Business phone system for used merchandise stores

Used merchandise stores in the United States

County Business Patterns counted 19,466 used merchandise stores in the U.S. in 2023 (NAICS 453310, Used Merchandise Stores). They employed 222,478 people in mid-March and paid $5.5 billion in annual payroll. The average establishment has 11.4 employees. That is 5.7 establishments for every 100,000 residents.

California has the most (1,840), followed by Texas (1,452), Florida (1,265), and New York (901). Relative to population, Vermont leads with 13.9 per 100,000 residents, and New Jersey has the fewest at 3.0.

Why the phone matters for used merchandise stores

Thrift, consignment and resale stores take calls about donations, consignment terms and stock. Consignors call to check on their items.

Calls used merchandise stores commonly handle:

• A customer calls about donation drop-off hours.
• A consignor calls to check on sales.
• A customer calls about a piece of furniture.
• The store calls a consignor about payout.
• A customer calls about pickup service.

Texting and after-hours calls

Stores text consignor updates.

After-hours calls are mostly hours questions.

How big used merchandise stores are

43.2% of U.S. used merchandise stores with employees had fewer than five people in March 2023. 65.0% had fewer than ten. Most phone decisions in this industry are made for small teams, where one shared number and sensible routing matter more than a desk phone per person.

Used merchandise stores by state

Establishment counts for the 51 states (and DC) where Census published a figure, with the rate per 100,000 residents.

Largest metro areas for used merchandise stores

Census published used merchandise store counts for 720 metro and micropolitan areas. The 25 largest:

Callata vs. per-seat pricing for used merchandise stores in the U.S.

The average U.S. used merchandise store has 11.4 employees, so the comparison uses an 11-person team. Priced per seat, 11 users would run $330.00 a month on RingCentral RingEX Core and $274.45 on Ooma Office Pro (month-to-month list prices, checked September 28, 2026). On Callata the same 11 people cost $219.00 a month, less than either per-seat plan.

The annual difference against RingCentral's monthly list price comes to $1,332. Some vendors discount annual contracts; the table shows month-to-month prices.

How Callata works for used merchandise stores

Callata is a business phone system priced at $99 a month with 5 users included, then $20 per additional user. Callata Office includes up to 3 local business numbers, unlimited inbound calling, 1,500 pooled outbound US and Canada minutes per user each month, a browser softphone that can also ring your cell, voicemail with transcription, call recording with AI summaries, business-hours routing and E911 on every number.

Existing numbers can be ported at no charge, and team texting turns on after the one-time $49 carrier registration (10DLC) is approved.

Optional AI agents (receptionist, sales, support or scheduler) can answer calls after hours or when nobody picks up, take messages, text, email and transfer to your team. They are billed from prepaid AI minutes at $0.25 per minute, identify themselves as AI, and may only place outbound calls to people who consented, between 8am and 9pm.