At Mid Atlantic Store Fixtures, our most popular store fixture is gondola shelving. Gondola shelving works in almost any type of store and per square inch gondola can hold the most weight for merchandising a variety of items. Furthermore, Gondola easily disappears after placing product on the shelves. Once merchandise has been appropriately placed, most of the shelf space will not be seen by customers. The conundrum most new store owners face is the difficult decision of buying new or used. Although we sell both new and used, our answer is used and here are the reasons why:
1. After merchandised, the shelves are unseen.
When buying used product, we only buy shelving that has been seen by one of our procurement experts; therefore, the quality is good. However, the nature of used product is there may be some evident scratches, discoloration, and grime that needs to be wiped clean. Some store owners are justifiably concerned about these slight imperfections. The bottom line is, once the shelves are stocked, very little of the shelf space will be visible to the customer. After considering this fact, used is the most obvious and viable option.
2. No wait time.
When purchasing new gondola, the average wait time before an order can be filled in 6 to 8 weeks. Most new store owners allow themselves an ample amount of time for purchasing store fixtures, but 6 to 8 weeks is a little absurd. Used gondola is available and in stock for immediate pick up. In certain cases, store owners may need to be reasonable about certain aspects of the products, such as shelf size, base size, post size and color. However, in most cases, we are able to meet your gondola needs immediately so fixture preparation is not an unattainable hurdle during the endeavors of opening a store.
3. It is just cheaper to buy used
We live in a very different market from 10 years ago. Banks are less apt to lend money, credit is not as readily available, and the prices per square foot of renting and buying space is climbing more and more every day. Therefore, new entrepreneurs need to be more aware of their initial spending. Used product is on average 30% cheaper than buying new. When spending $5000 and above on fixtures, these savings can go along way toward easing the burdens of new store ownership.
