Kids consignment sales happen 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.
Are consignment sales new to you? See our overview article from last year to learn more about these fantastic local sales, where you can save tons of money buying gently-used items for your children, and earn quite a lot selling your own gently-used items. An updated list of this year's sales is included below.
Selling at seasonal consignment sales can bring in a good amount of extra cash. I've sold my children's gently-used clothes, toys, movies, books, nursery items, outdoor toys and more at spring and fall sales for the last seven years, and I've also managed a local consignment sale so I've learned a lot along the way. The sale I participate in is a mother's club sale, so I receive a higher percentage for my items than sellers at a for-profit sale. I routinely make $400 to $1000 at each sale, depending on how many items I have to sell. If you have a variety of children's items in good to excellent condition ready to sell and can find 6-8 hours for the prep time, it's definitely worth your time to consign!
Here are some tips to make the tagging and selling process easier.
- The downtime between sales is the perfect time to go through your children's unneeded clothes and toys and package them up in bins to be sold. Organize the items into labeled bins marked "Toys", "Books", "Winter clothes", "Summer clothes", etc. As you wash, fold and sort your children's laundry every week, always have a separate pile for sale items. Anything that you know is in good shape but your children just don't wear anymore should go right into that pile, then sorted into the appropriate bin and put away. When you have a spare few moments, look through the kids' toys and sort out items that haven't been used in a long time. Put the toys away in your sale bins and if they don't ask for them for a few months, then you know it's OK to sell them. Start a bin for all the miscellaneous toy parts that you know go with a toy you're selling but that you haven't been able to match up yet. When sale time rolls around, do one last search through the kids' closets and drawers to pull out anything that's not being worn. You should have plenty of items to tag.
- Gather hangers year-round (most sales require all clothes to be hung). Pants hangers are especially hard to find so always request them when you're buying new items at a store. Old Navy and Carters often have excess hangers and will give you some, if you stop by during a quiet time or call ahead.
- Don't try to sell summer clothes (t-shirts, shorts, bathing suits) at a winter sale, and vice versa. Many sale owners will reject the items, and even if they do allow them the items probably won't sell. Set the seasonal items aside for the appropriate season and you will be much more likely to sell them at the price you're asking.
- Most sales use online systems for entering inventory and printing tags. Try to be specific in the description of your item so that the cashiers can find your item in the database if the tag falls off. For instance, instead of "blue shirt", enter "Old Navy blue polo shirt with dinosaur". Instead of "ball toy", enter "Fisher Price ball tower".
- Most sales allow you to donate your unsold items, and they will transport them to the charity they work with and provide you with a receipt. If you decide to donate your items, ALWAYS choose to discount them during the half-off sale, if your sale has one. If you're willing to give them away, it just makes sense to try to sell them for 50% off first!
- Use the following tips to attach your tags to clothes, toys, etc. If your sale allows, use safety pins to attach tags to clothes, instead of a tagging gun. Safety-pinned tags are far more secure than tags held on by a plastic barb. Use transparent packing tape to attach tags to plastic toys and baby equipment (strollers, high chairs, etc.). Use scotch tape to attach tags to books and cardboard items (games, etc.) so that the item isn't damaged when the cashier or customer removes the tag. Don't get crazy covering the tag with acres of tape; at some sales, the cashiers need to remove the tags, so don't make their job difficult. If lost or switched tags or stolen items are a problem at the sale you participate in, you may want to put your tag information on a piece of masking tape in a discreet but visible spot on any big-ticket items, just as a backup. If your item comes to the register without a tag, the cashier can use the handwritten info to find your item in the database. Just write your seller ID #, item #, price, and "no discount" or "discount" on the tape.
- Do NOT sell clothes with stains, holes or rips and DON'T sell toys or other items that are missing parts unless it is clearly stated on the tag. Stained or incomplete items give a sale a bad reputation, are very disappointing to customers who find the issue after bringing the item home, and sale managers may even forbid you from selling at future sales. Before you enter clothes in inventory, go through each and every item, hold it up in sunlight, turn it over and check it thoroughly. If there's a stain or hole, toss it in a donate, Freecycle or trash pile. I always end up with an enormous pile of items to be donated; it's frustrating but natural, since kids are hard on their clothes and toys. If there's some wear but it's still in good condition, it's OK to sell but price it accordingly. Kids need play clothes too, and customers will be OK with an item that has some wear if it is priced very low. If a toy or baby item is missing a critical part, do not try to sell it. If the missing part is not critical, note the missing item in the tag description or handwrite it on the tag, so the customer is aware and can make an informed decision.
- Set up a "Consignment Sale Central", if you have room. Portable clothes racks can't hold more than 20 lbs, so make your own very sturdy rack. Purchase a 10-foot electrical conduit pole at the local big box hardware store for about $5, and have them cut it into two 5-foot pieces. Find a corner in your home that has two supports of the same height -- say, a bookcase and file cabinet. Set the bookcase and file cabinet about 4 ft apart and prop the ends of the poles on top (put a cushion under the pole end to prevent damage). You've created a very cheap and open spare closet, far stronger than a cheap rolling clothing rack; if you used bookcases or portable shelves on either side, then you also have places for books, toys, nursery items, etc. One rod is for boys clothes, the other is for girls (if you happen to have both boys and girls in your family, as I do).
- I use the following process with clothing; it goes very quickly and will save you literally hours of time and much frustration:
- All clothes should already be clean since, in most cases, they went right from the wash into the sale bins. Anything you're unsure about should be washed again.
- Go through all items carefully and set aside the stained ones to throw away or donate. If there are some really nice items with stains that might come out, put stain remover on the stains and set them aside in a separate pile of items to be washed.
- As you approve an item for sale, put it right on a hanger and hang it on the boys or girls rod, as appropriate.
- Hang all items in order by size, starting with newborn at one end and going up to the largest size you'll be selling.
- Do not enter any inventory in the system yet; continue prepping all clothes. Wash the load of possible sale items with hot water and Oxiclean, and hang any items that pass muster, tossing the rest. Be sure to keep all items in size order.
- Do one last pass through the kids' closets, the bins in the attic and basement, coat closet, dryer, laundry baskets, etc. to make sure you have sorted out all the sale clothes.
- Once ALL clothes are prepped and hung in size order, then you can begin entering inventory. If you have a laptop, bring it to your rack, sit next to one rod, and enter each item in order from one end of the rod to the other, leaving all items hanging on the rack. Don't forget to check the size as you enter each item since many systems auto-fill the size based on the last item entered. If your computer isn't portable, write a list on a pad of paper and then enter from your list into the online system.
- Print out all your clothing tags in the order they were entered, and cut the tags apart, keeping them in order.
- Bring your stack of tags and a large box of safety pins to your rack of clothes, and pin the tag on each item in order from one end of the rod to the other.
- Once all items are tagged, remove them from the rack in batches by size, fold the batch gently, and lay it in a bin. Put a piece of paper on top with the gender and size for that batch so that it will be fast and easy to put out your clothes at the sale.
- For toys, if you have the space, lay out all the sale toys on shelves, a table or on the floor. Sort through the bin of miscellaneous toy parts to try to match up all parts to a toy. Do not enter any items until you have sorted all toy parts and know which items are complete. Anything that is not complete can be put back in bins and stored away, in case the parts turn up before the next sale. Package toy accessories in a plastic bag and tape the bag VERY securely to the toy. Children at the sale will work hard to get at the accessories and play with the toy, and once the parts are scattered to the winds, your toy is no longer sellable.
- Do not tape the tag on the bottom of shoes; it will fall off. Use curling ribbon to tie the shoes together and pass the curling ribbon through two small holes on the top of the tag (which should be printed on card stock). Don't put shoes in plastic bags or the original shoebox; customers will remove them to inspect the shoes and they will get separated.
- Always check with your sale manager or read the sale documents to find out what cannot be sold (some sales don't allow car seats, cribs, etc.).
- If you're a returning consignor who's been in the sale system for a while, log in to the system and confirm that your mailing address is up to date so your check doesn't get lost in the mail. This happens a LOT and it's so easily avoided.
If you have other helpful tips for consignment sale sellers, please comment below!
Next week: Be a Smart Shopper at Consignment Sales!
Spring 2015 Sales:
March 27-29: Consign My Closet, Walmart/Hannaford Plaza, 301 Mass Ave, Lunenberg MA. Friday 10-7, Saturday 10-4, and a Half-Off Sale on Sunday 10-3. www.consignmycloset.com Consign My Closet usually also runs a second Spring sale in Acton and sometimes a third Spring sale in the Marlboro area.
March 28: 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/
March 28-29: Itsy Bitsy Thrifty, Brick Kiln Plaza, 99 Chelmsford Rd (Rt. 129), Billerica MA. Hours are not yet listed. www.itsybitsythrifty.com
April 11: Nashoba Valley Mothers of Multiples, Chelmsford Senior Center, 75 Groton Rd, North Chelmsford MA. Hours not yet listed. $1 admission. Cash only. http://www.nashobavalleymom.org/Sale_Information.html
May 9: Chelmsford Mothers' Club Kids Tag Sale, Location, hours and details not yet available. www.kidstagsale.com
May 16: LexFUN! Children's Consignment Sale, Lexington High School Field House, 251 Waltham St, Lexington MA. Time not yet available (last year was 10 AM-2 PM with Brown Bag Sale ($20) 2:15-3 PM.) www.lexfun.org/2014-consignment-sale/
