Greater Harrisburg's Community Magazine

What’s Old Is New: At PassItOn, consigned goods aren’t just used, but a “cycle of life.”

Screenshot 2015-10-30 12.33.15This holiday season, you could break the bank shopping the boutiques and luxury stores for just the right item for mom, sis or even yourself.

But the thing is—you don’t have to.

The Harrisburg area is replete with consigned goods stores, and none may have quite the eclectic selection of home décor (and an assortment of other items) as PassItOn Consignment in Lower Allen Township.

“October 1st starts our Christmas consignments,” said owner Antoinette “Toni” Miller. “We’re like Kathy’s Christmas on steroids. We get really nice, high-end pieces.”

Looking for a personal gift? Check out PassItOn’s like-new collection of glittering costume jewelry, stylish purses and other accessories. How about a quilted Vera Bradley purse for $30, around half of its regular retail price?

A large battery-operated pillar candle for only $2.50?

Then there’s the marble-top cocktail table consigned from the Hilton Harrisburg and a Pennsylvania House wooden dining set comprising six chairs, a table and a hutch.

I could go on and on.

It’s no wonder that PassItOn was selected as a Reader’s Choice in the “Consignment Shops— Furniture” category of Harrisburg Magazine’s 2015 Reader’s Poll.

Miller sells consigned merchandise for a total 60 days. After 20 days on the shelf, an item’s price is reduced by 20 percent. After 40 days, the price is reduced by a total of 50 percent. Meanwhile, consigners reap 50 percent of their item’s final selling price.

Items not sold within 60 days are either returned to consigners or donated to various local charities with consigners’ approval. Some household merchandise is donated to Operation Wildcat, an organization comprising Mechanicsburg Area School District PTOs and Parent Advisory Committee members that pools community resources to assist local students and families in need.

Other goods are donated to New Digs Ministry, Inc., of Mechanicsburg, a volunteer organization helping people rebuild their lives. Another beneficiary of PassItOn’s unsold merchandise is New Bloomfield United Methodist Church, which runs a program that provides holiday presents for disadvantaged families.

PassItOn also has donated unsold women’s accessories to Dress For Success South Central PA, a local branch of the worldwide non-profit organization that provides clothing, accessories and an overall confidence boost for low-income women seeking employment.

 

Community Outreach

PassItOn first opened in 2007 in a 1,000-square-foot storefront on the Carlisle Pike in Hampden Township. Until then, Miller had worked as a real estate settlement closer.

“I was working so hard all the time, and I felt that I wanted to do something for myself and my family,” she said.

Indeed, PassItOn has turned into a family affair. Miller’s grown daughter, Ashley Sweigart, works at the store full-time, while her husband, Duane Dagen, does merchandise pickups and deliveries on weekends.

Before running PassItOn, Miller said she’d “never set foot in a consignment shop, so I didn’t understand the whole concept at first.” However, she loves home decorating and previously worked in sales, so she figured she could do it. Miller noted that she’s “always been people-oriented” and maintains an overall positive outlook about things.

It didn’t take long for PassItOn to become a hit, maintaining regular customers while attracting new ones. In 2009, the store moved to its current, 5,000-square-foot location at the Lower Allen Shopping Center. It’s five times bigger than the original PassItOn, but there’s plenty of inventory to fill the floor.

Today, Miller sees her business as a community outreach of sorts.

“There are so many avenues for helping people with this recycling (of merchandise),” she noted. “It’s good for the environment, too, because with repurposing, less stuff winds up in landfills.”

What makes PassItOn different from other consignment shops is “a flair for staging merchandise and a compassion and passion for working with families,” said Miller.

“We help families who lost their parents and are breaking up their homes,” she explained. “We help people who are going into assisted living and need to get rid of things.”

Other goods originate from senior citizens who move out of the state, their old things bought by young people who are moving into new—often their first—homes.

“It’s a neat cycle of life,” Miller said.

PassItOn Consignment of Home Décor is located at 2202 Gettysburg Rd. in the Lower Allen Shopping Center. For more information, call 717-730-4663 or visit www.passitonconsignment.com.

Continue Reading