Blog

Field notes from the SMCo team.

Insights, lessons learned, and practical guidance for nonprofit thrift operators — drawn directly from our work across 150+ locations.

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Recent writing.

December 28, 2021

Stepping Up Your Donation Pickups

The average donation pickup is worth nearly three times a dropped-off donation. Here's how to make a pickup service work for you.

August 29, 2021

Preparing for the Final Quarter

The fourth quarter tends to be the strongest sales quarter in thrift. Here's how to get your team and your store ready for it.

September 2, 2020

Fall 2020 Conference FAQ

Answers to common questions about the Fall 2020 conference, including how the virtual and in-person attendee options differ.

February 14, 2020

Defined Rhythms of Leadership

People are the biggest asset of your thrift operation. Leading them well takes accountability, intentionality, and rhythms you keep.

January 16, 2020

Setting & Tracking Goals

Goal setting spans marketing, service, HR, and volunteers — but without the ability to gauge progress, none of it can be managed.

October 16, 2019

2019 Fall SMCo Thrift Conference Recap

100+ participants from over 50 organizations gathered in Knoxville to learn how the pieces of a thrift operation fit together.

August 20, 2019

The Impact of Wholesale

A wholesale component can add as much profit as one of your thrift stores. Here's how it lowers costs and increases throughput.

August 2, 2019

Choosing the Right Real Estate

Most retailers choose a location that drives customer traffic. For a thrift operation the calculation differs — but location is still key.

April 29, 2019

Recap of the Spring 2019 SMCo Thrift National Training Conference

More than 40 organizations, from those contemplating a launch to seasoned multi-store managers, and the takeaways they carried home.

February 4, 2019

Luck Favors the Prepared

Tidying Up with Marie Kondo sent a swell of donations to thrift stores nationwide. Chance, as Pasteur put it, favors the prepared.

October 8, 2018

Recap of the Fall 2018 SMCo Thrift National Training Conference

Attendee feedback from the Fall 2018 conference, including the realization that thrift is closer to manufacturing than to ordinary retail.

May 16, 2018

Recap of the Spring 2018 SMCo Thrift National Training Conference

Non-traditional ideas, challenging conversations, and hands-on learning from attendees who came coast to coast.

March 2, 2018

Pricing to Value Is Like Eating Trail Mix

Pricing donated items to value may be the fastest lever on profitability you have — and it works a lot like a bowl of trail mix.

February 1, 2018

Sort Donations Properly by Asking Three Questions

Sorting shapes the whole operation. Three quick questions asked when a donation arrives determine how fast it reaches the sales floor.

January 15, 2018

Highlights of 2017 and Dreaming for 2018

Lessons from 2017 — the national training conference, new dashboards, a major ThriftTrac update — and how they chart the way into 2018.

December 28, 2017

Saying "Thank You" to a Donor

Christmas brings a predictable spike in donations, and with it the chance to say thank you to every donor who walks through the door.

December 14, 2017

Preparing for the Rush of Donations (Part 2 of 2)

Part two of two: with donation trends identified, here are proactive strategies for handling an influx without clogging your space.

December 6, 2017

Gaining a Fresh Perspective

The year's final days invite reflection. Changing the angle you view a problem from reveals attributes you would otherwise miss.

December 1, 2017

Preparing for the Rush of Donations (Part 1 of 2)

Part one of two: an overwhelming rush of donations is the best problem a thrift operation can have, but it still needs anticipating.

November 17, 2017

Staging Shows How An Item Will Look

Customers want to picture an item in their own home. Staging answers that question and removes doubt about the purchase.

November 3, 2017

Recap of the 2017 SMCo Thrift National Training Conference

Feedback, venues, and takeaways from the 2017 SMCo Thrift National Training Conference.

November 3, 2017

Maximizing Your Prime Real Estate

Your sales floor has prime real estate too: entryway, cash wrap, front tables, end caps. Staging them is different from setting them up.

October 2, 2017

Making It Automatic

Tying shoes, typing, driving — all automatic. The same principle applied to a thrift operation is what turns effort into consistency.

September 6, 2017

Join Us for the 2017 SMCo Thrift National Training Conference

October 18–20: the principles, strategies, and tools used across the 50+ locations SMCo Thrift has helped launch, manage, and expand.

August 30, 2017

Employee Evaluations on a Schedule

Structured 90-day and annual evaluations let managers communicate expectations, offer encouragement, and coach constructively.

July 27, 2017

Clutter-Free Spaces Provide Cash-Filled Registers

Shoppers seek the same calm in your store that they seek at home. A clutter-free sales floor is not impossible for a thrift store.

June 30, 2017

The Lifetime Value of a Donor (3 of 3)

Part three of three: most treat a donation as a one-time transaction. Calculating a donor's value over years tells a very different story.

June 28, 2017

Creating a Great Donation Experience (2 of 3)

Part two of three: a clean, uncluttered receiving area is the first component of a donation experience donors actually remember.

June 26, 2017

Receiving a Donation (1 of 3)

Part one of three: receiving a donation is usually a benign transaction, and every time it is, a chance to engage a donor is wasted.

June 5, 2017

Coaching Individual Employees for Needed Change

The Documented Coaching Opportunity captures the objective issues requiring change, in a tone that encourages rather than diminishes.

May 11, 2017

Look Inside!

Exterior signage asks for donations. Once a shopper steps inside, the focus shifts entirely to the customer and what they came to find.

April 14, 2017

Harnessing the Power of the Crowd

When the pressure is on it's easy to narrow your focus and miss a major opportunity: likeminded individuals in your own community.

March 8, 2017

Tracking Each and Every Donation

A donor relationship doesn't begin at drop-off — it begins with the follow-up. Until that moment, the donation was only a transaction.

November 8, 2016

Don't Forget Your Customers

Donors come first because donations are the lifeline. But thrift customers deserve engagement too, just of a different kind than typical retail.

October 5, 2016

Marketing in Thrift Versus a Typical Retail Store

Conventional retail marketing targets the customer. In thrift the donation comes first, which is why the marketing effort points at donors.

September 19, 2016

Transportation Unloaded (2 of 2)

Your transportation department may be your greatest untapped opportunity. It starts with pick-up request volume and promised pick-up time.

August 29, 2016

Transportation Unloaded (1 of 2)

Three reasons managers avoid asking hard questions about transportation cost and efficiency — starting with a genuine lack of control.

July 18, 2016

Recap of the Manager Training & Workshop

Highlights from the first SMCo Thrift Manager Training & Workshop, where thrift was examined as a unique mix of retail and manufacturing.

July 7, 2016

The Real Cost of Trash (Part 4 of 4)

Part four of four: the hidden costs of keeping non-sellable goods, from ruined textiles to the space and labor they quietly consume.

July 6, 2016

Overcoming Trashy Roadblocks (Part 3 of 4)

Part three of four: why non-sellable items linger, and why insufficient staffing is more often an allocation decision than a hard limit.

July 5, 2016

Pre-sort = Your Just-In-Time System (Part 2 of 4)

Part two of four: a pre-sort system protects fragile items, separates good from bad, and streamlines everything pricing does downstream.

July 4, 2016

The Art of Disposal (Part 1 of 4)

Part one of four: removing non-sellable items quickly starts with three questions — who decides, when the decision is made, and by what criteria.

May 30, 2016

Managers Training & Workshop on July 11th

A full-day training in Knoxville on leveraging receiving, processing, retail, transportation, and wholesale as one connected operation.

May 19, 2016

What Is The Donation Motivation?

Three motivations shape where a donor gives: convenience, conscience, and community. A video series examines the role each one plays.

May 16, 2016

Join us in Jacksonville!

The SMCo Thrift team heads to the AGRM Annual Convention in Jacksonville for a track seminar on tracking the metrics that drive growth.

April 12, 2016

The More You Process = The More You Sell

Processing more donations does drive more sales, but only when quality, pricing, and the systems that turn a donation into a sale hold up.

March 22, 2016

Do Thrift Better

A letter to partners on a remarkable year for tangible donations, and on caring well for the donors behind them.

March 11, 2016

You Can't Sell From an Empty Wagon (Part 2 of 2)

Part two turns the four components of your donation stream into action, starting with location, donation centers, and keeping the wagon full.

March 4, 2016

You Can't Sell From an Empty Wagon (Part 1 of 2)

Donations are the wild card of every thrift operation. Part one examines the four components of a donation stream: volume, quality, diversity, delivery.

February 19, 2016

How to turn a $500K thrift store into a $272K one that barely breaks even

A step-by-step look at how flat pricing, structured markdowns, and other well-meant choices can quietly cut a store's sales nearly in half.

February 5, 2016

Identifying your Customers

Knowing who shops your store shapes product selection, pricing, and promotion. Years of customer surveys revealed why people choose thrift.

January 21, 2016

Do your employees know why they do what they do?

Ask ten employees why your store exists and you may hear ten answers. That variance is an opportunity to clarify your vision and mission.

January 7, 2016

Why does your thrift store exist?

Most ministry-owned thrift stores began with three purposes: affordable goods, meaningful work, and revenue. Knowing which one drives you shapes everything.