Shopify is a popular choice for many consignment and thrift shops— and for good reason. It's especially useful for stores that sell both online and in physical locations. Combined with Circle-Hand, thrift and consignment stores can easily manage all their business processes: from seller management to payouts.

1. Shopify as a POS system for consignment and resale shops

Shopify has established itself as one of the best inventory management systems for retailers, thanks to its versatile features and no-code implementation.

One of Shopify’s key features is the ability to create barcode labels using Shopify’s free label app. These labels can automatically include product attributes like size, brand, and more. When used with Circle-Hand, you can generate barcode labels directly within Circle-Hand, further simplifying the process.

Another significant advantage of Shopify is its clear and efficient inventory management for both online and in-store sales. Shopify’s Point-of-Sale (POS) system offers great benefits for physical retailers. Importantly, not every product listed in Shopify’s inventory must be visible online—a little-known but valuable feature.

The Shopify POS system can be used for free, regardless of which Shopify subscription you have. Additionally, it can run on a smartphone or tablet, eliminating the need for a traditional cash register or barcode scanner. All you need is the Shopify POS mobile app on your device and a card reader. Alternatively, you can use Tap-to-Pay on your phone, so you’ll only need your smartphone to get started.

Shopify POS is also flexible when it comes to payment processing. It’s not tied to Shopify’s own payment system. Instead, you can add custom payment methods, and use other card readers, like those from SumUp, FlatPay or Square. This means you don’t have to pay Shopify a percentage of your sales as long as you’re not using Shopify’s payment processing terminals.

2. Shopify’s limitations as a POS System for consignment and resale businesses

Despite its many advantages, Shopify does have limitations, especially for shops selling secondhand items:

Handling Unique Items: Second-hand stores often deal with one-of-a-kind items, and Shopify’s system isn’t designed to handle unique products efficiently.

Consignment and seller management: Shopify does not offer built-in support for managing consignor or seller payouts. As a result, many stores end up managing these tasks manually in spreadsheets, which is time-consuming and prone to errors.

VAT Margin Scheme (Differential taxation): Shopify does not support the VAT margin scheme, which is commonly used in the secondhand industry across Europe. This is a major drawback for stores that need to comply with specific tax rules + will save you a lot of money.

3. Circle-Hand: To manage your sellers, taxes and payouts

This is where Circle-Hand comes in. It’s a specialized tool designed to handle the unique needs of vintage and consignment stores. It focuses on managing the sourcing process of inventory and consignment-related activities. With Circle-Hand, you can:

Manage sellers: Keep track of sellers, consignors and payouts in one system.

Add new products: Create new products in seconds by using image recognition and link them to sellers and consignors.

Integrate with Shopify: When you create a product in Circle-Hand, it’s automatically added to your Shopify store’s inventory. You can decide if the product should only be sold in-store via Shopify POS or listed online as well.

When a product is sold, Shopify notifies Circle-Hand, which then updates the payout balance of your sellers and consignors. This way, you’ll know exactly how much each seller is owed. To activate the connection between Shopify and Circle-Hand, simply install the Shopify Circle-Hand app in your store.

4. Seamless integration: The best of both worlds

Together, Shopify and Circle-Hand provide a complete and efficient solution for vintage and consignment shops. Shopify covers the sales process—whether in-store or online—while Circle-Hand manages sellers and consignors, consignment tracking, payouts and taxes.

The integration is seamless. When a sale occurs, Shopify automatically notifies Circle-Hand, marking the item as sold. The corresponding consignment payments are then tracked and linked to the appropriate sellers.

By combining Shopify with Circle-Hand, you’ll have a system that’s perfectly tailored to the needs of vintage and consignment stores. It’s a complete solution that leverages the strengths of both platforms, giving you the tools you need to manage sales, track seller payouts, and handle inventory—all in one place.