Everyone is looking for that perfect gift for Christmas-even if that gift belonged to someone else first.
"When I originally opened I thought, 'Who is going to want to buy used stuff for Christmas?' And I was dumbfounded," said Dan Shorr of Pop's Resale.
Dan, or "Pop" as he is affectionately known by his customers, opened his store in the Meadowthorpe subdivision off Leestown Road almost 10 years ago. He claims that October through December is his busiest time of the year. When asked what made him decide on resale he joked, "Not being independently wealthy," through his thick Detroit accent.
From the outside, Pop's looks like a quaint little shop among shops, but the inside boasts an impressive 6,000 square feet encumbered with everything from pinball to polyester. With his wide array of stock, it's no wonder that Shorr's clientele is just as intriguing. "I've got a 5-year-old autistic child that comes in here and looks at our records harder than anybody, to 85-year-old customers looking for oddball things."
Pop's Resale is known for its considerable selection of vinyl albums. Even after a recent storm (the storm) claimed "35,000, 36,000 records," Schorr was pleased to say, "I still have 85 percent of my inventory left."
If records are not on the list, Schorr suggests a Super Nintendo or Sega Genesis. "We're the only place in town that sells older games and game systems," he said. Along with the vintage games, Pop's also has a terrific collection of vintage clothing for men and women.
Brenda Moreland, owner of the Sassy Fox, said sales pick up in her consignment shop this time of year. "December we're busy more with formal wear, party wear. We're not so much a gift-type store," said Moreland. "We do sell a lot of holiday outfits, Christmas sweaters, and our new sterling jewelry."
The Sassy Fox has been at its Richmond Road location for 15 years. Moreland recently opened a second store in Louisville with her daughter. Unlike Pop's Resale, Brenda caters strictly to women but says of her customers, "that's the beauty of consignment stores; a variety of clothing brings a variety of clientele."
Shoppers won't find vintage clothes at the Sassy Fox. "Everything here has a shelf life so we can offer current styles," she said, "and it's amazing the name-brand quality items you can find in a consignment store." She points to a Balenciaga motorcycle bag hanging from a nearby wall that flaunts a $3,000 price tag. "Just like Lindsay Lohan's," she said.
Moreland said she feels consignment shops are a good outlet for women to feel better about the choices they make when shopping. She has many items in her store with the original price tags still on them. "Women just do that," she laughs, [they buy things] they "just can't live without, then when they put them on they're like, Nah. Here they don't have to feel guilty. They can get some of their money back. If an item doesn't sell and the client doesn't want it back, it goes to charity and the customer receives a tax writeoff instead."
One thing most consignment store owners agree on is that they're happy to send their customers to a competitor if they don't have what someone wants. "My competitors, I feel are my assets," said Pat Frye, owner of Double Exposure consignment store on Lansdowne Drive. "No one store has everything so, if I don't have it someone else might."
"I find in retail there is no rhyme or reason," Frye said of the approaching holiday season. Even though she won't know if a Christmas onslaught is approaching, she outfits her store's front window for each holiday, respectively, so she's ready. She credits her year-round success to her location beside the Lansdowne Post Office. "Everybody who comes in has to get out of their car, there's no drive-through."
The shop is on the smaller side which evokes a feeling of intimacy and charm. Besides a grand selection of clothing, it is filled with antique paintings and furniture pieces. "Smaller is better," said Frye. "This way I have contact with all my customers."
Customer service is the main priority with all three of these business owners. Schorr of Pop's Resale said it well. "I just want people to visit. They don't even have to buy anything," he said. "I get as much pleasure from knowing that people come in here and have a good time walking through."