Refinished furniture from the ReStore

Customers sometimes send in before and after pictures to show what they did with things purchased at the ReStore.  Recently a woman bought a credenza that was a decent piece of furniture but not very attractive.  She was able to transform it into a lovely piece.  She sent pictures and a description of the work she did. 

"The wood was in great shape so I didn't have to do much.  Just stripped off the finish with a citrus based stripping gel and applied a stain/polyurethane combination and hand rubbed an oil based stain called black cherry.  I applied two coats of stain, then I used a hand rubbed satin polyurethane for the finish.  The new hardware is all polished nickel.  Other than finishing it twice and spilling a large can of stain in my basement, it was very easy to do."

Thrift shops often have items that don't seem worthwhile as is.  With some work and imagination, many can be transformed into just what the purchaser wants. 

ReStore is back on eBay

Sometime ago we tried selling items on eBay.  We had some success but not a lot.  After a few items didn't sell at all we decided to stop, at least temporarily, listing items on eBay.  We often get in antiques or unusual donations that can be difficult to sell in the store.  Those things require the right person to come in to the store.  eBay increases or chances of matching up the donation with the right customer.

Our first attempt back on eBay is something we tried to sell before.  A pair of Lemaire Opera Glasses were donated a while back.  When we tried before to sell these opera glasses we only received one bid. That was from someone outside the US and we only ship in the US so the sale had to be cancelled.

We have a number of things set aside to try selling online so, if this sale works out, we will be back on eBay often. We will be adding links to our facebook page when we have an offering on eBay as well as blogging about these items.

QVC donates display shelves

A nearby QVC store is closing.  The company wants to concentrate on selling through the TV programming.  The store management contacted us to find out if we would be interested in the display shelves the store used.  After taking a look at the kind of display shelves the QVC store uses we realized that we could definitely use them.

We picked them up a few days ago and have started using them for the electrical aisle.  Before we had wooden racks that were built at the Habitat warehouse.  The QVC racks give the aisle a more professional look.  ReStore's often have the problem of looking like a garage sale.  Selling used merchandise and often not having the funds to buy display shelves tends to create a poor appearance.  Improving the appearance of the store can attract more customers who will buy more and donate more.  This donation from QVC has already improved our appearance and will make it easier to display new items coming into the store.

Regular customers

Over the years the ReStore has gotten many regular customers.  Many are landlords or house flippers who buy items for repairs or furniture to stage a house.  Homeowners who need to make repairs on a budget have made the ReStore a frequent stop.  We also have a number of people who simply like to come in often to check out bargains and see what unusual items we have available.  Some people come so often we worry about them if we don't see them for a while.  

The most regular of our customers has his dog, Lucy, with him wherever he goes.  Lucy has gotten to the point that she feels comfortable running around the store and introducing herself to everyone she sees.  This occasionally causes a problem with customers who doesn't like dogs but Lucy is usually quickly distracted by someone else to meet.

Lucy especially enjoys seeing the staff members she has gotten to know over time.  She seems to think Habitat employs a staff of people just to pet her.  She'll head to the office area to see everyone and to get a dog biscuit which we always keep in the breakroom for her.  However, Lucy always runs when she hears her owner call.  

Last Minute Donations

Like other non-profit, our store becomes overwhelmed by donations at the end of the year.  Between people calling to schedule pick-ups and people dropping off we are staying busy attempting to keep up.  We are doing what we can to accommodate all the donors.

Scheduled pick-ups are already booked past the end of the year.  The next opening is in the middle of January.  Donations are accepted at the store during regular store hours.  Our normal hours are Tuesday-Friday 9-4 and Saturday 9-2.  We will be closed both Christmas Day and New Year's Day.  

Because of the increase of donations we will open two extra days for donations only.  Sunday, December 30th and Monday, December 31st we will be available from 10 am until 2pm to receive donations and offer tax receipts.  The store itself will not be open either of those days.

As always, all donations are subject to screening and we reserve rhe right to reject any items.

Office furniture from DuPont

Today we recieved a trailer full of office furniture for The DuPont Company.  We have only just begun to unload and price everything.  The donation includes desks, office chairs, and bookshelves.  It will take a while to unload the entire trailer and get it on the sales floor but we will have some of the items on the floor tomorrow.  The rest will be out as we have room for it on the floor.

New location

Our new location opened on November 10th.  We have had tremedous success in that time.  In fact, we already set a store record for most sales in a month.  Sales had been slow for a few months as we prepared to make the move.  Since we had to fill three times the space everything we received in donations was going to the new store's inventory.  We hope to end this month with sales equal to what we had in the old store for the previous four months.  We are very close.

We had some problems getting phone and internet installed at the new store.  That, and the fact that we were very busy getting the store ready, is why the blog had not been written in over a month.  Now that we are settled in to the new store and everything is running well the blog should go back to being once a week. 

The new location is 3312 Seminole Av Wilmington, DE 19808.  It is just off Newport Gap Pike in Prices Corner.  The phone number, (302) 652-5181, is the same.