Glossary › Selling & Business › Consignment
🤝 Selling & Business term
Consignment
An arrangement where a shop displays and sells your products without buying them first. When an item sells, the shop keeps an agreed share and pays you the rest. Unsold items come back to you.
Common questions
How is consignment different from wholesale?
With wholesale, the shop buys your stock upfront and takes on the risk if it doesn’t sell. With consignment, you’re paid only after each item sells, and unsold items are returned to you.
What should a consignment agreement cover?
The shop’s share of each sale, when and how you’re paid, who is responsible for lost or damaged items, how long products stay on display and how unsold stock is returned.
Can a home-based food business sell on consignment?
Not to food outlets. SFA’s rules say home-based food businesses can’t sell to licensed food establishments such as cafes, restaurants or hawker stalls, or at temporary fairs.
Why it matters
Consignment gets your product onto physical shelves without the shop paying upfront, but your money is tied up in stock until it sells.
🇸🇬 In Singapore
Consignment is common for fashion, accessories, crafts and pre-loved items. Food made at home under the Home-Based Business Scheme can’t be supplied to cafes or shops, so home food sellers usually sell directly to consumers online instead.
Tips before you sign
- Get the share and payment timing in writing.
- Keep a record of every item you hand over.
- Check sales regularly and collect slow sellers.