Consignment

Wilson's Gallery in Chester Heights will get the new year off to a running start Wednesday with a sale that sheds light on a little-known chapter of Philadelphia history: its role as a haven for wealthy refugees from the turmoil of the French Revolution. Among the 900 lots that will be offered beginning at 4 p.m. is a 14-karat gold "French Merit Award" with an inscription dating it to 1806 and saying that it was presented to "Marg'ta Smith" by "Mrs. Rivardi's seminary, Twelfth and Chestnut, Philadelphia.

Beginning with Freeman's two-day sale of jewelry and silver, next week will offer a variety of possible holiday gift items and collectibles, including one consignment that blends nostalgia with trivia. The Freeman's doubleheader, a holiday shopping tradition, begins at noon tomorrow at the gallery, 1808 Chestnut St. More than 425 lots of jewelry will be offered, ranging from rings and charms that might sell for as little as $40 to a diamond-and-platinum bowknot brooch expected to sell for $15,000 to $20,000, according to presale estimates in the illustrated $20 catalog, which serves both sessions.

Three men robbed a Rittenhouse Square clothing store of $70,000 worth of furs and escaped in a stolen minivan Wednesday, Philadelphia police said yesterday. The men got away with about 15 furs, said Detective James Seymour of Central Detectives. Each of them grabbed "an arm's worth," Seymour added. A store employee, Steve Applebaum, "buzzed" a man into Trame Retail Clothing Inc., 110 S. 18th St., about 5:10 p.m. The man was quickly followed by two others. The men asked to see items in the store, which sells Jacques Ferber furs on consignment from various vendors.

Augmented by several sales postponed because of last week's terrorist attacks, auctions next week will offer bidders an unusually wide variety of objects big and small, new and old, pricey and inexpensive. The big items are two crystal chandeliers from the officers' club at the former Philadelphia Naval Base. They will be offered tomorrow by Barry Slosberg Auctioneers & Appraisers at the first session of the Port Richmond gallery's two-day fall catalog auction. Each chandelier is 6 feet in diameter and has 48 lights, and is expected to fetch $3,000 to $6,000, Slosberg said.

Each consignment store has its own pricing policy. Most negotiate a high and low price with the seller. The longer the piece sits in the showroom, the lower the price goes; but even if the price drops to the lowest agreed price, the chances of bargaining are still good. "It's a big mistake not to ask about price," said Alden, who knows the market mostly from her experience as a consignment shopper for the last 10 years. "People should also shop in new-furniture stores to see how much it costs new. It's the best way to know if they are getting a deal.

Cherry Hill, N.J., residents Jeffrey Lincoln and Linda Passero-Lincoln conducted an exhaustive search for a reasonably priced buffet that would match the rustic look of their dining-room set. After six months of antiques-shopping, the couple came up emptyhanded and felt they had wasted valuable time searching for a piece within their budget. When most price tags soared above $2,000, the couple realized they were looking in all the wrong places. Then the thought hit them: Why not treasure-hunt in a furniture consignment store?

Need some quick cash? Moving? Consigning may be the easiest way to unload unwanted furniture in a hurry without a lot of hassle. "We start out by asking the person what they paid for the furniture," said consignment store owner Jeffrey Cofsky. "If it is in good condition, we'll put it on the floor for half of the original cost. " If the piece was handed down or is an antique, Cofsky and other store owners can look it up in their furniture-pricing books. Eventually, you and the consignment store owner will agree upon a price.

Nina Livecchi needed to work, but with five sons under the age of 10, she did not have many choices. What she did have was a lot of children's clothing, toys and accessories. So, Livecchi organized her stockpile of practically new shoes, hardly worn sleepers, and unstained pants and tops. Then she dusted off the old crib, the car seat and the walker and went into business for herself. On Oct. 10, she opened a consignment shop called Mommy & Me at 302 W. Merchant Ave. It is just a few blocks outside the main shopping district - and just a few blocks from her home.

Build more schools, enroll more students, hire more teachers, and then grapple with a shortage of substitute teachers - that is the problem that districts are facing across the country. Now Perkiomen Valley School District no longer will rely on dog-eared lists and early-morning phone calls to round up replacements when full-time teachers are out sick or attending in-service days. Today ends the first week of a two-year contract between the district and Substitute Teacher Service, based in Media, Delaware County, said Deborah Stillions, the district's human-resources director.

Five women have filed a joint civil complaint in District Court alleging that a defunct thrift shop did not pay them for goods sold on consignment and did not return unsold items before its closing last spring. The complaint names B.J. Brody and Susie Pesin, both of Lower Merion, as owners of Ladies Exchange, which did business as the Wee Exchange consignment shop at 1617 E. Darby Rd., Havertown. A new consignment shop - Twice as Nice - opened in mid-August at the same location.