Local servicesU.S. scenario · USDIllustrative operating case
Thrift store startup costs and financial model
One independent U.S. secondhand shop buying and owning adult clothing, ordinary non-electrical homewares and limited small wooden furniture before resale. The case uses a leased 1,800 sq ft unit, paid owner management and a buying/sorting team. It excludes charity donations, consignment, online sales, paid classes or repairs, delivery revenue, mattresses, upholstery, children's safety goods and medical products.
Capital to open
$150,000
$105,000–$225,000 by launch scope
Year 3 revenue
$648,461
Annual modeled sales
Year 3 EBITDA margin
12.7%
Before interest, tax and depreciation
Operating break-even
Month 6
Same opening ramp; not capital payback
Years 1–3 and the opening calculator ramp use one operating base within whole-dollar rounding. Years 4–5 follow the stated annual assumptions.
This operating case allocates $150,000 to opening the business and forecasts $82,107 in Year 3 EBITDA. Payroll includes working-owner labor where applicable. These are planning assumptions; EBITDA is not cash available to the owner.
An editorial comparison of operating conditions, not a probability of success, a customer rating or a promise of returns. Read the evidence beside each assessment.
Weighted total
5.0 / 10
The total combines the five assessments below using the published weights.
New independent U.S. purchased-inventory thrift shop in a conventional leased 1,800 sq ft unit, selling adult apparel, ordinary homewares and limited small furniture. Mature comparison includes paid owner management, lead, two associates, intake support and relief. No assumed local access advantage, charity supply, consignment, online sales or expansion. Local conditions are conditional and require validation.
Barrier to entry
Higher means easier entry.
15% weight
6.0 / 10
Conventional fixtures and trainable retail roles support entry, but a dedicated site, stock funds, safety controls and assortment-specific local rules remain meaningful hurdles.
Evidence and assessment basis
Anchor 6. Supported facts: Uline offers ordinary reusable racks; BLS describes on-the-job retail training; CPSC applies safety obligations to resellers, and NYC provides a documented used-goods licensing path with category exemptions and records/holding conditions. Assumed: an already usable unit, limited non-electrical categories, paid processing and the stated opening allocation. Judgment: equipment and skills are accessible, yet the committed lease, setup, buying liquidity and local permission test prevent the more staged/reversible conditions of anchor 7. No scarce specialist credential is assumed; local site suitability remains unresolved.
Sources support the underlying facts. The numerical assessment is an editorial judgment.
Competition
Higher means more favorable competitive conditions.
20% weight
4.0 / 10
The retail segment is accessible, but low-price charity alternatives, other curated resellers and online discovery limit protection from ordinary price comparison.
Evidence and assessment basis
Anchor 4. Supported facts: Goodwill Southern Piedmont publishes low standard apparel prices; Buffalo Exchange operates selective cash-buy resale, and the commissioned 2026 GlobalData/ThredUp report describes growing structural competition and multiple discovery channels. Assumed: an ordinary accessible catchment with these classes of substitute, no exclusive supply or protected customer access, and only organized presentation/selection as differentiation. Judgment: those common differences can win visits but are reproducible; no evidence supports the niche/access advantage needed for anchor 6 or stronger pricing protection. This is a conditional scenario assessment, not a completed local saturation survey; hub competition remains pending.
Store Price List · Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont · accessed October 16, 2026
Sources support the underlying facts. The numerical assessment is an editorial judgment.
Demand stability
Higher means more stable demand.
25% weight
5.0 / 10
Repeated apparel and household-shopping occasions support a baseline, while style, condition, seasonality and postponable discretionary purchases still matter.
Evidence and assessment basis
Anchor 5. Supported facts: Buffalo Exchange buys across seasons but selects for condition, customer requests and current inventory needs; the 2026 commissioned resale research documents broad US secondhand apparel participation without proving any local shop's sales. Assumed: several individual customers and a mix of apparel/homewares with a small furniture line, recurring replacement purchases, no contracted accounts and no invented seasonal uplift. Judgment: a recurring purchase mechanism coexists with discretionary/style-sensitive spending and uncertain capture, rather than a stable necessary-service baseline. The report is largely apparel and combines surveys/modeling; it does not establish furniture stability or this case's order rate, and a selected ramp is not stability evidence.
Store Price List · Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont · accessed October 16, 2026
Sources support the underlying facts. The numerical assessment is an editorial judgment.
Margin ceiling
Higher means greater supported operating-profit potential.
20% weight
5.0 / 10
The conditional mature case covers paid buying, sorting, owner labor and overhead, but weaker realized baskets and stock contribution can remove the operating buffer.
Evidence and assessment basis
Anchor 5. Supported facts: merchant buying policies establish payment before resale, Square supplies a current fee structure, and BLS/IRS provide wage and employer-tax context. Assumed: net basket 32 USD, 65 orders/day, six days, 58% contribution, 210000 USD annual payroll and 84000 USD overhead, including paid owner labor. Shared calculations produce a positive mature EBITDA proxy after the complete roster; a combined 30 USD basket, 55 orders/day and 54% contribution becomes negative. The processing check consumes 143.25 of 158 regular on-site hours at base, with more limited spare time at the 70-order upper domain. Judgment: positive full-cost coverage with material price/yield/throughput exposure supports anchor 5; no independently evidenced productivity/pricing advantage supports anchor 6. Depreciation, replacement investment, interest, income tax and stock timing limit practical cash; EBITDA is not a distribution or a national margin benchmark.
Sources support the underlying facts. The numerical assessment is an editorial judgment.
Owner dependency
Higher means less dependence on the owner's continuous involvement.
20% weight
5.0 / 10
A trained lead and associates can cover routine shifts, while owner buying policy, cash decisions and local compliance still prevent a long unsupported absence.
Evidence and assessment basis
Anchor 5. Supported facts: BLS describes trainable retail work; merchant selection policies show judgment about condition, style and stock; CPSC and NYC rules illustrate screening/record obligations. Assumed: the paid lead has routine refusal and pricing authority, associates are cross-trained, owner labor includes 30 on-site and ten administrative hours, and limited relief is funded. Judgment: routine delegated shift cover is real, but there is no fully backed-up buying/compliance manager or redundant authority for sustained owner absence. The owner remains responsible for purchasing limits, exceptions and cash; future multi-store management from the seller plan is not part of this staffing case.
Sources support the underlying facts. The numerical assessment is an editorial judgment.
Who pays you, and what for
Review the customer, offer and operating scope behind the numbers before adapting them to your own plan.
Customer and proposition
The shop serves adults looking for usable clothing and household finds without navigating a disorganized assortment. Clear sizes, condition notes and orderly displays make the visit easier. The case does not assume that sustainability messaging alone wins a sale or supports a premium.
Supply and ownership
The business buys selected secondhand goods from individuals and verified local sources, then owns the stock and bears its markdown, damage and resale risk. Buying standards are as important as attracting shoppers: paying for unsuitable goods creates both a cash outlay and handling work.
Operation and sales
Retail orders, shared units per order, category mix and realized prices create revenue. Incoming assessment and processing happen behind a staffed sales floor. Store credit, consignment settlements, donations and online fulfillment are outside this case.
Premises
1,800 sq ft leased unit; about 1,400 sq ft selling and 400 sq ft sorting/storage
Public schedule
Six 8-hour days per week; 48 public hours
Paid roster
Owner, lead, two associates and part-time intake support; 168 paid hours per week plus funded relief
Inventory ownership
Purchased stock sold on the shop's own account; no consignor payouts or tax-deductible donations
Sales unit
Completed merchandise order, including repeat orders once; net of discounts and refunds, excluding collected buyer sales tax
Who are you actually bidding against?
Regional charity shops, specialist cash-buy resale stores, online marketplaces and discounted new goods provide real alternatives. Goodwill's published regional prices demonstrate a price comparison the proposed curated assortment must face. No local catchment survey, stock audit or observed competitor conversion study has been completed.
Local market assessment pending. The checklist below identifies research to complete; it is not a measured competitor sample.
Compare the questions across each row. Scroll the table horizontally on a small screen →
Competitor research checklist · no measured local sample
Offer to investigate
Compare like for like
Evidence to collect
Charity thrift and outlet stores
Assortment, price tags, markdown cycles, access and search effort
Visit the actual catchment, record comparable condition/brand/size and separate donated-stock economics from a purchased-stock business.
Curated resale and vintage stores
Buying criteria, intake queues, payout offers, presentation and realized prices
Observe customer and seller access, current stock depth and price reductions rather than assume curation is unique.
Online used goods and discounted new merchandise
Total price, condition certainty, immediate possession and return terms
Compare complete alternatives including shipping or pickup effort; avoid treating online asking prices as completed local sales.
What supports the model, and what strains it
These are operating considerations for the scenario, not measured advantages over local competitors.
Potential strengths to validate
Ordinary, reusable shop equipment. The format uses conventional racks, shelves, counters and item controls rather than a specialized production plant. A fitted unit and staged buying can limit some commitments, subject to actual layout and permissions.
Merchandise can be selected before purchase. A documented acceptance standard allows the buyer to refuse unsafe, damaged or unsuitable goods before paying. That option matters only when staff have time, authority and product knowledge to use it.
Repeat visits can follow genuinely changing stock. Fresh, relevant inventory gives shoppers a reason to return. The forecast still requires measured visits and realized baskets; a rotating assortment is a mechanism, not proof of demand.
Tradeoffs to plan around
Every refused item still takes time. A bag of unsuitable clothing can produce no revenue after inspection. Sales forecasts built only on units sold hide that upstream labor requirement.
A high tag can conceal slow stock. The cash cost arrives before sale, while markdowns reduce realized revenue. Floor space occupied by slow furniture also competes with faster-turning items.
Low-price alternatives limit protection. An organized presentation helps shoppers, but it is easy to copy. Charity shops and discounted new items can constrain the prices customers will actually pay.
Does this operating role fit you?
Evaluate the work you will do and the cost of replacing it. Review the owner responsibilities in the operating scope.
A fit to explore if you can…
A hands-on retailer willing to buy selectively, record stock cost and monitor aged inventory.
An owner who can train a lead to refuse unsuitable stock and handle ordinary floor decisions.
A team prepared to count handling time and protect paid sales-floor cover while processing incoming goods.
Reconsider the plan if you need…
An operator relying on free owner labor, volunteers or unverified donation supply.
A buyer of mixed bulk loads without a tested saleable yield, safety process and disposal route.
An absentee owner expecting the lead to replace all purchasing, compliance and cash authority without an additional funded role.
Where the $150,000 goes
Authored opening allocation for an already usable retail unit, with owner and staff buying/sorting paid before launch. Opening stock and refundable deposits are assets, not an additional first-month goods expense. The lower fitted-unit scope uses less work and stock; the larger scope adds work, stock and liquidity. Neither includes a building purchase, owned delivery vehicle, major structural remediation or unlimited clearance/holding space. The reserve is tested separately against ramp losses and extra stock cash; it is not a guarantee.
Selective tenant fit-out and lighting
$28,000
Racks, shelving, counters and sorting fixtures
$14,000
POS, item tagging and security setup
$6,000
Deposits, permits and professional setup
$14,000
Opening purchased merchandise
$18,000
Pre-opening paid work and launch
$9,000
Operating and stock-timing reserve
$50,000
Uncommitted opening contingency
$11,000
TotalScenario range $105,000 – $225,000$150,000
Where does the money come from?
Price, daily volume and the operating calendar define this capacity scenario. Check the sold-unit definition in the operating scope.
Net sales per completed order$32.00per sold unit
×
Completed retail orders per day65modeled daily volume
The owned-stock case combines adult apparel, ordinary homewares and a limited small-furniture line. Unit mix and prices create the basket; sales shares are derived from the same units and prices. The seller workbook's optional consigned category is set aside, with no double counting of buyer proceeds or repeat orders.
Seasonality and the opening ramp
Seasonal clothing, moving activity and discretionary furniture purchases can change both demand and buying quality. The authored annual path uses no invented monthly seasonal pattern. Replace the flat seasonal treatment with measured local sales, inventory aging and a dated opening calendar.
What does the revenue have to cover?
Year 3 annual amounts from the income statement. The bars use the same revenue scale; EBITDA is the residual after the three operating expense lines.
Year 3 revenue$648,461
Sold stock, losses and variable selling costs$272,354
Paid owner, store team and employer costs$210,000
Premises and other recurring overhead$84,000
EBITDA$82,107
Working-owner pay belongs in payroll. Interest, income taxes, loan principal, replacement equipment and changes in working capital affect cash available for distributions.
Five-year view · scroll the income statement horizontally to compare every year →
Five-year forecast
Authored constant-2026-dollar scenario, not a national thrift-store average. Year one follows the same monthly completed-order ramp as the calculator; full paid staffing and premises are funded from opening. Years two through five hold mature order volume, net basket, contribution, payroll and overhead constant. Sales already reflect ordinary markdowns and expected refunds. Sold-goods cost, unsalable stock/shrink, preparation consumables, bags and processing are included before the fixed cost base. No expansion, donation income, consignment, debt service, depreciation, income tax or owner distribution forecast is assumed.
RevenueEBITDA
$526.9k
$648.5k
$648.5k
$648.5k
$648.5k
Year 1
EBITDA $11.6k
Year 2
EBITDA $82.1k
Year 3
EBITDA $82.1k
Year 4
EBITDA $82.1k
Year 5
EBITDA $82.1k
Thrift Store income statement · annual USD
Income statement
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
Revenue
$526,874
$648,461
$648,461
$648,461
$648,461
Sold stock, losses and variable selling costs
−$221,287
−$272,354
−$272,354
−$272,354
−$272,354
Paid owner, store team and employer costs
−$210,000
−$210,000
−$210,000
−$210,000
−$210,000
Premises and other recurring overhead
−$84,000
−$84,000
−$84,000
−$84,000
−$84,000
EBITDA
$11,587
$82,107
$82,107
$82,107
$82,107
EBITDA margin
2.2%
12.7%
12.7%
12.7%
12.7%
Annual forecast and monthly operating reconciliation
Years 1–3 and the opening calculator ramp use one operating base within whole-dollar rounding. Years 4–5 follow the stated annual assumptions.
Original inputs · annual USD · whole-dollar rounding tolerance $5
Check
Annual forecast
Monthly calculator base
Year 1 revenue
$526,874
$526,874
Year 1 operating result
$11,587
$11,587
Year 2 revenue
$648,461
$648,461
Year 2 operating result
$82,107
$82,107
Year 3 revenue
$648,461
$648,461
Year 3 operating result
$82,107
$82,107
Year 3 / full-volume annual revenue
$648,461
$648,461
Year 3 / full-volume annual operating result
$82,107
$82,107
Year 1 uses months 1–12, Year 2 months 13–24 and Year 3 months 25–36. Full-volume rows use mature monthly sales and operating result × 12. The calculator holds price, days, contribution and fixed costs constant; an annual price, staffing or cost change can explain a separate path. Sliders do not change this comparison. Neither column measures cash flow, owner distributions or payback. Agreement tests arithmetic, not demand or cash funding. Input basis.
Set the three inputs to your own plan. The ramp starts at 55.0% of mature volume and adds 5.0 percentage points a month.
Monthly revenue = the shown USD rate × daily volume × operating days per week × 4.33 weeks. The annual forecast and its reconciliation retain their stated operating basis.
Monthly revenue over the first 24 months. Darker bars clear the operating break-even line.
Operating break-even
Month 6
Revenue at maturity
$54,038 / mo
Break-even revenue
$42,241 / mo
Break-even volume
51 / day
Fixed costs
$24,500 / mo
Year 1 ramp revenue
$526,874
Year 1 ramp operating result
$11,587
Full-volume operating result
$6,842 / mo
Fixed costs and contribution margin stay constant when you move the sliders. This sensitivity does not predict demand, staffing capacity or changes in cost percentages. Operating result excludes financing, income tax, depreciation, capital spending and cash timing; it is not owner take-home cash or investment payback.
Use the volume definition in the operating scope. This sensitivity keeps fixed costs and contribution margin constant; it does not rebuild the annual income statement. Operating break-even covers monthly fixed operating costs. It does not recover the opening investment.
Two numbers that decide the outcome
Price and daily throughput define the operating case. The range endpoints are sensitivity scenarios; test whether your location can support them.
Net sales per completed order
$26.00$38.00
$32.00
this model
Completed retail orders per day
4570
65
this model
What if the schedule is lighter, or fuller?
Only daily volume changes. All three cases keep net sales per completed order at $32.00, the schedule at 6 days per week, fixed costs at $24,500 per month and contribution margin at 58.0%.
Lower throughput
Use the low end to test a thinner schedule.
Completed retail orders per day
45
Mature monthly revenue
$37,411
Operating break-even
Not reached
Not reached in the 24-month ramp.
Base throughput
The current modeled daily schedule.
Completed retail orders per day
65
Mature monthly revenue
$54,038
Operating break-even
Month 6
First month contribution covers fixed costs.
Higher throughput
Validate the operating capacity first.
Completed retail orders per day
70
Mature monthly revenue
$58,195
Operating break-even
Month 5
First month contribution covers fixed costs.
Capital payback needs a cash-flow schedule. The current forecast has no cumulative cash balance after funding, taxes, debt principal and future capital spending. No payback date or lowest cash balance is reported.
What can go wrong, and what should you test?
Use these checks to challenge the operating assumptions before taking on commitments.
Unsafe or untraceable merchandise
Used goods can be recalled, damaged, incomplete or unsuitable for resale; a cheap purchase price does not remove the obligation to screen them.
Check: Maintain a written category whitelist, recall/condition screening, supplier records and a quarantine/refusal procedure. Exclude goods whose compliance or condition cannot be established.
Processing bottleneck
Buying more goods can fill the sorting area while slowing replenishment and taking staff from customers.
Check: Measure offered, refused, accepted, tagged and sold units separately. Limit intake or add paid processing capacity when the queue exceeds the scheduled work.
Markdown and loss leakage
Original tags overstate receipts when slow stock is reduced, discarded or missing.
Check: Track realized selling price and loss at cost, reconcile inventory counts, and set dated review decisions for aged stock. Do not deduct markdowns again after using net revenue.
Rules that extend the stock cash cycle
Local licensing, records or mandatory holding periods can delay sale and require more secure storage and cash.
Check: Obtain assortment-specific local findings before lease and opening orders. Recalculate stock funds and layout for every applicable hold; the national case does not assume NYC rules everywhere.
Reserve consumed before stable trading
A slow launch and additional paid stock purchases can exhaust liquidity before the store reaches operating cost coverage.
Check: Test cumulative monthly operating losses and inventory changes together, with buyer-tax funds excluded from spendable cash. Stage purchases or secure extra funding before commitments exceed the remaining reserve.
What would invalidate this scenario?
Choose your own go/no-go thresholds before committing funds. The page does not establish a universal stop-loss rule.
Before the lease
Defer an unconditional commitment until the actual merchandise scope, use permission, used-goods rules and feasible storage/receiving layout are confirmed.
Before buying opening stock
Do not buy an untested mixed lot when accepted yield, condition, lawful resale status, acquisition cost and disposal responsibility are unresolved.
Before public opening
Do not open against an unfunded payroll schedule or a cash plan that requires tax receipts, unpaid owner labor or immediate clearance of every item.
Before adding categories
Defer consignment, children's goods, electrical appliances, upholstery, delivery or online channels until their permissions, labor, accounting and cash requirements have a separately checked operating case.
What needs to be true before you proceed?
Treat this page as a starting case to verify. A favorable spreadsheet result is only useful when its price, capacity and cost assumptions can be supported.
Can the target customer find an equivalent used or discounted-new item for materially less?
How many offered items must be assessed to replace the merchandise actually sold?
Who covers the floor while the buyer checks condition, records the seller and prices accepted stock?
Does the expected basket survive actual markdowns, refunds and the selected mix?
What does the local rule set do to holding space, release dates and available cash?
How long can the store fund slower trading without increasing unpaid work or spending collected tax?
I would test the buying and sorting cycle before treating a thrift store as a low-cost retail opportunity. Cheap incoming goods are useful only when enough of them become safe, relevant merchandise that customers buy at realized prices.
The purchased-stock format pays before resale and handles items that never reach the rack. Counting offered, accepted, prepared and sold units separately exposes work that a simple margin on the ticket can miss.
The case pays owner management and the processing team alongside the sales floor. That makes the operating result more useful, while also showing why heavier intake cannot be absorbed by assuming free evenings or uninterrupted owner availability.
Stock funds and unrestricted reserve do different jobs. A slower launch or a local resale hold can consume cash even when the later monthly cost-coverage test looks acceptable.
What could change the view
My main concern is an opening order justified by its low purchase price while the acceptance yield, handling time and likely markdowns remain untested. An overfilled back room can leave both cash and the promised fresh assortment unavailable.
Who this format suits
This suits a hands-on retailer who enjoys selective buying, trains staff to refuse unsuitable goods and will act on aged stock. Routine shifts can be delegated, but the budget does not establish complete purchasing and management cover for a long absence.
Before committing
Before the lease, run a paid intake and trading test, compare equivalent local goods and join the resulting labor and stock numbers to a dated cash stress. Narrow the assortment or defer the commitment if that test requires more reserve or processing time than the plan funds.
Explore the online workbook illustration
This HTML illustration uses the website's scenario. The editable Excel product is sold separately; this view is not a screenshot or an inventory of its worksheets.
Thrift Store · Operating assumptionsIllustrative layout
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Current model inputs · USD unless stated
Input
Model
Unit
Opening capital
$150,000
one-time
Net sales per completed order
$32.00
per sold unit
Completed retail orders per day
65
per day
Operating schedule
6
days / week
Fixed operating costs
$24,500
per month
Contribution margin
58.0%
input assumption
The published calculator and annual forecast are separate views. The downloadable workbook requires its own separate calculation review.
Store visitors, buyers and repeat orders
Explains the readable retail funnel and its separation from the website's total completed-order sensitivity.
This section describes the website scenario. It does not show a screenshot of the purchased workbook.
Owned merchandise, units and realized prices
Connects a shared order basket to adult apparel, homewares and limited small-furniture categories.
This section describes the website scenario. It does not show a screenshot of the purchased workbook.
Stock cost, losses and selling contribution
Separates the acquisition cost of goods sold from stock losses, preparation materials, bags and processing.
This section describes the website scenario. It does not show a screenshot of the purchased workbook.
Paid buying, processing and shop coverage
Makes the workload behind saleable stock visible alongside the salary and shift budget.
This section describes the website scenario. It does not show a screenshot of the purchased workbook.
Opening uses, inventory and available cash
Distinguishes installed setup, deposits, purchased stock and operating liquidity.
This section describes the website scenario. It does not show a screenshot of the purchased workbook.
Five-year statements and alternative cases
Relates the documented financial reports and scenario controls to a single-store operating decision.
This section describes the website scenario. It does not show a screenshot of the purchased workbook.
Explore the separate editable Business Plan and Financial Model below. The online outlines describe this scenario; purchased files have their own examples.
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Confirm these items for your location and operating scope. This checklist does not assert that a particular license, insurance policy or employment arrangement is sufficient.
Assortment and supply
Written acceptance/exclusion list and recalled-product procedure.
A paid trial intake recording offered units, accepted units, processing time, acquisition cost and expected selling prices.
Evidence of repeatable supply, with furniture sizes and storage limits included.
Premises and permission
Assortment-specific licensing, tax and zoning findings.
Installed bids and a layout that preserves accessible aisles, sorting separation and secure stock storage.
Any mandatory holding period reflected in both release controls and cash needs.
People and cash
A dated paid roster including owner administration, breaks, intake and relief.
Observed net basket and contribution tests against alternatives.
A weekly stock and cash budget covering ordinary ramp, slower ramp, tax remittance and extra buying.
Where could this model miss your situation?
Most financial inputs are author-selected assumptions. The source register explains what is supported and what still needs local validation.
Conditional generic U.S. case
No city has been selected or surveyed. Lease cost, hiring pay, permissions, seasonality and sell-through must be replaced with local evidence.
Not a donated-goods or consignment model
The source of stock, recognized revenue, labor and cash timing change materially in those formats. Their apparent margins cannot be imported into this case.
Operating proxy and funding are different
The annual operating result precedes depreciation, financing and income taxes. It includes owner economic compensation, but does not establish distributable cash, capital recovery or a permitted tax treatment.
Product inspection scope
Current seller descriptions and one readable retail input image were inspected. Paid native files, formulas, compatibility and fulfillment were not audited; the broader seller plan needs the stated adaptations.
Extended analysis: editorial basis
Research-backed analysis for an independent purchased-inventory thrift retailer. National occupational and industry context and a New York City regulatory example support the scope; local demand, supplier yield, lease terms and actual staffing productivity are not measured. Financial inputs are authored assumptions. The site owner reviewed and accepted this thrift store composition for publication; no personal adoption by the assigned author is claimed.
1,800 sq ft leased unit; about 1,400 sq ft selling and 400 sq ft sorting/storage
Public schedule
Six 8-hour days per week; 48 public hours
Paid roster
Owner, lead, two associates and part-time intake support; 168 paid hours per week plus funded relief
Inventory ownership
Purchased stock sold on the shop's own account; no consignor payouts or tax-deductible donations
Sales unit
Completed merchandise order, including repeat orders once; net of discounts and refunds, excluding collected buyer sales tax
This is a newly authored single-store U.S. operating case, using current primary safety/licensing guidance and dated wage/tax context plus merchant and equipment observations. Census 459510 identifies the format. CPSC rules affect what can enter saleable inventory; New York City licensing, records and resale-hold rules are a specific local example, not the baseline jurisdiction. BLS supplies national occupational wage context, not a local hiring quote; IRS separates employer costs, inventory and sales-tax obligations. Buffalo Exchange demonstrates paying for accepted apparel before resale, while Goodwill's regional prices illustrate lower-priced alternatives rather than validate this curated basket. Square and Uline observations support only named components. Every financial amount and range is an explicit author-selected assumption with its evidence path. The shared convention uses 4.33 weeks per month; payroll funds 52 weeks. Annual inputs reconcile to the shared ramp within whole-dollar rounding. Product seller evidence establishes features and fit only; seller forecasts, page counts, formulas and delivery are not adopted as verified economics. Local demand, suppliers, leases, processing capacity and a full dated cash budget remain to be checked.
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission · primary · accessed October 16, 2026
Current guidance checked October 16, 2026; page has no stated publication date. Resellers are subject to product-safety laws and should screen goods before resale. The linked guide prohibits selling recalled products. Does not certify any selected inventory.
New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection · primary · accessed October 16, 2026
Checklist links an English edition dated September 8, 2026. NYC-specific scope includes used-goods businesses, with listed exemptions including apparel and nonprofits; mixed furniture/homewares is not automatically apparel-exempt. Requirements include sales-tax identification; published fees vary by filing period. A jurisdictional example, not a national license or permission for this case.
New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection · primary · accessed October 16, 2026
September 2026 checklist, secondhand pages 2 and 5: covered transactions require records, seller identification/signature and restrictions including a 15-day resale hold. Apparel exemptions are listed on page 1. Actual applicability requires the proposed assortment and jurisdiction; this source does not impose NYC conditions nationally.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · primary · accessed October 16, 2026
Current page reports May 2025 national retail-salesperson median of 17.03 USD/hour, with on-the-job training and variable evening/weekend schedules. Excludes self-employed owners. Wage and role context only; selected local wages and resale sorting times remain assumptions.
Internal Revenue Service · primary · accessed October 16, 2026
2026 edition: employer Social Security 6.2% and Medicare 1.45% at the stated wages, before other employer costs. Supports tax structure, not the selected complete 12% burden or entity-specific owner tax treatment.
Internal Revenue Service · primary · accessed October 16, 2026
2025 tax-year edition current when checked; chapters 5-7 distinguish consignments, buyer-imposed sales tax, purchases, ending inventory and goods sold. Used for analytical distinctions, not a tax-method election or claim that owner economic compensation is a deductible sole-proprietor salary.
U.S. Small Business Administration · primary · accessed October 16, 2026
Current consolidated guidance, accessed October 16, 2026; former calculate-your-startup-costs URL redirects here. Separates setup and monthly costs and calls for market, competitor and funding research. Supplies a planning framework, not dollar estimates or validation of this location.
Current US Square Free in-person card-present rate shown as 2.6% plus 0.15 USD per payment. Lower rates belong to other plans. Used with assumed tender/tax mix to test a selected effective cost allowance; no merchant contract, approval or future rate guaranteed.
Observed October 16, 2026: advertised one-time hardware price 299 USD. Excludes the complete shop systems/security installation, other peripherals, taxes and operating service costs. A component observation, not an installed-system quote.
Observed October 16, 2026: 150 USD each at quantity 1 and 140 USD at 5+, ships unassembled; casters do not lock. Supports component availability and a price check only. Freight, tax, suitable stabilized shop fixtures and installation are additional; this specific rack is not mandated.
Buffalo Exchange · vendor · accessed October 16, 2026
Current merchant policy observed October 16, 2026: accepted apparel receives 25% of the merchant selling price in cash or 50% in store credit, with condition/style/inventory screening and no wait for resale. Supports the purchased-stock mechanism and pricing risk; not a national goods-cost ratio, homeware/furniture supply quote or a cash/trade-equivalent expense.
Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont · vendor · accessed October 16, 2026
Current regional charity-store list observed October 16, 2026: shirts 4.99 USD, jeans 6.99 USD and coats 9.99 USD among standard apparel prices. A concrete lower-priced alternative, not comparable curated inventory or evidence that selected higher realized prices are attainable.
ThredUp / GlobalData · industry · accessed October 16, 2026
Published April 2, 2026; describes January-February 2026 survey of 3,268 US adults plus retailer tracking/modeling and ThredUp data. Commissioned by a resale operator and primarily apparel; broad participation, competition and supply context only, not local conversion, repeat rates, furniture demand or guaranteed market growth.
StartFigures product specifications · vendor · accessed October 16, 2026
StartFigures summary follows the exact current seller product description and readable Revenue Assumptions image checked October 16, 2026. It documents editable Excel, five-year monthly/annual retail planning, costs, scenarios and statements. The image includes a small consigned category removed from this case. This summary is not independent corroboration; native paid files, formulas, compatibility and delivery were not inspected. Raw exact-product records remain private.
StartFigures product specifications · vendor · accessed October 16, 2026
StartFigures summary follows the exact current seller description checked October 16, 2026, which identifies its displayed Executive Summary as an actual paid-plan excerpt and describes six complete sections in editable Word with financial content. The source purchased-stock concept has later expansion, online, delivery and community-programming assumptions requiring adaptation. This summary is not independent corroboration; native paid files, pagination, compatibility and delivery were not inspected. Raw exact-product records remain private.
The opening chart is an authored allowance for one purchased-stock shop in an already usable leased unit. It separates fit-out, fixtures, systems, deposits/setup, opening merchandise, pre-opening work, reserve and contingency. Replace each allowance with the actual lease, installed bids and inventory plan; it is not a nationwide average.
Is donated inventory free merchandise for this case?
No. The shop buys and owns its stock. It is not a charity, does not assume donation inflows or volunteers, and does not issue charitable tax receipts. A donated-goods organization has a different supply system, labor structure and funding story.
How are sorting and buying paid for?
The annual labor allowance pays a working owner, a trained lead, two associates, part-time intake support, employer costs and relief. Incoming goods consume inspection time even when refused. Accepted stock also needs cleaning, condition notes, tagging and display; the capacity check includes that work alongside sales-floor coverage.
Does a large difference between buying and ticket prices mean high profit?
No. Use realized sales after markdowns and refunds, then deduct sold-stock cost, losses, preparation supplies, bags and fees. Paid labor and overhead still have to be covered. Unsold merchandise can tie up cash even while a later operating month shows a surplus.
What permissions and product checks apply to secondhand goods?
Confirm local used-goods licensing, tax registration, zoning, records, seller-identification and any holding rules for the actual assortment. New York City, for example, lists apparel exemptions but regulates other covered used-goods activity. CPSC safety rules still apply to resellers; recalled goods cannot be sold. This case deliberately narrows the accepted categories.
When does the owner recover the opening investment?
The calculator finds operating cost coverage under its selected inputs. It does not calculate recovery of the opening investment, owner distributions or debt repayment. The owner's work is paid in the operating cost base before any operating surplus is shown.
Can the financial model be used for consignment?
The readable seller example contains a small consigned-items category, which this owned-stock case removes. Consignment needs the correct recognized fee or commission, consignor liabilities and settlement timing; gross customer proceeds cannot simply be treated as owned-merchandise revenue. Confirm the required structure before using that format.
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