How do you handle an item that doesn't move?

You literally move it; you show a few other ways to use it. Sometimes just moving something a foot makes people think they've never seen it before. I like to literally rotate it around the room. If that doesn't work, I start marking it down. I mark it down in 10 to 20 percent increments, and if it doesn't sell in eight months or so, I give it to charity. I try not to hold onto it until the next season comes around again. But I'm starting to do that a little more often — we have plastic tubs we pack up and hold until the next season. If I believe in it, I'm not going to mark it down.

This is a question that is a never-ending challenge. If it is a single item and has been around for some time, I reduce it to below cost or use it for a donation. If the product is in multiples and from one or similar vendors and adds up to more than just pocket change, I take the following steps. 1)Don't assume it isn't saleable. 2)Determine why we made the original investment. 3)Try moving the merchandise to a more visible location and using other items as a tie in. For example, those boxes of Beanie Babies that are in storage can be brought out and made a tie in with an Easter display. I'll call the company and ask for their advice. Many times they will offer to give full or partial credit on an exchange. They want our business. This works well when I talk to the company at a show.

If this doesn't work, we use more drastic measures to recover part of our investment. Use the items as a fundraiser donation; mark it down to at least 50 percent off and place it in our sale area (not in a high traffic area to start, we do that later during the summer, on a sale table in front of the store); or use it as a grab-bag promo or add on as a freebie with a purchase. Now, let me go find those Beanies!

Stare at it longingly and ask "Why don't they love you like I do?"

On a more serious note, the course we take is determined by the item itself. Since most of our products are paper-related, we first look for a way to create added value, offering free printing of a name or monogram on boxed notes, for example. Sometimes, slow movers will lend themselves well to bundling with stronger selling items, so they can "ride on the coattails" of another purchase. Always, always, always, we make an extra effort to tell the story, explain the product and let customers know how much quality is in the piece so they feel good about their purchase, whether at full price or otherwise. As a last resort (and on all dated items), we'll simply apply a 40 percent markdown, place them in a prominent part of the store with really good signage, and get them moving. I don't believe in burying sale merchandise in the back of the store, since it's far more likely to collect dust there than actually find a home.