LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Responding to the financial challenges faced by many, combined with a desire to make clothes recycling fun, Shine Stores launched a web site, www.shinefinds.com, last summer. The fact that they are doing their part to keep discarded clothes out of the landfills could be added joy for all of us. Turns out, 20% of our landfills consist of clothing.
Shine carries pre-owned apparel and accessories for men, women and children. The majority of the inventory comes from consignors able to upload their items remotely and make money when they sell, 40% of the selling price. There is no membership requirement, listing fee, or registration required to shop or consign. If uploading is a chore, consignors may ship a box to Shine headquarters and the company will photograph, write copy and price the items.
Founder Patricia Wood launched Shine to fill a gap she sees in the retail landscape. “There are boutique consignment stores for women who bring in high end designer labels, but the rest of us really have no easy way to sell our nice clothes,” says Wood. “And, men have almost no outlet at all.”
There are designer goods on the Shine site like Ralph Lauren, Nicole Miller, Calvin Klein, and many others. There also may be designer garments with no label at this point in its life. Bargain hunters will find super low prices, often lower than thrift stores. Great vintage items come up on an advanced site search.
Most resale stores are arbitrary about what items they accept, creating an uncomfortable selection process carried out in front of the consignor, who often has their nice items handed back to them.
“People may, of course, donate items to one of the many charitable thrift outlets and take the small deduction allowed by the IRS at the end of the year,” notes Wood. “But, if getting back some money from good condition items seems like a good idea, Shine is the place to expose them to a national audience.”
Wood is a seasoned retail and marketing professional having spent 20 years with major department stores, then off-price chains.
“Pat is a serial entrepreneur who is combining all of her experience and marketplace skills, taking the best of other resale models and layering on a social and financial awareness not being served very well by others,” says industry analyst Steven J. Roy, President of CCSR Commercial Capital, a Shine advisor.
Company expansion plans are underway. In the meantime, buying and selling activity on the site is brisk. Shine’s slogan is “Consignment for the rest of us”….turns out there are a lot of us.
For more info, watch the video on www.shinefinds.com.