Pawn shops can increase inventory without investment by accepting items on consignment.

With the eroding economy, the consignment business is increasing. Owners of items are more eager to sell (to raise cash) and budget-strapped shoppers are looking more toward consignment shops for goods.

There may be situations where an item might sell but it may not be worth the risk of loaning money against it or buying it outright for resale. Such items may be taken on consignment without cash outlay, and each item may have its own commission structure.

In PPSS consigned items may be discounted automatically by a set amount after a designated period of time according to a predetermined schedule, or they may be discounted manually, or not at all.

Under a typical consignment arrangement, ownership of consigned items remains with the consignor (the owner of the item) and ownership is transferred to the new owner upon full payment. The pawn shop never takes ownership so it has a custodial responsibility for the consigned items. The Consignment Agreement in PPSS may be edited to include any provisions the shop owner prefers and to which consignors will agree, including the release of liability for stolen, destroyed or damaged items.

The Consignment Module included in PPSS is a complete consignment software program which was first released in May, 2002. Separately the consignment program (Best Consignment Shop Software ) sells for $595.

Related: Selling on Consignment