1. Start reading Sell Their Stuff by Hillary DePiano for free right now
  2. What is a Selling Or Trading Assistant? The Ultimate Overview of Consignment Selling
  3. What does consignment mean? What is consignment selling?
  4. What exactly does a Selling Assistant do? What’s a typical day like?
  5. How does a Selling Assistant make money? Who can become one?
  6. Can eBay Trading Assistants still sell on consignment for others now that the program is gone?
  7. Where can a Selling Assistant sell their client’s consignment items?
  8. What kind of items can a Selling Assistant sell on consignment for their clients?
  9. Sellers, here’s why you should add Selling Assistant services to your existing e-commerce business
  10. From SAHMs to retirees, students to teachers: here’s who should start a Selling Assistance service
  11. Designing your Selling Assistance service from terms and conditions to services and features
  12. Money Matters: How does a Selling Assistant profit from selling items for others?
  13. Resale and the Selling Assistant: Sometimes it’s simpler to just buy the items outright
  14. Selling Assistant fees: What are they and how do they work?
  15. The Pros and Cons of charging a fee for your Selling Assistant services
  16. Does charging a commission on your Selling Assistant services maximize your profits?
  17. Charge a combination of fees and commission to maximize your Selling Assistant profits
  18. Here’s how I profit from my Selling Assistant business
  19. Should a Selling Assistant give their client a deposit or advance on future earnings?
  20. Should the Selling Assistant require a deposit of new clients?
  21. Who pays for what when selling for others on consignment?
  22. Should the consignment seller cover all selling fees or pass them onto the client?
  23. How discounted & free shipping offers affect consignment selling
  24. Shipping costs & selling fees are the least of your worries…
  25. Paying your clients their share of your Selling Assistant sales
  26. Calculating client payments on a Selling Assistant contract
  27. Method of Payment: How should I pay my Selling Assistant client?
  28. Reporting and reconciliation of a Selling Assistant client contract
  29. Build yourself a timeline for paying Selling Assistant clients without getting burned
  30. Money Matters Managed
  31. Your Selling Situation: Where and how should I sell my Selling Assistant items?
  32. Multi-Channel Consignment Selling: List your items on multiple marketplaces for greater exposure
  33. Practice your Selling Assistance service before you start taking on clients
  34. Do you need a storefront or standalone webstore to be a Selling Assistant?
  35. Is eBay still the best place for a Trading Assistant turned consignment seller?
  36. Does the Selling Assistant consignment sell from their own account or the clients?
  37. Should I have a designated selling account for my Selling Assistance consignment service?
  38. The 8 questions you must ask yourself before you start selling on consignment
  39. Good customer service is a selling point that can distinguish your services
  40. The benefits of having a PO Box or other Locked Mailbox for your business
  41. Designate a business phone line for more professional client contact
  42. Consider VOIP & internet-based phones like Google Voice or Skype over traditional options
  43. Offering pick-up services is an easy way to attract local Selling Assistant clients
  44. Should you allow Selling Assistant clients to drop their items off?
  45. Expand the reach of your Selling Assistant service by letting clients ship their items to you

Designing Your Service

Let’s get down to the meat of your SA service. What, exactly, will you be doing for your clients? What will your rates be? What features will you add to attract customers?

One of the best things about starting a Selling Assistance business is how much freedom you have; the options are literally endless, and you have unlimited flexibility in how you run your business. But while all that independence is definitely a good thing, it can be incredibly intimidating, especially when you’re first starting out. You could find yourself either paralyzed by the number of decisions you need to make to shape your service or making choices on the fly without considering their consequences.

It’s an excellent idea to take the time and make some decisions about your service before you actually start taking on clients. Once you’re contracted into your terms, you’ll be stuck with them—even if you later realize they weren’t a good idea. While you’ll likely adjust your policies as you gain experience and your business grows, just a few minutes of planning ahead can save you hundreds of headaches down the road.

To help you narrow down what you might want, this section will run through a variety of aspects to consider. Just keep in mind that what I’m providing here is just a starting point. As you start to shape your service, you’ll realize that each decision can spur dozens of others as you consider each angle. When it comes to anything binding like a contract, it’s always better to overthink and prepare for any eventuality, no matter how unlikely it seems, than to leave yourself vulnerable.

As we go through each of the sections ahead, do yourself a favor and start jotting down what you decide for each. Here’s why: Your list of policies and the contract you’ll have buyers sign are both really just a list of what your business will and will not do. If you take the time to record each decision as we go through the options, we’ll finish this section and you’ll already have the first draft of your contract.

For example, if the next section convinces you to charge a $1 fee per item, write down: “We charge a flat $1 per item fee.” Boom! You’ve started your client contract. Painless, right?