Consignment is a process whereby a person gives permission to another party to take care of their property and retains full ownership of the property until the item is sold to the final buyer. It is generally done during auctions, shipping, goods transfer, or putting something up for sale in a consignment store. The owner of the goods pays the third-party a portion of the sale for facilitating the sale. Consignors maintain the rights to their property until the item is sold or abandoned. Many consignment shops and online consignment platforms have a set day limit before an item expires for sale. Within the time of contract, reductions of the price are common to promote the sale of the item, but vary on the type of item sold (usually depends on the price point, or if it is considered luxury.)(usually 60–90 days).

Consignment stock is stock legally owned by one party, but held by another, meaning that the risk and rewards regarding to the said stock remains with the first party while the second party is responsible for distribution or retail operations.

The verb "consign" means "to send" and therefore the noun "consignment" means "sending goods to another person". In the case of "retail consignment" or "sales consignment" (often just referred to as a "consignment"), goods are sent to the agent for the purpose of sale. The ownership of these goods remains with the sender. The agent sells the goods on behalf of the sender according to instructions. The sender of goods is known as the "consignor" and the agent entrusted with the custody and care of the goods is known as the "consignee".