With 11 years in business under her belt, the owner of ReSell It Consignment, Dee Blakey, has learned a thing or two about the consignment industry.

Local news has recently focused on the abrupt closing, and what seem to be the illegal practices, of the Red Cat over in Old Lake Highlands.

With an ear to the ground and a keen business sense, Blakey recently shared her insight with us concerning these recent events.

It was last week that we first reported on the situation that Red Cat owners, Marukh and Steve Hall, created by suddenly closing up shop and disappearing with thousands of dollars of consignors' property. (You can read the full story here.)

A number of consignors have actually contacted Blakey since the Halls closed their doors at the Red Cat, and she has a few words of advice to offer regarding their situation.

"Unfortunately the actions of those owners cast a pall over all us in the industry," she explained to me during a recent visit to her store in the Northlake Shopping Center.

"And if I have any advice to offer, it's this - watch for the red flags and do your research."

"The things I was hearing from an industry perspective really made me wonder about their business practices."

As with all businesses, a network exists among consignment professionals, and owners tend to keep up with what other stores are doing in the area.

"We've been through this before," said Blakey. "Not too long ago a store over in Casa Linda did the same thing, suddenly shutting their doors and leaving consignors in the lurch."

"You really have to do the research and make sure you're dealing with reputable professionals."

Policies and procedures are pretty easy to come by at Blakey's shop. What she affectionately refers to as her "yellow sheet" spells everything out in black and white.

"Anybody in this business has to stick to the rules," she explained.

"Policies are in place for a reason, and if proprietors don't want to stick to the rules, then they aren't doing it right."

Things that Blakey was hearing as far back as August of last year gave her pause.

"Offering free delivery and pick-up is a big red flag. It's simply not affordable because of the cost of insurance we have to carry."