Guest Blogger Elaine Viets

The Mystery of Consignment Shopping
By Elaine Viets

Why do customers insult an item when they want to buy it?

It’s one of the great mysteries of retail. I’ve seen it in store after store.

For my ninth Dead-End Job novel, I did my research at Hibiscus Place Emporium on chic Las Olas Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale.

Recycling is the rage. Reselling your designer duds is doubly fashionable. Fashionistas earn a little green for their last season’s styles. (They wouldn’t be caught dead wearing anything that isn’t cutting edge.) Women who appreciate quality but can’t afford suits that cost the same as a house payment will find designer labels they can buy. They don’t care if hot pink is so last year.

When I was at the consignment shop, an older woman I’ll call Mrs. Rude wanted a well-cut jacket.

“It’s twenty-five dollars,” the shop owner said. “It’s a Gucci.”

“It has a stain on the collar and a loose button,” Mrs. Rude said. “Can’t you lower the price?”

“I’ve already dropped the price from forty-five,” the store owner said. “It’s a $500 jacket. It was new this season. A nice pin would cover the stain. Michelle Obama has made pins fashionable.”

“Don’t want it,” Mrs. Rude said. She dropped the jacket on the counter and slammed out the door.

I thought she’d thrown away a bargain.

The store owner shrugged off her behavior. “It’s a ritual,” he said. “The idea is to convince me I’m selling something so worthless I’ll give it away. I’m immune to it.”

A store can only slash prices so far. Then the unsold clothes are donated to charity.

In Half-Price Homicide, I named the designer consignment shop Snapdragon’s Second Thoughts. When a customer is found hanged in the dressing room with a Gucci scarf (talk about dying in style), Helen investigates the murder to save her job.

Helen and I both know bargaining is permitted at consignment stores. The price is usually negotiable, if you ask at the right time – politely.

Quality consignment stores often have a three-tier pricing system, with the dates marked on the tags. Let’s say you like a chartreuse Laundry sweater set. The price tag will show the date it went on the rack – May 15 – and the price – $40.

A month later, on June 15, the same sweater set will be $32.

After July 15 you can buy it for $20 or less.

If you’re in the shop May 12 through May 14, ask the shop owner to lower the price. Chances are the shop will knock it down to $38—or even $32. The closer you get to the final sale date, the cheaper that sweater will be.

And the faster it will sell. If you see something you like, buy it immediately.

Too many good bargains are lost to second thoughts. A pink shirt from Barneys New York got away when I decided to wait a day. Someone else wanted it.


In Half-Price Homicide Helen has her own wants. She’s still on the run from the court in St. Louis. The divorce judge awarded her obnoxious ex-husband, Rob, one-half of her future income. She wound up in South Florida. Now her greedy ex has tracked her down.

Helen wants to clear her name with the court.

She wants her awful ex to go away.

She wants to marry the man she loves.

In Half-Price Homicide, Helen will get everything she wants—and regret she gets what she wants most.

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Elaine visit North Carolina with the “Unarmed But Dangerous” tour June 5 through 8. She’s traveling with mystery writers Donna Andrews, Meredith Cole and Rosemary Harris through the Research Triangle. For details, go to her website.