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GlossaryDefinitionPart of: How to Start Reselling in Europe: Beginner to Business

Consignment

They sell, you own, everyone takes a cut — read the payout terms.

By reva editorial teamUpdated 4 min readCzytaj po polskuЧитать по-русски
A handover of a designer bag to a resale platform, showing the path from sale price to payout after commission
Key takeaways
  • Consignment: the shop or platform sells on your behalf, you keep ownership until sale, and you receive the price minus the agreed commission.
  • Read four terms before handing anything over: commission structure, payout timing, returns policy, and what happens to unsold or uncollected items.
  • Vestiaire Collective's published selling fee on GBP listings is 12% between £83 and £16,667, with fixed fees of £10 below and £2,000 above, plus 3% payment processing (checked 13 September 2026).
  • Example on those rates: a £200 bag leaves £30 of fees and pays out £170 — the price of not photographing, listing and packing it yourself.
  • Consignment ties up your money until sale plus payment terms; on standard, fast-moving items, selling direct usually keeps more of the price.

Consignment means a shop or platform sells your item on your behalf while you still own it: when it sells, you receive the sale price minus an agreed commission. You are trading a slice of the price — plus waiting time — for not doing the listing, the shipping and the buyer messages yourself.

Below: how it differs from the two alternatives, and the four contract lines to read before handing anything over.

What is consignment?

Two parties, one item. You are the owner — the consignor; the shop or platform is the seller — the consignee. Three things stay true in every consignment deal: ownership stays with you until the item sells, the commission is charged only when it sells, and an unsold item comes back to you under the terms you agreed. In second-hand resale the model shows up as physical clothes shops working on commission — na komis in Polish — and online platforms for higher-value categories like designer bags and watches.

Consignment vs buy-out vs direct sale

Three ways to sell through someone else's reach, three different trades:

  • Buy-out: the shop pays you a low price on the spot and takes the risk. Instant cash, worst price.
  • Consignment: they do the work, you keep ownership, everyone takes a cut. Middle price, middle speed.
  • Direct sale: you do everything on a marketplace yourself. Best price, most work.

Where the money moves in each:

Cash paths: consignment vs direct
  1. 1You hand the item overOwnership stays yours; the shop or platform lists it, usually pricing with you
  2. 2The item sellsThey handle payment, shipping and buyer messages
  3. 3Commission comes offAn agreed percentage or fixed fee, charged only on sale
  4. 4Payout after their termsYour money sits with them until sale plus the stated payment lag
  5. 5Direct sale, for contrastYou list, sell and post — the payout is bigger, and every step above is yours
The commission buys labour and reach; the lag and the cut are what you pay for it.

The four terms to read

  1. Commission structure. Flat percentage, price bands, fixed minimums — they hit small prices hardest. Example from a published fee page: Vestiaire Collective charges a 12% selling fee on GBP listings priced £83–£16,667, £10 fixed below £83 and £2,000 above, plus 3% payment processing (the page shows 3% or £3), at the time of writing (September 2026). A £200 bag on those rates leaves 24 + 6 = £30 of fees: a £170 payout.
  2. Payout timing. When money reaches your account after the sale — the seller agreement states it. Until then your cash is theirs; what that does to a resale business is in reseller cash flow.
  3. Returns. Who eats a return, whether commission still applies, and how long the buyer has.
  4. Unsold items. How long they keep trying, whether they can cut the price without asking, your collection deadline, and what happens to goods left past it.

When consignment beats selling yourself

It wins where the item is valuable, slow and hard to photograph or verify — a designer bag is the classic case — and where your evenings are worth more than the commission. Direct wins on standard items that move anyway: on a 60 zł jacket, a similar fee structure would take a far larger share than 12% of a luxury price. Route by item, not by habit: the platform-level comparison is in where to sell designer bags and the best resale platforms in Europe.

The money-timing angle — profit on paper, cash later — is the subject of reseller cash flow. What the fees do to the money a flip keeps is in the resale profit guide, and the wider selling options are mapped in the reselling guide.

Frequently asked questions

What does consignment mean in selling?
It means a shop or platform sells your item for you while you still own it. You hand the item over; they photograph, list, answer buyers and post it; when it sells, they keep an agreed commission and pass the rest to you. If it does not sell, the item comes back to you under the terms you signed. Polish second-hand shops working na komis run on exactly this model.
Do you get paid immediately with consignment?
No, and the wait has two parts: first the item has to sell, which can take weeks on slow categories, then the platform's payment terms apply on top. Payout terms differ by platform and are stated in the seller agreement, so read them before handing anything over. If your cash is tight, the delay matters as much as the commission — sometimes more.
What happens if a consigned item does not sell?
Under normal terms you keep ownership, so the item returns to you — but read four things first: how long the shop will keep trying, whether they cut the price over time without asking, the deadline for collecting an unsold item, and what happens to goods left past it. Collection windows that pass quietly are how resellers lose items they still own.
Is consignment better than selling directly?
It depends on the item and on your time. Consignment suits high-value, hard-to-verify pieces and sellers who would rather not photograph, list and pack; the commission buys that labour. Direct selling keeps the commission and the control, and wins on standard items that sell fast anyway. Work out the commission in money on your price, then decide whether the work it removes is worth that much to you.

Sources

  1. Vestiaire Collective FAQ: Seller Selling Fees checked 13 Sept 2026
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