(Consignment Sales occur every spring and fall, so we're re-running our series of Consignment Sales articles to help all our new readers get the best deals at local sales this spring.)
Spring Consignment Sale season is almost here! If you're not familiar with seasonal consignment sales, pay attention because you will save (and possibly make) some serious money at these events.
A seasonal consignment sale is a short-term sale, generally 1-4 days, that is open temporarily in a local empty retail, convention or community space. Local moms (and sometimes dads and grandparents) register as sellers and prepare their gently-used baby and kids items for sale. This usually involves entering each item into an online system (where you set your own price), printing tags and taping or pinning them on the items, and hanging all clothes on hangers. Some smaller sales don't require hangers, and don't provide online systems; instead, you hand-write your price tags. The sale coordinators spread the word about the sale, arrange the sale space, racks and tables, and process all of the purchase transactions during the sale. Sellers receive a check for their items that sold, usually ranging from 60-85%. The sale coordinators keep a portion of the sales price to pay for overhead and costs and, if it's a for-profit sale, their profit. Shoppers can find fantastic deals on gently-used children's clothing, toys, shoes, books & DVDs, strollers, high chairs, nursery and feeding items, outdoor toys, and more. Sellers can donate their unsold items to charity, or take them back to try again at a future sale. Consignment sales are wonderful for everyone involved -- customers can save 50-70% on name-brand clothes and popular toys, sellers can earn hundreds of dollars and clear out their closets and basements, charities receive many donated items, and the sale organizers can make a good profit if all goes well.
In our area, there are three different types of consignment sales, which I would call for-profit sales, mothers' club sales, and table sales.
- For-profit sales are usually run by a couple of local moms. The sale may be part of a franchise company (Just Between Friends, Rhea Lana, etc.) or, more likely, is an independently-owned sale. Sellers use an online system to enter their inventory and set their own prices and generally receive 60-65% of the price of items that sell. Sellers can earn 5-10% more by volunteering to work during the sale. The sale owners pay for the retail space and all publicity and keep a percentage of all sales as their profit for setting up and running the event. Prices for items at for-profit sales generally are a bit higher, but there is usually a very large selection (20,000+ items) and good or premium brands. For-profit sales are usually also longer, lasting 2 to 4 days, with a special VIP pre-sale and a half-off day. They may be less crowded, since their hours are longer, but checkout line waits can be very long since the sale owners have very limited staff to run the cash registers.
- Mothers' Club sales are run by local parenting organizations as a benefit for members. Run completely by volunteers and on very small budgets, they are usually only for one day (or even just four or five hours) at a local church or school. Sellers are members of the organization and usually earn a high percentage of the price of items that sell (80% or more), but they usually must work during the setup or sale. Prices at these community sales are generally a bit lower and they may not have as many premium brand items but will have lots of everyday brands at very low prices. Some mothers' club sales only accept cash, while others do accept credit cards. Some mothers' club sales have a half-off sale at the end.
- Table sales are run by local parenting organizations, schools and churches but sellers rent a table space instead of earning a percentage of sales. The sale itself is like a large community yard sale, with lots of individual tables. Items are not organized by size or type. Sellers price their own items and keep 100% of the sales price, in general. Prices vary widely, depending on the seller.
- Last are rummage sales, usually run by local churches. All sale items are donated and are sold at very low prices. All proceeds are kept by the organization. Although you can't make any money consigning at a rummage sale, they're excellent if you prefer to donate your items since you know your donation is going directly to help a local deserving organization, and wonderful for shopping since the prices are very low (quality is very hit or miss though).
Next week, I'll go over the process of selling at a consignment sale and give some hints I've learned after selling at Spring and Fall sales for the last eight years and co-managing the Chelmsford Mothers' Club Kids Tag Sale. The following week I'll provide some shopping tips.
Below is a list of local sales that are coming up soon, organized by date. Add these to your calendar and try to get to at least one, because you can save huge amounts on your children's wardrobe and toys and on baby necessities! Unless "cash only" is mentioned, sales take credit/debit cards as well as cash. Be sure to follow their Facebook pages since you may be able to win passes to their presales, which are generally only for sellers. Macaroni Kid often gives away presale passes for sales too, so check the newsletter every week for giveaways!
March 28-30: Consign My Closet, Walmart/Hannaford Plaza, 301 Mass Ave, Lunenberg MA. Hours not yet available on their website but generally they run a VIP Presale on Thursday evening, and are open to the public on Friday 10-8, Saturday 10-6, and a Half-Off Sale on Sunday 10-3. www.consignmycloset.com
April 4-6: Itsy Bitsy Thrifty, Brick Kiln Plaza, 99 Chelmsford Rd (Rt. 129), Billerica MA. 4/4 5-9 PM VIP Presale, 4/5 10 AM-4 PM Sale, 4/6 8 AM-11 AM Half-off Sale 11 AM-12 PM Dollar Dash. www.itsybitsythrifty.com
April 5: Nashoba Valley Mothers of Multiples, Chelmsford Senior Center, 75 Groton Rd, North Chelmsford MA. 8 AM-12 PM. $1 admission. Cash only. http://www.nashobavalleymom.org/Sale_Information.html
April 12: Chelmsford Mothers' Club Kids Tag Sale, McCarthy Middle School, 250 North Rd, Chelmsford MA. 9 AM-12 PM Half-Off Sale 12 PM-1 PM $1 admission. www.kidstagsale.com
April 12: Mass Mothers of Twins, Winchester High School, 80 Skillings Rd, Winchester MA. 9 AM-1 PM. $1 admission. Cash only. http://www.mmota-founding.org/fallspring-sales/
May 17: (NOTE: Time and location have changed since this article was first published!) LexFUN! Children's Consignment Sale, Lexington High School Field House, 251 Waltham St, Lexington MA. 10 AM-2 PM Brown Bag Sale ($20) 2:15-3 PM www.lexfun.org/2014-consignment-sale/
