Most consignment stores pay consignors 40–60% of the sale on clothing, split furniture around 50/50, and pay 60–70% on luxury pieces. Write the split, the term (usually 60–90 days), the markdown schedule, when a consignor’s share is earned, how and when you pay, and what happens to unsold items into one signed agreement. Then run intake, pricing and payouts the same way every time, so the agreement is what you actually do.
The four systems a consignment store runs on
A consignment store sells other people’s things and keeps a share of each sale. That one sentence hides four systems you will run thousands of times a year:
- The split: how each sale is divided between the store and the consignor.
- The agreement: the signed terms that say what happens to an item from drop-off to sale, markdown or expiry.
- The payout: when a consignor’s share becomes theirs, and how they receive it.
- Intake: what you accept, how it is priced and tagged, and how long it stays.
If you are still planning the shop itself (costs, permits, the lease), start with how to start a consignment store. This guide picks up from opening day.
Consignment split percentage: what is typical
The split is the number consignors ask about first. Pick it from your costs, not from the shop down the road.
A split is written as two percentages, and the single most common dispute is which side each number belongs to. "60/40" in one shop means the store keeps 60%; in another it means the consignor does. Always write it as "the consignor receives X% of the selling price".
Published ranges come mostly from software vendors and shop contracts rather than a single industry survey, so treat them as a starting point and check what the shops near you pay:
Category | Typical consignor share | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Everyday clothing and kids | 40–60% | Low prices, high volume, lots of handling per dollar |
| Furniture and home | Around 50% | Floor space, moving and delivery eat into the store’s share |
| Designer, luxury, jewellery | 60–70%, more on very high tickets | A smaller percentage of a big price still covers the work |
Ranges reported by consignment software vendors and published shop contracts (sources below). Your costs decide your number.
Three refinements most stores end up using:
- Tiered splits by price. A higher consignor share above a threshold (say, over $500) keeps high-value consignors from selling privately.
- Store credit at a better rate. Many shops pay more when the consignor takes credit instead of cash (one shop adds a 10% bonus), because the money is spent back in the store.
- Fees, stated up front. If you charge an intake, account or payout fee, put the amount in the agreement. A fee nobody expected is the fastest way to lose a consignor.
Run your own numbers with the calculator below, and see consignment commission splits for the detailed comparison of 50/50, 60/40 and 70/30.
ResaleOS calculates these splits automatically on every sale and tracks exactly what each consignor is owed — no spreadsheet math. See automated splits & payouts
A real example
One boutique’s published agreement pays consignors 40–70% by price tier, runs 60 days (90 for luxury), allows one week to collect unsold items, pays balances over $100 automatically in the first week of each month, and adds 10% when the balance is spent as store credit (Selective Seconds).
The consignment agreement: clause checklist
Every policy in this guide belongs in the agreement. If it is not written down and signed, it is a favour, not a rule.
Parties and items
Store and consignor names, contact details, and an itemised list with condition notes. The item list is usually an attached intake receipt.
Ownership and risk
The consignor owns each item until it sells. Say what happens if something is lost, stolen or damaged, and whether you insure it.
Pricing authority
Who sets the price, whether the consignor can set a floor, and whether you may accept offers.
Split and fees
The consignor’s percentage, any tiers, and every fee in dollars.
Term and markdowns
How long items stay on sale and the markdown schedule, with dates or day counts.
When the share is earned
After the buyer has paid in full, and after your return window closes.
Payouts
Schedule, methods, minimum amount, and how long an unclaimed balance is held.
End of term
The pickup window, and what happens to items that are not collected: donated, or the store’s property.
Where you sell
In store only, or online and on marketplaces too. Consignors should know their item may ship.
Termination and disputes
How either side ends the agreement early, and which state’s law applies.
A practical agreement is one or two pages, signed once per consignor, with each drop-off added as an itemised receipt that refers back to it. That way a policy change is one new agreement version, not a re-signed stack of paper.
How to pay consignors
Payouts are where trust is won or lost. Make them predictable and visible.
Decide when money becomes theirs. The consignor’s share should become payable only once the buyer has paid in full and your return window has closed. Paying on the day of the sale means clawing money back on every return. A short hold (two weeks for in-store sales, longer for online orders that can be returned after delivery) is common and easy to explain.
Pick a schedule you can keep. The usual options:
Schedule | Works for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly, on a fixed date | Most shops: one batch, one bank run | Consignors with a big sale wait up to a month |
| Twice a month | Busy shops with frequent sellers | Twice the admin unless it is automated |
| On request, above a minimum | Shops with many small balances | Unclaimed balances pile up: set a time limit in the agreement |
| Instant store credit | Shops that want money spent in store | Needs a clear credit balance the consignor can see |
Offer the methods consignors actually use. Check, cash, store credit, bank transfer, PayPal, Venmo and Zelle cover nearly everyone. Whatever you use, record every payout against the consignor’s balance so the statement always reconciles.
Show them their balance. Most of the "where is my money?" calls disappear when consignors can look up what sold, for how much, and what they are owed. A consignor portal does this without a phone call.
Keep the tax side simple. In the US, payments to consignors for selling their own used goods usually do not need a 1099-NEC; see do consignment shops send 1099s, and confirm with your accountant. For the mechanics inside ResaleOS (balances, holds and recording payouts) read how consignor payouts work.
Intake: what to accept and how
Intake is a data-entry job with a customer standing in front of you. Make it fast and consistent.
Set acceptance rules before the first drop-off
Which seasons you accept and when (for example spring and summer from February), condition standards (clean, working, no stains or missing parts), brands or categories you do not take, and a per-visit item limit.
Choose appointments or drop-offs
Appointments keep intake predictable for staff; drop-off with a 24–48 hour review suits busy shops. Either way, say how rejected items are returned and how long they wait.
Price on the spot, from evidence
Price from what similar items actually sold for, not from what the consignor paid. Record the price and any floor the consignor set on the receipt.
Tag every item with a barcode
The tag ties the item to the consignor and the contract date, so the split, the markdowns and the expiry all run from the scan. See label printing for consignment stores.
Hand over a receipt
An itemised receipt with prices, the start date and the end-of-term date is the consignor’s copy of the deal. Email it so it cannot be lost.
If intake is your bottleneck, the bigger lever is labour per item: see consignment intake and AI.
Pricing and markdowns
Most shops run a 60- to 90-day term with automatic markdowns, so stale stock clears without a conversation. A common pattern:
Days on the floor | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 0–30 | Full price | Best chance of selling at the agreed price |
| 31–60 | 20–25% off | First automatic markdown |
| 61–90 | 50% off | Second markdown; consignor is reminded the term is ending |
| After 90 | Pickup window | Then donated or the store’s property, as the agreement says |
Furniture and luxury often get longer terms or no markdowns; fast-moving apparel can run 30–45 days.
Put the schedule in the agreement and on the receipt, and let the system apply it. A markdown done by hand is a markdown that gets forgotten. For pricing at intake, see how to price consignment inventory.
Expiry: what happens at the end of the term
Expired items are where most consignor disputes come from, because the consignor forgot and the store needs the space. Three rules keep it clean:
- Notify before the end, not after. A reminder a week or two before the term ends, and again when it does, is fair warning.
- Give a short, fixed pickup window. One to two weeks is common. After that, the item is donated or becomes the store’s property, exactly as the agreement says.
- Make pulls cheap. Pulling items for pickup is real labour; see consignor pulls and what to do after the consignment period ends.
Copy-ready consignment agreement template
Have it reviewed locally
Consignment and unclaimed-property rules differ by state and country. Have a local lawyer review your version before you use it.
Consignment Agreement
This agreement is between [Store name] ("the Store") and [Consignor name] ("the Consignor"), starting [date].
- Items. The Consignor places the items listed on each signed intake receipt with the Store for sale. Each receipt forms part of this agreement.
- Ownership. The Consignor owns each item until it is sold. The Store will take reasonable care of items but is not liable for loss or damage beyond [$ amount / the item’s agreed price].
- Pricing. The Store sets prices [with the Consignor’s agreement / at its discretion]. The Store may accept offers at or above any minimum written on the receipt.
- Where items are sold. The Store may sell items in store and online, including on third-party marketplaces.
- Split. The Consignor receives [X]% of the selling price, before sales tax. [Optional: X+5% if taken as store credit. Items over $[amount]: Y%.]
- Fees. [None / an intake fee of $X per item / a payout fee of $X].
- Term and markdowns. Items are offered for [90] days from the receipt date. Prices are reduced by [25]% on day [31] and [50]% on day [61].
- When proceeds are earned. The Consignor’s share is earned once the buyer has paid in full and the Store’s [14]-day return period has passed. A returned item goes back on sale and its share is reversed.
- Payouts. Earned balances are paid [monthly on the 15th / on request] by [check, cash, store credit, bank transfer]. Balances under $[X] roll over. Balances not claimed within [12] months are handled as [state law requires / store credit].
- End of term. The Consignor may collect unsold items within [7] days after the term ends. Items not collected become the property of the Store, which may donate or sell them.
- Ending the agreement. Either party may end this agreement with [14] days’ written notice. Unsold items are then returned and earned balances paid.
- Governing law. This agreement is governed by the laws of [state].
Signed: ______________ (Store) ______________ (Consignor) Date: ________
Prefer a form you can fill in and download as PDF or Word? Use the free consignment contract template.
Running all of this without a spreadsheet
Each system above is simple on its own. Together, across hundreds of consignors and thousands of items, they are what a spreadsheet cannot keep straight: whose item sold, at which markdown, under which split, and whether the return window has closed.
That is what ResaleOS account management does: each consignor’s split and terms live on their account, the share is added to their balance once a sale is paid, payout holds wait out the return window, and you pay by store credit, check or an export for your bank, PayPal, Venmo or Zelle. Consignors check what sold and what they are owed in their own portal. The point of sale scans the barcode tag and applies the split at the till, and online sales land on the same balance. See how it fits a whole shop on the consignment stores page.
Run splits, payouts and intake in one place
Try ResaleOS for 30 days for $1, and we move your consignors, items and balances over for free.
Frequently asked questions
What is a typical consignment split percentage?
Most stores pay consignors 40–60% of the selling price on clothing, around 50% on furniture, and 60–70% on designer and luxury pieces. Write it as the percentage the consignor receives, so nobody reads it backwards.
What should a consignment agreement include?
The parties and an itemised list, who owns items and who carries the risk, pricing authority, the split and every fee, the term and markdown schedule, when the consignor’s share is earned, payout schedule and methods, the end-of-term pickup window, and how either side can end it.
How do consignment stores pay consignors?
Usually monthly on a fixed date or on request above a minimum, by check, cash, store credit, bank transfer or apps like PayPal, Venmo and Zelle. The share becomes payable once the buyer has paid and the return window has closed.
How long do consignment stores keep items?
Most run a 60- to 90-day term with markdowns along the way, often 20–25% off at day 30 and 50% at day 60. Furniture and luxury items often get longer, and fast-moving clothing shorter.
What happens to consigned items that do not sell?
Whatever the agreement says. Usually the consignor has a short pickup window, often one to two weeks, after which the item is donated or becomes the store’s property.
Should I pay consignors more for store credit?
Many shops do, typically a few percentage points more, because credit is spent in the store. Put the credit rate in the agreement so it is not negotiated at the counter.
Do I need software to run a consignment store?
Not to start, but splits, markdowns, holds and payouts across hundreds of consignors outgrow a spreadsheet quickly. Consignment software applies the split at the sale and keeps every balance current.
Sources
Consignment terms and markdowns: Aravenda, how long to hold unsold consignment items. Agreement clauses: UpCounsel, consignment store contracts. Split ranges: PuppetVendors, consignment commission rates. Example shop contract: Selective Seconds consignor agreement.
