About Us

From Rags to Riches
By Eric Van Ness,
Manager, Alachua County Humane Society Thrift & Gift Store

In 2006, the Alachua County Humane Society (ACHS) Thrift and Gift Store in Gainesville, Florida, netted a whopping $120,000, allowing ACHS to discontinue direct mail as a revenue generating strategy. Thrift Store Manager Eric Van Ness reveals the keys to his success in the article below. (ACHS is the lead agency in Maddie's Pet Rescue Project in Alachua County).

I spent sixteen years managing an independent bookstore before joining ACHS. I have been the manager of the Thrift and Gift since May 2005. I came here for many reasons, but mainly because of our CEO, Becky Goodman, and the vision she had of what ACHS could become.

The year before Becky came to ACHS in 2004, the organization placed 350 animals, of which about 250 came from Alachua County Animal Services. She knew that with the Humane Society name and support from Maddie's Fund, ACHS could do much more. In 2006, ACHS placed 987 animals and transferred 1,013 from Animal Services.

In order to reach those goals, Becky knew that ACHS would need to increase its sustainable income. She also knew that I had been able to increase the bookstore's profit in spite of increased competition from several national chain stores. She asked me to take a look at the Thrift Store to let her know what I thought could be done. After some evaluation and discussion, she asked if I would consider being the one to execute the transformation. I am a sucker for animals and have been caring for strays as long as I can remember, so of course, I said yes. I loved the bookstore, but knowing that I have been part of saving over 1000 animals brings me great satisfaction.

Alachua County Humane Society currently consists of four buildings sitting on just under two acres. There is a building for intake / adoptions, overnight kenneling of dogs, administration and the Thrift Store. Our Thrift Store has 2800 square feet: 2200 are dedicated to sales – 600 are for sorting and receiving. ACHS is located in a residential neighborhood with some small local businesses situated on a main traffic corridor.

We have no record of when ACHS first opened a Thrift store, but it was at least twelve years ago. It has been in the current location for about five years.

In 2004, the Thrift had gross sales of $55,000, and net of about $48,000. In 2006, our gross sales were $270,000 and net sales were $120,000. After a year and a half, we've seen a gross increase of 490% and a net increase of 250%. We have also begun to generate cash donations through the store ($300-400 per month), which helps to offset the Thrift budget, approximately $55,000 including payroll. The donations do not show up as Thrift sales.

We had a plan and a vision when I started, but nothing written. We decided to focus on customer service, volume, and mission. We changed almost everything, including the layout of the sales floor and the processing area. Before, stuff was everywhere. All a person could see when they first came in was a giant shelf full of knick knacks. We opened up the sightline so that now as customers walk in, almost all of the merchandise is visible right away.

We expanded the store hours. Previously, the store was open Wednesday through Saturday, but the times were inconsistent and depended on volunteer availability. Now, hours are 10 am to 6 pm Monday through Saturday.

We moved spay/neuter voucher sales from the adoption center to the Thrift, partially to free the adoption staff, but also to bring the Thrift more exposure. We greatly expanded our selection of pet supplies.

Before I came, the Thrift was completely volunteer run and was successful, considering the volunteer's limitations. Our typical volunteer is a retired woman in her late sixties or seventies. The women are not physically able to handle large item donations like furniture. Not only do we now accept furniture, but we also do free furniture pick-ups several times a week.

Some of our volunteers have specific areas of interest. For example, one volunteer is very knowledgeable about antique glass (a subject I know nothing about). Now we'll do special antique glass displays, write-ups and presentations to take advantage of the expertise. Customers will sometimes come in for advice on a piece of glass they own or on a piece they found at a garage sale—it's all part of our customer service.

Besides me, we have two part-time paid employees who put in between 10 and 20 hours per week between them. Our fifteen regular volunteers contribute anywhere from two hours per week to ten hours per week (one volunteer gives us nearly 30 hours) for a total of 80 to 85 hours per week. As Thrift Manager, between on site management, off site pick-ups and deliveries, I regularly work 50-60 hours per week. During seasonal rushes the administrative staff steps in to help with our large orders of new pet merchandise.

The primary function of our paid employees is to deal with clothing. They receive basic training in Thrift operations, but mainly they were hired to distinguish between clothing that should be sold for 25cents and clothing that should be sold for considerably more.

There are six other thrift stores, three general consignment stores, and at least two used furniture stores within two miles of our store – half of them within 1/3 mile. That may seem like a bad thing, but it is one of the keys to our success. Many people come to the area to go to the thrift stores and many people who live in the interspersed neighborhoods shop at the thrift stores.

Price and merchandise are aspects of customer service. Having things that people want at prices that they are comfortable paying is important, but knowing the merchandise and being friendly is as important. People like to spend time in places where they enjoy interacting with the staff and with other customers. We are a combination old fashion general store and neighborhood pub. The main thing that we have that other thrift stores don't is atmosphere. Dogs are welcome. People come in to say hi even if they're not shopping. We have some regulars who come in with their cockatoos just to visit.

Our used/thrift merchandise is all donated – none is purchased, bartered, or consigned. We do have new pet supplies. Those we purchase from wholesalers.

We don't turn down any donations, even if we end up throwing them out. I've found that people like to give—it makes them feel good, and turning down a donation makes people feel they aren't needed. If you turn people away, it's unlikely they'll ever give again. Accepting all donations generates good will, and people tell their friends about us. This alone makes it worth it. I've also found that even if an initial donation isn't very good, folks will come back, and by the second or third time, the donations get much better.

We do very little paid advertising. People tend to give to us merchandise because they believe in what we do, because they shop in our store, because they found us in the phone book, or because a friend told them about us. Being in the midst of so many other thrift stores also means that we don't have to spend much on advertising. People tend to know where the thrifts are and find us by coming to the area or from word of mouth. We do usually include at least some mention of the Thrift in every ACHS publication or promotion.

We have not done marketing/demographic surveys, but I can tell you that we have several typical customers and they are as varied as our merchandise. We have the poorest of the poor who clothe themselves and their families from our six racks of 25cent clothing. We have dealers who come in every few days looking for merchandise to add to their stock. We have people who are tickled to find a set of fine crystal stemware for $300 or a watch for $750. Caucasian/Anglo-Americans, Asians (of varied heritage), Hispanics (also of varied heritage), and African-Americans are pretty equally represented with African-Americans coming in slightly higher numbers. Women outnumber men three to one.

We do not expect to continue to experience the level of growth that we have enjoyed over the past year and a half. We are projecting net growth in the existing Thrift to be 8% to 11% for each of the next five years.

We have held two "Yard Sales" (in our parking lot) in the last two years and we are planning to start doing at least two per year. The merchandise for those sales is generated mostly through the Thrift and is primarily sorted by Thrift staff and volunteers. The sales themselves are organized and run by our volunteer coordinator with non-thrift volunteers and a mix of Thrift and non-Thrift staff. Our last Yard Sale netted $1,200. We classify the money from those sales as Event rather than Thrift. Thus, we will be doing Thrift related money generation that will not necessarily be reflected in Thrift sales, but will benefit the organization.

So far, there have only been a few things that we have had trouble selling in the store. We are exploring the E-Bay option and feel that the best way for us to proceed with this is with volunteer participation.

We would love to expand our space in our current location, but county regulations make that expansion cost prohibitive. We are looking for a second location. If we can find one, we would expect to financially duplicate what we're doing here.

If I were to offer the ten most important bits of advice to other animal welfare organizations interested in starting a Thrift Store, I would say:

1. Smile

2. Be truly thankful for your customers, donors, and volunteers.

3. Remember the organizational mission.

4. Try new things.

5. Be willing to fail and move on.

I would repeat one through five. Because every market is different and every group operates within a different dynamic, I would hesitate to offer specific strategic advice, and ours isn't the only model. There are very successful stores that only deal in high-end goods. They only sell a few things a week, but they make a huge amount of money on each transaction. There are organizations that are more event oriented. Our county Friends of the Library accumulates books and other media for twenty-five weeks, and then has a huge sale. They net over $100k a year through those two sales. There are so many ways to be successful and the five bits above combine well with all situations.

I think that the most important thing for organizations to consider is finding a person who believes in the organizational mission and has the business acumen to make the endeavor successful.