What a great shop staffed by friendly people!…read more
I recently retired, so have been sorting through my handbags and clothes, identifying things I no longer need as well as items I don't use/wear often. I found Encore online and sent an email through their website asking about selling or consigning the handbags. I received an email the next day letting me know of upcoming buying days. The way it works is that there are specific days/hours you can bring items in and, whatever they think they can sell, they buy from you in cash. There were three different buying days in March.
I went to Encore on their first March buying day. It was my first time in the shop. It is arranged beautifully and had a true boutique feel. It is a far more pleasant space than many discount retailers where things seem haphazardly packed together. Every type of item was neatly sorted onto different racks: dresses, skirts, cardigans, blouses, etc. They also have sections with handbags, shoes, jewelry, and scarves. Clothing on racks was organized by size. All of the clothing looked clean and well-presented. The prices were very reasonable. Honestly, I have never shopped in a re-sale store, but I saw several cute things I would have tried on or bought, but I am trying really hard to stick to cleaning out right now!
As far as the selling experience went, I was greeted by the woman behind the counter when I entered the shop. She saw that I was carrying bags, so told me where I could sit them down and that I could put my name on the list on the counter. It did not take long for my name to be called. The owner, then, looked at all of my items. There was no judgement or weird feeling--just a simple assessment of whether or not she could sell this in our neck of the woods, right now, and (if so) for how much. With one item, she looked it up on re-sale websites because she said that she tries to price a bit below them, encouraging people to shop local and not online. Makes sense!
Overall, selling items I no longer use at Encore was a great experience and I could also imagine going back to browse because the shop was friendly, cute, and had nice things. If Scotts Valley Drive was more like Santa Cruz Avenue in Los Gatos, I could imagine more people coming here and strolling the shops, including Encore. For now, it is a local gem.