I love the consignemnt store, it's one of my favorite things about ambitions. Are the things you can buy there (i.e. Paintings, furniture) cheaper than what the would cost in buy mode?
The prices vary quite a bit - sometimes you can get an excellent deal - like SimLife Goggles for around 5k (in buy mode I think they are around 9k). You really have to know what things are worth to determine if you are getting a good deal or not. Generally crafted items such as inventions, paintings, and nectar are good investments. Even if you pay more than they are worth you can turn around and consign them and when they sell you will almost always make a very nice profit.
My general rules for buying in the consignment shop are:
- always buy rare gems and metals no matter the price
- buy gnomes when they are available no matter the price
- buy the photography and martial arts books if they cost less than $50
- buy the Hikon camera as soon as it is available
- watch prices on luxury items like SimLife Goggles and trampolines and buy when they are available at around 50-75% of the price in buy mode - if you don't need these items you can always sell them in buy mode and make a decent profit if you buy them really cheap
- watch the prices on skill books and buy when they are cheaper than the bookstore
- buy crafted items (inventions, paintings, and nectar) whenever I have extra money and reconsign them for profit
That's just what works for me. I'd love to hear how other people work the consignment shop.