What’s Happening to DC Consignment Shops?

I had some free time last Sunday, so I wandered into the local Dupont consignment shop hopefully to at least spot some really cool stuff (I’m trying to restrict my shopping for the next month).  February is their big sale when everything on sale is an additional 10% off.  Not much of a sale, but it’s better than nothing.  I was dismayed-not one pair of shoes appealed to me (in fact I saw some from 9 months ago).  I wasn’t impressed by the clothing either.  All the high-end designer brands seemed very over-priced.  This was confirmed when I wandered into the clearance section and found an Akris pencil skirt for $126-not much of a steal at all, especially when I bought virtually the exact same skirt for $95 last summer (also on clearance).

My Sunday experience had me wondering…how well are local consignment shops actually doing?  Do they feel they need to mark up their clothes to support a steady stream of profits? A few weeks ago, I had stopped by another local consignment shop on M street (Georgetown) to pick up some items that never sold.  Not only did all but one of my items (a measly scarf) not sell, but many items that I coveted hadn’t moved in five months.  This is probably another case of overpricing.   Or perhaps customers are eagerly waiting for the store to have it’s semi-annual 70% sale (any day now)-virtually the only time items will be marked market price.  Until then, I’ll be frequenting Reddz Trading, a high-end thrift shop in Georgetown with the best secondhand purse selection in the city.  I actually have a good amount of store credit because they eagerly buy my clothes up front instead of them spending months hanging around a consignment shop.  So hats off to Reddz and….shame on you overpriced DC consignment shops (you know who you are).