Why This Mother Daughter Duo Are Making a Killing on Consignment Handbags In New Jersey For their business to work, Dianne and Gabrielle Melillo need more than customers. They need a community that has total confidence in them.
By Kim Kavin Edited by Frances Dodds
This story appears in the September 2024 issue of Entrepreneur. Subscribe »
If someone found a $7,000 Dior handbag being sold for $1,700, they might be suspicious. That's why, for mother-daughter duo Dianne and Gabrielle Melillo, the consignment business isn't just about good merchandise. It's about trust.
"We work in a field where our items are pre-owned," Gabrielle says. "Our customers must trust us and our level of transparency. We treat them like we would treat our friends. We would never steer them in the wrong direction on these items."
The Melillos are franchisees with Season 2 Consign, a brand that sells secondhand goods in person and online. They opened their first territory in 2023 in central New Jersey (a territory is their assigned region for sourcing goods), and this year, after being named one of the International Franchise Association's Franchisees of the Year, they opened a second territory in northern New Jersey — making them Season 2 Consign's first multi-unit owners. Here, they share what they've learned building a trust-based business.
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Dianne, why did you decide to open a Season 2 Consign franchise?
I spent many years working as the national sales director of North America for high-end European fashion designer Giambattista Valli. I'm 58, and my husband owns auto body shops. He made me think that I wanted to own my own business. I was selling and buying my own luxury items on the secondary market. When Season 2 Consign announced on Instagram that they were going to start franchising, I jumped on it.
Gabrielle, why did you decide to become a 50-50 partner with your mom?
I worked for a few different companies, varying from fashion to lip balms. I knew about e-commerce because I ran the companies' websites. I'm 31, and I quit my job to do this. I wanted to start my own business as well.
What were your biggest challenges?
Dianne: The technical part was a big learning curve. We use software for everything: loading things onto the website, how we do things with our consigners. Gabrielle really knew that aspect of it, but I knew where we could make a profit, how items needed to be priced, what the great luxury items would be if we could get them.
Gabrielle: I had to learn all of the names of the leathers, the types of handbags, more about the luxury aspect of it, and all of the history behind the luxury items and luxury brands. We have a very savvy customer base.
Related: 5 Ways to Build Brand Customer Trust (and Why It Matters More Than Ever Before)
How do you gain those savvy customers' trust with pre-owned items?
Dianne: People will reach out to us via DMs. They'll contact us through Instagram. One customer bought a $2,000 bag from us and asked us for a video on how to change the strap. Another one asked us to take a photo of something in a bag. We're very personal with our customers and our consigners on so many levels. We will take that video for them.
Is that type of customer service different from what your competitors offer?
Gabrielle: Very different.
Our customers aren't just our followers. We constantly get comments thanking us for helping them. I feel like the only way we get to that level of comments is when you are so close to your customers.
Dianne: And because Gabrielle is my daughter, we have insane trust between us. We have the same goals for this business, and we work so hard. It's such an incredible labor of love.
Do you ever meet your customers in person?
Dianne: Yes, when we do pop-up shops. We did events at a country club, a boutique, and some spas. Most of the women who get Botox and spa treatments are ready and willing to buy luxury items.
That sounds like a target-rich environment for refilling your stock too.
Dianne: Some of these women have such big collections, they're giving up their bags that they don't use anymore. That's basically where we get our inventory. Those events — some of them have been really amazing for us.
