Consignments: How long should a dealer take to send you proceeds?

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GhostWins

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This is kind of an abstract question folks, but please humor me for the moment.

If you were to send a knife or two to a dealer for resale(consignment) ;

- How long should the dealer take to pass the proceeds on to you after the entire of the consignment is paid for?,

- And in the absence of receipt of proceeds by that point, at what point thereafter could one reasonably start to think they were being overlooked for some reason or other?


Feedback please?

Thanks
 
I've never done a consignment sale, but a week sounds right. They need time to collect the money, conduct their bookkeeping, then process the payment to you.
 
I have done comsignment before, with Arizona Cusom Knives. They send out checks once a month as a blanket policy. This means that I could have waited a month before getting my money, but they were up front about it. As it turned out I waited about a week after my knife sold. Did they not share the policy about this when you sent them the knife? Who are you selling through??
 
Look at the dealers policy. Fort Henry and Arizona Custom clearly spells out when payment will take place. Typically once a month.

Chris D.:D
 
Ernie1980 said:
I have done comsignment before, with Arizona Cusom Knives. They send out checks once a month as a blanket policy. This means that I could have waited a month before getting my money, but they were up front about it...
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We have used consignment on several occasions to sell some of my Wife's needle craft. What Ernie says above is typical in my experience. Your contract (and make sure that you get one!) should spell out those terms clearly. One month is normal. I would be concerned if I had not received my payment after a calendar month had passed.
 
Whatever the time frame that their policy dictates. If that policy/time frame is not published or unknown, it needs to be made clear preferably before the agreement to use the service has been made. It's like buying a car and signing the loan without knowing what the final amount or monthly payment is going to be.
 
Thanks for the feedback folks.

It's just over four weeks since the last item in the consignment was marked sold.
And a little over two weeks since the dealer confirmed everything was paid up.

On that basis, i'm inclined to think a month from the second date is fair (Thoughts?)

The contract. There isn't one, and further more it never occurred to me.

Perhaps that was foolish of me, but the dealer has been in the consignment business
for some time, and sold some items for me maybe 6-7 years ago.

So i was inclined to trust them.

I'm still inclined to trust them, but at the same time i am starting to wonder if i have been like i said earlier "overlooked".

Thanks again.
 
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Ghost, it's not really a matter of what is fair or what isn't. That is something you would do amongst friends or acquaintances. This was a legal business venture (informal or even formal contract) you both entered into. You need to ask, specifically what their policy is as well as any other questions that you need answers. As their customer you need to be informed and be satisfied with that information, otherwise you take your business elsewhere. I know this for a fact because we have done IT work for several consignment stores around the lower half of the state. Some are better than others in the way they present their terms.
 
I would just ask when the proceeds payment will be processed. No sense in just wondering, it is your money after all.
 
(Apologies if this is starting to look like the opening crawl from Star Wars.)


TOMBSTONE said:
I would just ask when the proceeds payment will be processed. No sense in just wondering, it is your money after all.
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I did ask.

Couple of weeks ago, got a 'working on it' and a 'sorry need to juggle funds'. A message during the middle of last week asking if there's any updates has gone unanswered to far.

Generally, the dealer has seemed like their focus is somewhere else. I pretty much had to remind them to list the last item for sale... and it's a fairly sought after knife.
It must be, because it was marked sold about 5 hours after it was listed.


RevDevil said:
Ghost, it's not really a matter of what is fair or what isn't. That is something you would do amongst friends or acquaintances. This was a legal business venture (informal or even formal contract) you both entered into..
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You're right. Should have been a bit more canny on that one.
 
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This particular deal is getting enough age on it to maybe warrant naming the consignment dealer. I for one would welcome the heads up, NOT to give him any consignments at all.

Paul
 
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Well in my opinion if the item or items were sold and they got paid, juggling funds would not be an acceptable excuse to me. There is no reason not to have the money they've been paid for your knife that's been sold.
 
TOMBSTONE said:
Well in my opinion if the item or items were sold and they got paid, juggling funds would not be an acceptable excuse to me. There is no reason not to have the money they've been paid for your knife that's been sold.
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This^^^^.

What's to juggle? It's your money, for your knife.

Not a short term business loan to the Dealer until he can pay you...
 
i agree with this, name them so we know who not to do business with.
TOMBSTONE said:
Well in my opinion if the item or items were sold and they got paid, juggling funds would not be an acceptable excuse to me. There is no reason not to have the money they've been paid for your knife that's been sold.
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GhostWins said:
(Apologies if this is starting to look like the opening crawl from Star Wars.)




I did ask.

Couple of weeks ago, got a 'working on it' and a 'sorry need to juggle funds'. A message during the middle of last week asking if there's any updates has gone unanswered to far.

Generally, the dealer has seemed like their focus is somewhere else. I pretty much had to remind them to list the last item for sale... and it's a fairly sought after knife.
It must be, because it was marked sold about 5 hours after it was listed.





You're right. Should have been a bit more canny on that one.
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This 'sorry need to juggle funds' worries me.

A percentage of those sales belongs to you, nothing to 'juggle' there.

The lack of a contract or any real terms is also not very confidence inspiring.

Hope it works out for you.
 
I agree with Paul, you need to indicate whom it was you dealt with. If it is a start up business, it can be an understandable situation, but the juggling of funds is a big negative mark right up front. When people start businesses, they must be able to operate that business with their own capital, not "steal from Peter to pay Paul".
 
Not likely a start up as OP said he did business with them 6 or 7 years ago... I'd be on them like white on rice starting tomorrow.
 
sheathmaker said:
This particular deal is getting enough age on it to maybe warrant naming the consignment dear. I for one would welcome the heads up, NOT to give him any consignments at all.

Paul
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I agree. If the dealer has to juggle funds to pay you that leads me to believe he is using the money of others as his working capital. That of course is bad business and as you have discovered leads to delays in paying off the knife owner post sale.
 
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