Consignment sales are one of the greatest things to come along since sliced bread, in my opinion. Before my daughter was born, I had NO IDEA you could actually go to a sale and get such great deals on EVERYTHING your kid needs (except diapers, I guess). And the great deals you can find are only part of the fun! I've been consigning my kids clothes and abandoned toys for the past two years, and I'm sure I will for years to come. And, if you do it right you can cover, or at least offset, the amount that you spend on new clothes with the check you receive from selling all your old stuff. I usually make back about 3/4 of what I spend.
Here's what I've found works:
Here's what I've found works:
- Price Reasonably!! This is number one for a reason. I cannot tell you how many things I pick up and put down because they're priced higher than they would have been on sale in the store. (My favorites are the people who buy things on clearance, leave the clearance sticker on the tag, and then price the item higher than the clearance price!) I generally do not go above $6 on anything, especially summer clothes.
- Bundle Items - This is so easy to do and makes it much easier to sell your stuff. I usually divide clothes into outfits while I take them out of boxes, and then pin it all together on the hanger. If you can't put together an outfit, then just bundle a couple of shirts or a couple of pants together.
- Pin Carefully - Especially when putting items together in a bundle, pay attention to where you put your pins. Will the pants drag on the shirt and stretch it? Use the bottom of the hanger to anchor the pin. Does the shirt slip off the hanger easily? Use the pin that you put the tag on with to anchor it to the hanger!
- Clean Up Those Shoes!- It may take a little time, but clean those shoes up before you bag them! Shoes are a hot commodity, especially in the larger sizes. If you have good shoes that just need some dirt knocked off, clean those puppies up!
- Get Organized BEFORE You Enter Online- If you have your items stacked, and your tags numbered, before you sit down to enter everything in, it will go so much faster! And you won't be hunting around for number 23, or the shirt that went with those pants, or anything else. Wait for naptime or for the kids to go to bed, and you can turn on your favorite show, sit down, and have some quiet time!
