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| - Let me first say that the Brass Armadillo is a great place to SHOP. I find lots of neat stuff in there, sometimes for a bargain, but typically the Antique shop fare with Antique shop prices; not that there's anything wrong with that.
But today I come to you as a former SELLER from the Brass Armadillo. And for this, the Armadillo gets two stars.
I am a BSBA graduate. I understand business inside and out. I examined the Brass Armadillo's model, and it's brilliant...for everyone except the sellers. I did the math; I am completely baffled how anyone could possibly make any money selling things at the Brass Armadillo.
For a glass display case, the Brass Armadillo charges you about $85 per month (80 + fees) and then ~10% off each sale. Sounds attractive, until you consider that most large items simply do not sell.
I have been going there for years, and the store always looks the same. Most large items remain in the store for long periods of time and do not move anywhere. Which means essentially that you can expect to sell (if you're lucky) about $100 worth of small stuff a month and make exactly no money from it. Which is what I did for two and a half months before saying "no more."
The management staff treated me somewhat apprehensively when I originally inquired about the case, which was off-putting. Maybe because I'm a younger guy in my twenties and most other sellers must be around middle-age or better. But after a while (20 minutes of waiting to be exact) I was finally helped with the paperwork so I could move my products in.
Here's a fun fact: sellers can "volunteer" to work in the store in exchange for credit toward their monthly fees. Which amounts to about $7 an hour if you do the math. Despite this, these volunteers were the ONLY people that were genuinely friendly and helpful toward me. They always complimented my case and the artwork of mine that I sold in it.
Anyway, long story short. Nothing significant sold. I was losing money in spades. I sold some small rare items for meager returns that failed to even help me break even after the dues and fees. When I came in to discontinue my membership, the management was less-than empathetic to say the least. I would venture to say they didn't give a damn at all.
Mind you, the place has about two dozen glass cases empty at any given time. To retain selling customers, a logical measure would be to perhaps reduce the monthly fee or take some steps to help ensure customer satisfaction in some way. But no, not for the Brass Armadillo, they are above that and would rather have empty cases that net them zero profits, I guess.
In conclusion, my experience as a seller in the Brass Armadillo has been thoroughly dissatisfying. I would urge anyone considering to sell there to first try Craigslist or eBay because you'll lose a lot less time and money that way and it pains me to say that people on the internet will probably be more friendly toward you.
Here's to a few hundred dollars and a paycheck's worth of my time that I'll never see again.
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