Processing inventory can take time — even if handling every piece yourself results in higher quality of items accepted into your store, it's not always a bad idea to offload that process onto your consignors. This is especially true if you have a long-standing relationship with them, or if they are very high-volume accounts.
This is something we're working on solving over here at ConsignCloud, but in the meantime, our exports and imports system can help you bridge that gap. Below is a quick walkthrough for how you can receive items into inventory quickly and efficiently.
Go to Menu » Inventory and click on the purple Export button to get a spreadsheet you can use as a template.
Delete all the data and any columns you don't want the consignor to be able to edit, leaving the basics for the consignor to fill out. Generally, Brand, Color, Size, Details, Description, Title, Price (Split or Tag depending on your settings), Terms, and Quantity are a good place to start. If you want to negotiate a bit with your consignor, Inventory Type, Cost Per, Split, and Price (Tag or Split depending on your settings) can be good to add.
Optionally, add an example item so your consignor knows how to fill it out. Save this file as a template for future use.
Send the spreadsheet to your consignor by email and negotiate whatever details you need.
Once you've settled on a list of inventory you'd like to accept, add in columns for Account, Category, Terms, and Surcharges as needed. Double check the data they've entered to make sure it all makes sense, and then import the spreadsheet at Menu » Inventory » Actions » Upload Spreadsheet.
That's it! Spreadsheets aren't pretty, but they'll do the job in a pinch. This strategy can save you hours every week, and open up new workflows for your store.