Not a week goes by that a customer doesn’t ask if we sell second hand shop fittings. The answer is no, Apex Display has never and most likely will never sell second hand shop fittings.
The look of used shopfittings – Is it what you want in your store?
Used fixtures must have a good publicist. Almost all retail ‘advice’ sites on the internet pound home their virtues. But reread those columns carefully and you’ll find they all boil down to the same reason for buying: Second hand is cheaper than new shop fittings.
Here’s news – you’re not being told the whole truth. We’ve come up at least 5 more reasons to buy second hand shopfittings. Whether they’re valid, you decide:
1. You are a handyman and love doing repairs
Buying used fixtures is always going to be a gamble. You don’t get a logbook with the fixtures, and you begin blissfully unaware of their chequered past. Your innocence is lost when those carefully concealed weak points give way, at 1pm on Saturday afternoon when there’s plenty of customers to witness the event……That will give you something to do on Sunday, won’t it? If you are a true DIY-er rest assured there will be plenty of ‘fix-it’ opportunities to keep you more than occupied!
2. You don’t need your shop looking up-to-the-minute
Maybe you are a second hand, or discount store. Maybe your goal is to look ‘well established’. Perhaps you’re aiming for retro or vintage style. Your shop doesn’t need to look the latest for your customers, because the customers you attract won’t expect it to. In that case, go for used fittings. If you sell new and trendy clothes, or you have a defined look you want your store to have, we hardly need to tell you that 2nd hand fittings may not be the best idea.
3. You have junior staff that you need to keep occupied.
Situation: You have recently employed some junior staff who you are training in the ways of retail. The problem is you are having difficulty keeping them occupied. You don’t want to give them jobs they are easily bored with, that don’t provide a challenge; but you don’t want them to make monumental errors. Solution: get them repairing those second hand fixtures you bought last month!
4. You don’t mind if your fittings and fixtures don’t match
While most people want the various features in their shop to match each other, there are a few people who don’t mind if they are all mismatched. Maybe you are one of these people. Refer to the store types listed in reason two, for the instances a mismatched store may work. Bear in mind also it will be nigh to impossible to get two locations of one store to keep to a similar look if you choose the second hand option. What can we say? Make the decision with your eyes wide open!
5. Your expansive budget extends to replacing the fixtures often.
You have lots and lots of money to replace the fixtures when they break, or injure someone… your second hand shop fittings will need to be replaced often, and may end up a considerably larger investment than new fittings. Of course, if you’re that person who loves doing repairs, wants a well-established look to their shop, has juniors to keep occupied and likes a mix-match feel in their store; maybe second hand shop fittings will tick all the boxes for you.
Otherwise, may we humbly suggest you consider new ones?
