Consign

To consign goods means to entrust them to a carrier or agent for transport or sale. In logistics, consignment refers to the act of shipping goods to another party (the consignee). In a consignment arrangement, the seller (consignor) delivers goods to a retailer or distributor (consignee) who pays for the goods only after they are sold to an end buyer — the consignor retains ownership until the point of sale.

Consignment in Retail and Distribution

Consignment arrangements are common in specialty retail, art galleries, book distribution, and certain food and beverage channels. The seller supplies inventory to the retailer at no upfront cost to the retailer; the retailer pays only for what sells and returns unsold goods. This shifts inventory risk from retailer to supplier. From a logistics perspective, consignment goods must be carefully tracked — the supplier retains legal title until the sale, affecting how goods appear on balance sheets and in customs declarations for cross-border consignment.

Consignment and International Trade

For international consignment shipments, the commercial invoice must declare the consignment arrangement clearly — goods on consignment should be valued at their commercial value, not zero, even though no payment has been made yet. Customs authorities may scrutinize consignment shipments to ensure accurate duty assessment.