If you've been reading for a while, you know that I am a big fan of children's consignment sales. Every year, I volunteer and shop at Catholic Consignments, and I am usually able to find almost everything I need for my girls there.
I have written two past posts on shopping consignment sales here and here, but this year I thought I'd write something a little earlier, to help you get organized for consignment sale season. Most spring sales in my area take place in March or early April, with some as early the last week of February, so now is the time to start planning.
Here are some things to be doing and thinking about now as you prepare:
- Research local sales - Gina has already published a list of the biggest local sales for the Washington region. If you're in another area of the country, do some research. Check local publications and websites, and search the internet for "consignment sale" and "children's resale." I'm on the mailing or email list for several local sales, so each season I hear about the new dates ahead of time.
- Sign up to volunteer and/or consign - If you plan to do any signficant amount of shopping, I highly recommend volunteering at your local sale. At most sales, volunteers get to shop at a special pre-sale, which is very significant considering the number of shoppers at many of these sales. Plus, at my sale, volunteers get a greater percentage of the profits if they consign items. Some sales have a special pre-sale for consigners as well. Check the website of your local sale to sign up to volunteer.
- Go through spring clothes and make lists - Believe it or not, I did this during our recent massive snowstorms! I pulled out the bins of spring clothing and tried on and inventoried our supply. This year, thanks to wonderful hand-me-downs, my girls have a lot of what they need, but I was able to make a detailed list of items that they are lacking . As they come to mind, I'm also jotting down ideas for books, toys, or furniture for which I plan to keep an eye out.
- Prepare items to consign - If you plan to sell items this spring, start preparing them now. It can be more time-consuming than you realize to inventory, hang, clean, press, price, and tag all your items. However, it also can be extremely worth your while, and it is easy to work on this a little at a time if you start early. I normally consign a small number of things at each sale, so I never have too much to work on at once. I keep a running box or bag of items I know I want to sell, which I can just pull out and tag when sale time rolls around.
Are you planning to attend any consignment sales this spring?
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This is great advice, and I'm going to start looking in the local paper for sales. A question: what advice do you have for consigning items? How new should they be and how gently worn? I'm pregnant with daughter number 2 (daughter number 1 is 5). Many of the clothes I've saved are in good condition and a few most likely still will be when #2 gets done with them -- will they all be too old to try to sell, or do some items sell even if they're not recent? Would love your input!
ReplyDeleteGood questions, Patti! I would say it depends on the quality and style of the clothing. Some items, like cute sleepers or classic dresses, never seem to go out of style and should be fine after multiple children. More trendy styles will probably be harder to sell after a number of years. However, I personally think that 5 or 6 years is probably okay for most items, unless they were very trendy. The ones that you sometimes see that really don't sell are old styles from the '80s or early '90s. Those are a little too old!
ReplyDeleteAs for level of wear, my rule of thumb is that I sell nothing stained, torn, or extremely faded. Other than that, it's worth a try.
Great, this is very helpful! Thanks so much for taking the time to answer. I'm going to have sooo many clothes when #2 starts growing out of stuff. Some of it can be donated, and I might be able to give some to my cousin who is pregnant, but I wouldn't mind trying to make a few bucks off some of the nicer stuff. Thanks again for the great advice.
ReplyDeleteIf you're taking your clothes to a consignment store, now is the time for Spring clothes. The ones near me only take designer labels. Most of what I have were garage sale purchases, so it wasn't a big expense for me the first time around. The stores also won't accept clothes where the tag has your child's name written on it or has been cut (an imperfect or outlet purchase).
ReplyDelete