All the Details: How Do I Consign?
Make a Consignment Appointment
You can make an appointment by calling or stopping by our Customer Service Desk during business hours, or through our online appointment scheduling.
Appointments are 30 minutes long, giving us time to process your items and get them tagged, and must be scheduled. Walk-ins are no longer accepted. Appointments can be scheduled out through the current and next month. Next month schedules are released at the beginning of each month and are filled on a first come first served basis.
Purchase or Print a Contract
MTS Consignment Contracts are the piece of paper you fill out with the information about your items for us to use to process and tag them. This paper also includes a your legally binding consignment agreement for that day’s consignments and must be completed and signed each time. Contracts can be downloaded and printed at here, or purchased at the Customer Service Desk during business hours. They cost $0.25 for 1 contract, or $1.00 for 5 contracts. Cash only.
Fill Out the Contract
What can you consign? Our Categories List says what types of items we take, and what Item Type to list them as on your contract.
What can’t you consign? See our Permanent Non-Accepting List, which has all the things we will never take, based on health & safety laws, as well as our store logistics. Also see our Weekly Non-Accepting List, which has all the categories of items we are not taking that week, due to low inventory space, as well as the everyday contract limits.
Got seasonal items? Seasonal and holiday specific items can only be brought in during certain time frames throughout the year, depending on when they will sell best. You can find these acceptance dates on our Seasonal Schedule.
The Categories List, Permanent Non-Accepting List, and the Seasonal Schedule for this calendar year can be found online at mcchordthriftshop.org/consignment, or you can grab a hard copy at Customer Service.
The Weekly Non-Accepting List is issued each week, and can be found on our Facebook Page (facebook.com/mcchordthriftshop), can be listened to by calling 253-503-0077, or can be emailed to you (sign-up at mcchordthriftshop.org/consignment).
Fill out your contract with your contact information and the date of your appointment. Each contract has space for 12 items, however, these items may include sets of up to three same category items as one line on the contract. You do not have to fill the entire contract with items, however, more items may not be added after your contract has been processed, even if space remains. Initial all contract sections at the bottom, and sign and date.
You set the prices on your items on each contract line. Price minimum is $2.00, and may not exceed the retail cost of the item, unless proof of increased value is presented to a manager prior to consignment. You may markdown your item any time while it is consigned, at Customer Service.
All consigned items must be in CLEAN condition and GOOD WORKING ORDER. All electronic or mechanical items must be tested prior when consigning, and the consigner is responsible for bringing any additional items needed to test, including batteries. MTS staff may refuse any item at any time.
Bring Complete Contract & Items to Your Appointment
Bring your completed contract, and all items listed, to your appointment at the Consignment Desk. You will be called up to a desk at your appointment time, and asked to present your DOD ID and provide your account number (last 4 of Sponsor SSN). At the end of your appointment, you will receive a copy of your contract for your records, which we highly recommend be kept. An MTS staff member will go over your contract to ensure no questions or errors, input the information into the system, and have tags printed out for each listed item. You will confirm the tickets accuracy, pair it to the correct item, and MTS staff will secure the tag and prepare it for the sales floor.
Items Sell & You Get Paid Monthly
All your items get approximately 8 weeks of floor time from the date of consignment. The expiration date for your items is listed on each contract. Extra time or extensions will not be given for store closures or holidays. Seasonal items have shortened floor time, as noted on the Seasonal Schedule.
If an item sells, it gets tracked to your account, and you will be paid out at the end of each month. Checks for your sales are ready to pickup by the 2nd Tuesday of each month, for the previous months sales. To pickup your check, bring your DOD ID to the Customer Service desk, and sign out your check. Non-volunteers receive 65% of the sales price for each item sold.
If you would rather get your check mailed to you, you must leave a self-addressed & stamped envelope at the Customer Service Desk by the last day of the month. Name on the envelope must match the name on the account. Checks expire 90 days after date of issue, and will then be reclaimed. Those funds become a donation to the MTS.
What If My Item Does Not Sell By the Expiration Date?
If you do not wish to keep your unsold item, you don’t have to do anything. It will automatically become a donation to the MTS.
If you wish to take your unsold item home, you may withdraw the item on or before the expiration date for a small withdrawal fee. To withdraw an item, gather it from the sales floor and take it to the Customer Service Desk. MTS staff will need to see DOD ID to match the account for the item and will process the withdrawal. Only MTS staff may take a ticket off of an item. You may NOT withdraw an item that is past expiration, unless arrangements are made with a manager.
If you wish to consign your unsold item again, you must first withdraw the item and then consign it on a new contract as normal. Items priced under $20 must be taken home for 30 days before re-consigning. Items $20 and over can be re-consigned twice, and then must be taken home for 30 days.
Re-consigned items, whether consecutive or not, must have a markdown of 30% or more. Re-consigned items must be marked as such on the second contract.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is consignment?
In simplest terms, you bring your items in and the McChord Thrift Shop sells them for you!
Who can consign?
Any person of 18+ years of age, with valid DOD ID, may consign. Only one consignment account per household.
When can I consign?
Consignments are done by appointment only. We do not accept walk-ins.
Our consignment hours are Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and the first and third Saturday of the month, from 9:30am-12:30pm.
Wednesday appointments are reserved for Active Duty servicemembers and their families. ID is required.
See our scheduling page to book an appointment.
I can’t get an appointment! What should I do?
We release our consignment schedule in a 2-month rolling period. The next month’s opens at 8:30am on the first business day each month (e.g. the February schedule opens on the first business day of January).
Our consignment program is in high demand. Our schedule typically fills up within 24 hours of being released. In higher-demand seasons, it can sometimes fill up in as few as 5 hours.
We suggest signing up for our email alerts. We send out an email each month right when our schedule opens.
If our schedule has filled up for the month, we suggest keeping an eye on our online schedule. We always have multiple cancellations each week. Those usually pop up 12-24 hours before the appointment.
What price should I put on my consignment item?
You control the pricing of your consignments. Management reserves the right to refuse anything priced over retail value.
We cannot advice you on individual items. But keep in mind that:
Our customers come into our store looking for a good deal.
Your consignment items are competing with our donations and clearance section, which is typically priced very low.
We suggest looking around our donations & clearance section to get a feel for our store’s pricing. When pricing donations items, we typically start at 50% of retail, and then reduce based on condition and projected demand.
In our experience customers are often willing to pay a bit more for higher-quality consignment items, but not much more. The #1 most common reason a consignment item doesn’t sell is because it’s overpriced.
How much do I get for each sale?
Regular consigners get 65% of the sale, while the MTS takes 35%.
If you are one of our qualified volunteers, you get to take an extra 10-20%!
Where does the MTS do with that 35%?
Our store is 501(c)4 Non-Profit, and all the sales revenue get poured back into our local JBLM community in the form of welfare funds grants and scholarships to military dependents! See our outreach and scholarship pages for more details.
I am PCSing into or out of JBLM. Do I get any added bonuses?
Yes! PCSing families get some added perks, like 2 contracts per appointment, and fewer item limitations. See an MTS manager for details!
What happens if one of my consignment items gets lost, damaged, or stolen?
While the MTS makes every effort to ensure the safety and security of all items within, the MTS does not assume responsibility for loss, damage, or theft of consignment items, and will not compensate for it. Consigners utilize the consignment opportunity at their own risk, and recognize the ongoing possibility of theft, loss, and/or damage to their items.