Sonya Nix’s Better Than Before Consignments
“How Better Than Before Consignment Turned Shopping into a Community”
“Excitement is Building for February 25 and 26 Roadtrip for Resale”
By Debra Wallace
In fact, Sonya has built such a loyal community that they can’t wait to meet Sonya, her fellow shopping hosts, and one another, and as such are going on a once-in-a-lifetime Roadtrip for Resale on Friday, February 25, and Saturday, February, 26.
“I can’t wait! I am super excited and pumped about this big event and meeting our new and long-time customers face-to-face. It’s going to be a blast!” Sonya says.
“We are inviting all of our shoppers around the country to take a road trip for resale,” she adds. “Come to Alabama (Cullman and Decatur), visit our stores, meet us in person, and even be part of a Facebook LIVE selling show.”
What makes this so noteworthy is that this is something no one in our industry has ever done before. It also marks the 25th Anniversary of Better Than Before Consignment. “When I started all those years ago, I never dreamed I’d be in business for 25 years and here I am with two huge stores, a successful website, and a large Facebook group of shoppers,” Sonya says. “I am so grateful and feel so blessed.”
What do you do when your business turns 25? “You go big! You reward and thank all the Consignors and Shoppers who have supported you in business through. The biggest thing we could possibly do is a weekend we call “Roadtrip for Resale.”
An enthusiastic Sonya explains, “We are making arrangements with local hotels and restaurants, we are going to have swag bags, door prizes and we are giving away multiple $100 shopping sprees to our stores!”
Visitors are encouraged to enjoy local restaurants, hotels, make new friends, and have the opportunity to appreciate and get to know Sonya and her staff in person. It is the perfect way to celebrate our lives during the chilly winter weather.
When Sonya Nix started Better Than Before Consignments nearly 25 years ago, she knew she wanted to provide quality goods at great prices.
But she also knew she had so much more to offer; online and brick-and-mortar stores that are based on her values of family, faith, friendship, and community.
When you walk into the two Better Than Before consignment stores (located in Cullman and Decatur, Alabama), you can immediately see that customer service is a priority, a treasured commodity with so many stores running on reduced staff.
The devoted wife of 38 years, doting mother, and Glamma (a mixture of glamorous and grandma) of seven grandchildren ages two to 12, pursues every aspect of her life with energy and vitality.
After mastering the art of consigning and selling goods with a high level of customer service, she has embraced social media and is clearly never afraid to try something new, which constantly adds to her success.
A true role model to her employees, devoted local and national customers, consignors, as well as to her own family, Sonya is eager to make a meaningful connection with each and every one she meets.
When millions of other businesses around the U.S. and the globe shut their doors in March 2020, Sonya reluctantly waved goodbye to her loyal staff, turned off her open sign, and shut her two large consignment stores in Cullman and Decatur, Alabama.
While COVID-19 may have forced her to turn off the lights, it only ignited this tenacious and innovative entrepreneur’s spirit. While other business owners retreated to their sofas and waited out the great shutdown, Sonya retreated to the store’s back room, turned on the lights, turned on her iPhone, and started selling live on Facebook to her fans and followers.
What happened was the formation of a unique community of shoppers, mostly women of all ages, buying clothing for themselves, their spouses, children, and other family members, while bonding with the Facebook hosts and one another.
“If they can’t come to me, I can go to them and where are they? They’re all stuck at home and hanging out on Facebook,” Sonya explains. She did as many as three or more Facebook LIVE selling shows per day.
Her shows quickly became a form of entertainment for her viewers and a place where they look forward to coming to one or more times each day or night. “It’s almost like a game show because we only have one of each item so if you see something you like you have to be the first to comment ‘sold’ in order to get it.”
Sonya’s customers started sharing her LIVE shopping videos with family and friends and soon she had viewers from all 50 states and even a few countries regularly chiming in to watch and shop.
Sonya’s Facebook LIVE viewers and shoppers wanted to connect with each other even more so she started a private FB Group where they can share more intimate details of their lives and they can comment, interact and support each other 24/7, not just when the shopping is happening.
It was only a matter of time before some of Sonya’s FB LIVE Shoppers started “road tripping” from 4 or more hours away to visit her stores.
“We have tens of thousands of pieces in our stores and at least 1,000 or more new arrivals coming in every day from our Consignors and our boutique buy-outs, we can’t possibly show everything on our Facebook LIVE selling shows.” Customers also took the trek to meet Sonya and the other Facebook LIVE selling “celebs” in person.
“We are excited to meet the shoppers that so far we have only interacted with on Facebook and we are thrilled to include our everyday local Shoppers and Consignors. It feels like we are planning a family reunion because to us our Shoppers and Consignors are part of our Better Than Before Family.”
The Roadtrip for Resale is taking place Friday, February 25, and Saturday, February 26, 2022. For more details, go to Roadtrip for Resale.