What consignment means at the counter
The supplier (or an artisan, or a rug importer) places goods in your store while keeping ownership. You display and sell; when a piece sells, you keep an agreed share and owe the rest to the consignor. Unsold goods go back. Common in rugs, specialty and antique pieces, and sometimes end-of-line tile a distributor wants moved.
When it makes sense
Good: expanding into a category without tying up cash (a rug wall in a tile showroom is the classic), testing a new supplier's line, or carrying high-ticket statement pieces you'd never buy outright. Bad: filling the floor with consigned goods you don't believe in — floor space has a cost even when the stock is free, and every consigned piece displaces something you earn full margin on.
Get the agreement in writing
Four clauses cover most disputes: the split (percentage or fixed amounts, and who sets retail price), the term (how long goods stay before return or markdown), risk (who covers damage or theft while goods are in your store — check your insurance), and settlement timing (monthly, with a statement listing what sold).
Track it like real inventory, separately owned
The cardinal sin is mixing consigned goods into owned stock. They need to be received, displayed, sold and reported like everything else — but flagged, so a sale correctly books your share and the consignor's payable, and reports don't count someone else's goods as your assets. A notebook can't do this at scale; a POS with consignment support built in (as TilesPOS has) makes each month's settlement a report, not an archaeology project.
Settle like clockwork
Consignors are suppliers you pay after the sale — treat them with the same discipline you expect from your own account customers. A monthly statement of what sold and what's owed, paid on schedule, is what keeps good consignors bringing you their best pieces first.
Consignment without the side ledger
TilesPOS handles consignment and sample sales natively, alongside your owned stock.