on consignment

Idioms  

1. Turning over goods for an agent to sell, with the provision that payment is made only on completed sales and that unsold goods may be returned to the consignor. For example, This secondhand shop accepts items of clothing on consignment. [c. 1700]

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Example Sentences

Called Athena, the technology proposes item descriptions, suggests pricing and, crucially for a company that receives millions of goods a year to sell on consignment, helps discern authentic products from fakes.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 21, 2026

The businessman collected the luxury watches from customers, promising them that he would sell the watches on consignment and take no more than a 5 percent fee, the authorities said.

From New York Times • Nov. 9, 2023

All the oil cargoes were sold on consignment at a deep discount owing to the sanctions, which have dissuaded more established traders from doing business with Venezuela.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 30, 2023

She is the one who innovated the model away from wholesale into acquiring our product on consignment, where we revenue share with our partners.

From The Verge • Jul. 26, 2022

One afternoon while McCandless was tending the book table at the Niland swap meet, somebody left a portable electric organ with Burres to sell on consignment.

From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer