said. I need you to discount the shirt.”

Now, I’ve heard a lot of reasons people want discounts over the years. A missing button? Sure. A stain? Fair enough. But asking for a discount because the shirt doesn’t fit you was a new one.

I just stood there blinking for a second, trying to process the logic.

In her mind, she was doing me a favor by purchasing something she couldn’t actually wear. It was that classic customer mentality of, “I’m helping your small business, so you should give me something extra.”

Finally, I said, “I’m going to let you sit with that thought for a minute,” and I walked away.

To this day, every time someone asks me about the craziest things I’ve seen in consignment, that moment makes the list. Not because it was the most outrageous, but because she was so completely confident that her argument made perfect sense.

The older I get, the more I realize retail isn’t really about clothes. It’s about people. And people are absolutely fascinating.