Marie Menk is a seasoned reseller who brings her experience to Zoey’s Home Consignments, a new San Luis Obispo shop she owns with husband Brian Moore.
Menk has been an avid eBay seller for 14 years. She also spent five years helping a friend launch a consign ment store in Colorado. The love of reselling apparently runs in her family; her cousins Lyle and Chad Brooks own Brooks Woodcraft in San Luis Obispo, which has added vintage items to its inventory of unfinished furniture.
Zoey’s, which is named after Menk’s Labrador retriever, opened on April 5. Already, it is well-stocked with a wide variety of goods.
A recent visit revealed styles that included cottage, traditional, Asian, and contemporary. In addition to furniture, Menk carries art, garden items, ceramics, glassware, rugs, linens, and pillows. There is a range of lighting options, from chandeliers to torchieres. To appeal to a broad base of shoppers, Zoey’s offers a range of price points.
“We plan on having a college corner where you can get a table for a dorm room for $10, but we also have a table going for $12,000,” said Menk.
When antique or valuable items come in, Menk often sells them at an auction. Others stay on the floor, including a 1950s hand-painted Scottish grandfather clock that the shop recently had priced at $2,350. Menk will list small or collectible items on eBay and splits the fees with the seller. Items that sell best on eBay include sterling silver, china and art.
Most everyday items are reasonably priced. A tall wood and iron bistro table and chairs set in pristine condition was $150. A handsome solid oak round pedestal dining table was priced at $175.
“You can find such good quality pieces at consignment stores because they really don’t make furniture like that anymore,” said Menk.
There’s another way shoppers can save. Zoey’s utilizes a system where prices gradually decrease over the 60-day contract period. After 15 days on the floor, the item’s price is reduced by 15 percent. After 30 days, it’s 30 percent, and after 50 days the discount tops out at 50 percent. Buyers can nab an item at top price, or take a gamble that it will still be around when the price drops. “It keeps the inventory fresh, plus people like to get a deal,” she said. Zoey’s picks up items and also delivers anywhere between Nipomo and Templeton for a fee that starts at $50. Some items available for sale are listed on the store’s website, www.zoeyshomeconsign ments.com . Menk also encourages shoppers to keep checking the shop for new finds.
“It’s always changing, and you never know what might come in the door next,” she said.
Zoey’s Home Consignments is located at 3566 South Higuera St. in San Luis Obispo, 596-0288.
