BonnerSprings.com

Edwardsville — Edwardsville has a new store, just in time for the holiday shopping season. Schuler's, 109 1/2 Fourth St., is a consignment shop that sells merchandise and also offers Internet sales services.

"It's like a year-round garage sale," Erin Schuler said.

Just a few days after its "soft opening" Saturday in the space that used to house Dodie's Barbershop the store's offerings include Santa and Mrs. Clause dolls, books, a crib, dozens of brand-new Hot Wheels, and more than 100 hats.

The store is a family affair, started by father and son Don and Kevin Schuler. Erin Schuler, Kevin's wife, and Susan Schuler, his mother, also help run the store.

Erin and Kevin's sons, Alex, 7, Austin, 12, and Ryan, 13, also help out at the store.

"We wanted to open our own business for a while," Kevin said.

The idea for a consignment and Internet-sales business occurred to them, Erin said, after "we took a look around. There wasn't anything like it and we thought it would be well-suited to the area."

The store's operators have other jobs: Erin teaches in Piper, Susan teaches in Turner, Don works at the Johnson County Public Library and Kevin is a firefighter with the Edwardsville Fire Department. Even so, the store keeps regular business hours, open Tuesdays to Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The store will soon be open on Mondays as well.

The store has a built-in advantage in its line of business, Don said.

"It changes every day," he said. "People bring in different stuff."

The Schulers' store is also different than other consignment stores, by taking 25 percent of an item's sale price, compared to the 50 percent that most stores charge, Erin said.

The store manages e-Bay sales for customers who opt for the online route, though the same item can't be for sale both in the shop and online. Additionally, Schuler's offers research on products to determine their salability and optimum pricing.

If an item doesn't sell, the Schulers don't make any money, though they try to help their customers. If something doesn't sell after a month, Don said, "then we ask, 'Do you want to lower the price?'"

The store will also have its own Web site, which is under development by Susan Schuler, and will hold a grand opening in the near future.