FCG's first website was primitive – even for 2005.
Only one page, it featured a picture of a bed, the store's address and hours of operation. The graphics were a dull brown-on-brown. Why waste money on a website? FCG's former owners figured. No one would ever buy furniture off the internet.
Diana and I had other ideas. Within a few days of buying FCG in 2005, we began working on a cutting-edge site that would feature photos of the furniture, art and accessories. We also added information about our fantastic staff and our delivery and design services.
By the end of our first year in business, we were close to having all of our inventory featured on the site. Customers were asking for more. They wanted photos of the furniture from every angle and details such as brand names and measurements. They also wanted to know more about pricing, including the mark-down schedule on consignment furniture. (Every 30 days, the price drops 10% for three months.)
Before long, we had a highly customized website that was disproving all sorts of old-fashioned notions about how people buy consignment furniture. Our website was a big hit. Buyers from coast to coast were looking at – and buying – furniture from FCG.
Our trusty website is long overdue for an upgrade, though. And, for the past year, we've been hard at work on a completely new site. We're delighted to announce that we're retiring our old website on Sunday.
On Monday, FCG will launch a new and completely modern website. Our new site will be mobile-friendly, providing the same great graphics and service to you no matter what device you use to access the website.
Even more important, the search function will be enhanced dramatically. You will be able to search for items by store, by category, by brand, and by material. You'll also be allowed to purchase items from all three of our stores and pay for them online.
Saying goodbye to our old website is bittersweet. It's like your first car. Sure, it has 300,000 miles on it and won't budge from the driveway. But it took you to some great places, as did our website.
We hope you enjoy the crisp, new look of furnitureconsignment.com. Pull up the new site on Monday, and let us know what you think.
