How to efficiently manage a consignment store on Shopify?

[Wolfgang_Halldo]

Hello Shopify Community!

My girlfriend and I are building a consignment store on Shopify and we've been stumped on what is the best way to go about it. 

Our goal is to have it set up so that our consigners can sign in and check to see if they're products have sold, and if possible to have the sale split at the sale (we recognize this may not be feasible, but if it is let us know!). 

If it isn't possible to split the profits at the sale, what is the best route way to pay our consigners after the sale? 
We are thinking we'd pay our consigners on the fourth Friday of every month.

Can you make payments like this through Shopify or is it necessary to use an external app like Pay Pall?

Do you use Shopify and Shopify apps exclusively or is it necessary to have external apps to keep track of inventory and consigners information? 

What is the best way to make it easy for returning consigners? 

If you own a consignment store on Shopify, what are some challenges you've faced or things you wish you knew earlier?

Essentially our sites goal is to be run like an Art Gallery. We going to build a beautiful website where the artist can have us list multiple pieces of theirs and we handle shipping, listing and etc. for 90 days and they get 60% of the revenue at after the sale. 

Teach us! Share your experiences, let's start a discussion! 

Thank you,

Wolf & Kay

[Aria]

Hey Wolfgang,

Aria here, I'm on the Social Care team at Shopify. ?

The easiest way to set up a consignment store would be to use a marketplace app. We have the following options in our app store: 

• Multi Vendor Marketplace 
• Multi-vendor marketplace by Marketcube.io  
• Multi Seller Marketplace by Shopiapps

Each one works differently but the potential is there to automatically pay 'commission' to your consigner's. You could also let them set up an account to make it easier for them when they return. 

I don't have any personal experience of running a consignment store but I would imagine one of the toughest parts of an online consignment store is dealing with shipping. Your consigner would be paying to ship the items to you and then you'd ship it to your customer, or possibly back to the consigner if it doesn't sell. Often the stores that work the best only accept local consigners to cut down on shipping costs. 

I would check directly with the app developers with regards to how the commission is paid out. I believe they use Paypal for that but they may not all be the same. 

I don't believe you'd need any external apps for any of this. If you do find there's an important function you can't find a solution for, please let us know so we can help you with that. 

I hope you get some merchants weighing in who have some experience in this department. Let me know how you get on. 

We're always here for support if you need it!

Aria
Social Care Guru
Shopify

[ResellXL]

You missed Aravenda! 

[frontflip]

Hey Wolf & Kay!

I know it has been almost a year since you originally made this post, but I wanted to chime in incase you guys may still find it hard to make a consignment business model work on shopify!

When I was working on a sneaker consignment store I was also looking for some sort of software that would make it easier to manage consignment, exactly like the things you mentioned: 

• splitting the sale,
• knowing which consigners to pay and how much
• a place consigners to be able to see if there products have sold

Over the past few months we have decided to build a product that does just that and more. 

We have talked to tons of consignment stores owners and are consignment business owners ourselves! 

With that knowledge we built a software that helps consignment businesses decrease cost with tools that saves them time, and increase revenue by making it easier to connect to more sales channels (like Shopify).

You can view our site here: www.frontflip.co

With our Shopify app you will have everything you need to make a consignment model work with Shopify.

Feel free to shoot me a email:

[email protected]

Always happy to chat!

Menan

[nib]

Can you guys help me set up?

[Archyv1]

Hey Nib, are you still looking to a consignment software? 

[ResellXL]

We use ResaleGlobal.com (who is a Shopify partner) which manages our inventory, POS, consignor accounts and everything.  Its really easy and they have an in house team who sets it all up for you so you don't need to hire an outside consultant.  They are very helpful and customize the software to your needs.  So much better than other software for consignment because it doesn't have to be downloaded and you can access from anywhere in a browser.

[threebees3]

Do you use this for a store front shop or all online? We have a website and are looking at having  a storefront with vendors in store. 

[chanceg]

https://apps.shopify.com/vendor-consignment

[ResellXL]

Yes. They are in India and have a lot of add on apps that they own  - even have typos on their website - so if you want English speaking live help not just chat there are better options out there. 

[MomLife]

Hey Chanceg, do you use the vendor consignment app yourself? What has your experience been with it?

[ResellXL]

Aravenda is a Shopify Partner app and the team sets everything up for you and helps you with everything you need with actual people you can call for help.  Great service and they boost your website too to increase sales and help w cross posting to other selling sites.  

[ResellXL]

We use Aravenda and the team is amazing. It’s an app but they set it all up and help boost your website too.

[Archyv]

Hey might be late but if you haven't found the solution yet. 

Check out backflipconsign.com -> they help you manage consignors, payouts, inventory, and works with Shopify. 

[Archyv1]

Hey, use jointrace.co

Helps with managing & payouts for sneaker consignment stores. 

[ResellXL]

We use Aravenda for all that.  It’s a shopify app but a real company where they actually  answer the phone and help you!   Not just chat or email support.  They have all the features and support you need with the power and piece of mind with Shopify POS and e-commerce.  Www.aravenda.com. 

[jstaab]

Hi all, I know this is an old topic, but I just wanted to plug ConsignCloud. It's a full-featured consignment backend for your Shopify store, and includes split calculation, integrated consignor payouts, automatic emails, and a consignor portal for keeping in touch with your vendors. There's a 14-day free trial, so you can give it a try to see how well it works before committing to a subscription.

[coco124]

years later how is everything. what software did you guys ended up use ? what is your current software. is there are software is not monthly charge like $200 per month. I only one I found is Liberty Consignment. one time pay.  Thank you so much

[ResellXL]

We use Aravenda because it’s browser based, directly integrated with Shopify and Shopify apps which has great merchant rates. You can have unlimited users and consignors for one price. We pay annually - a single amount for everything including service. No extra fees. Good luck with your business!!

[max-linus]

Hi Wolf & Kay,

Managing a consignment store on Shopify can indeed be a bit complex, especially when it comes to handling consignor payments and inventory. Many store owners start with tools like Excel or Airtable: here you can find a free Airtable consignment template to get started. However, for a more seamless and automated approach, I highly recommend using a consignment software.

Circle-Hand sounds like a great fit for your needs. It offers a login portal for your consignors, allowing them to check the status of their products. It also automatically creates payout receipts and provides price suggestions for items. Additionally, Circle-Hand uses AI-based image recognition to generate SEO-optimized descriptions, includes a POS system, and handles differential taxes. Everything syncs effortlessly with your Shopify store. You can easily install the Circle-Hand Shopify App to start. 

As one of the founders, I might be biased, but we have customers worldwide who use our software every day and love our product. We add new features every week. You can try Circle-Hand for free with this link.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out! We are also happy to connect you to other shops, so you can exchange some ideas or ask questions. 

Best,

Max

[ResellXL]

We’ve used Aravenda for years and are very happy with it.

[emilykassmeier]

Late to the party here, but if you happen to still be looking for a solution, I'd suggest trying ConsignMint. We released the app earlier this year and it sounds like it could meet the need here.

With ConsignMint, you can easily track inventory, sales, and orders, as well as manage your vendors and track payments on an automated schedule that you set. Payment splits can be set per vendor or per product. You can invite your vendors to access their own dashboard where they can view details about their inventory, sales, and payouts — plus vendors can even submit products (or edits to existing products) for review. No spreadsheets needed.

ConsignMint does offer a free trial so there's no commitment needed to test out the app. If you have any questions, let me know and I'd be happy to help answer them! Would love to hear your thoughts on the app if you decide to try it out.