The way we buy and sell luxury is changing fast, and understanding the terms is key. The luxury goods market has witnessed significant growth in secondhand shopping, with new services launching throughout 2025.
Most recently, myGemma launched a new luxury consignment service in February, expanding beyond their direct selling model to offer customers more ways to monetize their designer items. But what exactly is the difference between consignment and resale?
The Fundamental Distinction
The primary distinction between consignment and resale lies in ownership and payment timing. With resale, stores purchase items outright from sellers, paying cash or store credit immediately upon acceptance. The store then owns the items and is responsible for selling them. In contrast, consignment operates on a partnership model where the original owner keeps ownership until the item sells, receiving a percentage of the final sale price only after a successful transaction.
As Andrew Brown, CEO of…
myGemma, said: “Our consignment offering, alongside our direct selling option, is designed to help our customers sell their designer goods in whichever way is most practical and beneficial to them.
Our goal is always to make both buying and selling luxury items fast, easy, and reliable.” How Consignment Works Consignment stores act as intermediaries, displaying and marketing items for their owners.
When an item sells, the consignment shop takes a portion of the sale price as commission, while the consignor receives the remainder. Consignment stores attempt to sell pieces on your behalf, and if items don’t sell within the agreed-upon timeframe, owners can usually reclaim them.
The myGemma consignment service shows how this model can benefit sellers. The company lists items on 25+ marketplaces, handles professional photography and any necessary repairs, and reports that 80% of 2024 listings sold within an average of 52 days…
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