What's your experience with consignment apps for retail stores?

[BrennaCGCo]

Just a post for others to use my experience as a resource, for apps/software that help manage CONSIGNMENT.

I own a brick & mortar retail gift store, with Shopify for my online store and my POS.
My store has a very large number of products and variants.  I have about 150 Consignment Vendors, and also a large number of brands for my store owned inventory.

Through my experiences, I have found that most consignment apps/software were built for CONSIGNMENT shops that sell used, or do not restock products. They are trying to pivot to accommodate shops like mine, but are not entirely there yet.

Through my experience, I have used the following:
- Ricochet (before Shopify)
- Aravenda (formerly Resale Global )
- Vendor Consignment (by Visceral )

If you are looking for consignment software and considering any of the above, feel free to reach out and ask me questions.  I will gladly advise of the advantages/disadvantages of each, and answer questions as best I can.

Through the changes, I have thrown away literally thousands of dollars unnecessarily in my quest to find the right fit.  And it was at the advice of another store owner that I followed up with, based on a review she left, that I made the latest change.  If I can help someone else avoid losing money and finding a good fit right away, I would love to pay it forward.

B

[LynnAtLOL]

Hi Brenna, 

I found your post while searching for ways to streamline our retail store's consignment process. We are actually in a similar position: gift store with a significant amount of consignment vendors and we also purchase additional products from distributors. 

Recording and paying out the consignment vendors at the end of each month requires a lot of work... and spreadsheets! We've recently looked at a few apps and noticed the same issue: most are built for re-sale businesses. I'd be curious to hear what app or solution you ended up going with.

[rlt125]

Hi Brenna, thank you for your willingness to help a fellow business owner struggling to find solutions. We are in the process of finding a solution to managing our consigned inventory and  vendor payouts. I need to be able to receive inventory differently than regular stock so that my COGs don't increase and my financial software (QuickBooks) doesn't create a bill for it. Do these apps help with this? Which app have you found to be the most complete, flexible and easiest to use?

[BrennaCGCo]

Hello!

I currently use Vendor Consignment, via Visceral Apps. Customer service is
very good, and price is extremely fair. Very happy with it.

I have formerly used Ricochet and Aravenda which I DO NOT recommend.

I'm unsure what you mean in relation to the Quickbooks question. I don't
currently have my financial software linked to Shopify in any way.
But if you have further questions, I'm open to a phone call.

Take care.
Brenna

[collabks]

Hi Brenna,

We tried Visceral back in 2021, but they did not have a way for vendors to enter their own inventory. Has that changed? We are currently using Consignor Access separately from shopify and it is very expensive. We have shopify, but we aren't really using it because we havent found a consignment app that allows vendors to enter their own inventory. 

[rlt125]

Hi Collabks, 

Have you found a consignment app that allows vendors to enter their own inventory? I'm looking into Consign Cloud right now.

[BrennaCGCo]

On second thought to my last reply... could you not use Shopify's 'IMPORT Product' function?  And provide the vendors with the template to complete and upload that way?

[BrookeGillard1]

We have tried the 'import product' option, however Vendors are regularly confused by the process as the spreadsheet that Shopify provides is confusing and given they don't deal with it every day in the same way we do it is hard for them. 

[emilykassmeier]

Hi @rlt125, if you're still in the market for a consignment app, I'd like to recommend trying ConsignMint. My team launched ConsignMint earlier this year and just recently released a new feature that allows vendors to submit products (or edits to existing products) for review. No spreadsheets needed. Once submitted, product requests can be approved, declined, or changes can be requested. 

If that sounds like something that could fit your needs, we'd love to have you take the app for a spin and let us know what you think. ConsignMint does offer a free trial so you can test it out without any commitment. I'm happy to answer any questions you might have about the app, just let me know how I can help!

[BrennaCGCo]

Hello! No, I haven't consider the option for allowing vendors to enter their own inventory.  Everything we have goes on to our website, and I would want full control of the appearance of that.
Would be interested if you find something that combines all the aspects effectively!

[TheaDett]

Hi Brenna, I would love to have a chat with you.

I'm based in South Africa with my own brick & morter consignment store. Can you send me your email address please?  

[BrennaCGCo]

creativegoodsandco@telus.net

[TheaDett]

Hi there, just wondering if you received my email?

[BrookeGillard1]

We're in a similar boat with lots of Vendors and we're struggling the most with the onboarding/inventory processes. Makers seem to be confused and it is creating a lot of extra work for our in-store team just to upload products into our system. If anyone has suggestions on how to streamline this process we are all ears!

I am currently looking into the apps you listed above, but if you have further insights into making the new inventory/new vendor process easier let us know! 

[LeslieAlta]

Brenna, 

I have had a Shopify consignment store for a few years now.  I am looking for some software to make my life a little easier. I sell high-end furniture online via consignment. I have a spreadsheet for every client in Google Docs and I’m looking for a way to streamline all of this so that I don’t have to go back and upload and update the spreadsheets to Keep track of sales Etc. I would love to get your advice on it as it seems like you’ve tried them all. 

I appreciate any help you can give

Leslie 

[BrennaCGCo]

Hey Leslie!
I'd love to go over them with you.  Feel free to contact me at creativegoodsandco@telus.net as well and we can connect and arrange a phone call if you prefer.
I would highly recommend the consignment app by Visceral. If you are currently using spreadsheets.. I think you will LOVE it.  Effective, customer service has been superb, the least expensive of the options I've tried and the best app by FAR for me.

In my experience.. Ricochet didn't allow me to connect to a shopify website platform.
So I switched over to Resale Global (Aravenda).. the cost was steep, and the flow of data is completely backwards, so often if Shopify had a glitch.. the communication to the app would double or sometimes triple pay my vendors.  They have no quality check in place to alert you when that happens.  Because my items are smaller.. i never noticed for years until it happened to do it on a larger item for a vendor that had few items in store.    I can't imagine how much money I lost over the years.
The visceral app has been a DREAM.  feel free to contact me about how the changeover went, tips, and any other questions you have!
Brenna

[DebSumCA]

Hello! Im currently using ConsignCloud but looking at switching to Vendor Consignment. The features VG seems to be missing is product expiry and bulk markdowns (Ideally auto bulk markdowns!). How do you handle these issues? 

I rely heavily on CC expiry but CC does not offer an auto bulk markdown feature. 

[max-linus]

Hi Brenna

I have a new app to add and try for your list. But first as many shops start out and maybe looking for something for free with Excel or Airtable: here you can find a free Airtable consignment template to get started. However, for a more seamless and automated approach, I recommend using a consignment software.

Circle-Hand sounds like a great fit. It offers a consignor portal, 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.

Would be very happy to hear your thoughts and give it a try 🙂 

Best,

Max