Kid's Consignment Sales

[MrsPinecone]

http://www.kidsconsignmentsales.com/index.htm

Seasonal consignment shopping is a fast growing trend, especially for baby and children's items. Kids grow so fast, and items like clothes, strollers, car seats, cribs and toys many times seem barely used. Seasonal consignment sales offer a unique venue for both sellers and shoppers. These sales set up shop for a weekend or a few days more in the spring and fall. Some sales also offer a holiday sale around December that specializes in toys and holiday clothes.

Has a listing of sales by state.

[PHmom]

I did for the first time this week and I'm not sure whether I want to do it again so please chime in and tell me whether my experience is normal or not.

This was a first time sale for this group, they are planning to have twice yearly sales (fall and spring they're calling them, to be held in July/Aug and Feb/Mar). They seemed pretty organized over all, when I emailed for info I got a call back quickly and when I had more questions they were very friendly and helpful.

But...

I priced my stuff using their recommendations, seemed a little high for some things but they said that they didn't want things priced too low. Well, only about half my stuff sold which was very disappointing b/c I had some really nice stuff. I hope that doesn't sound like I'm bragging b/c I'm not, I just want you to get the full picture here.

So, is selling half good or bad or just about normal?

Also, please tell me if these fees are normal:

I get 65% of what my items sold for, they keep 35% and then charge a flat $8 fee that comes out of your check too. I will get my check in about 2 weeks.

So, should I do this again with this group or try to find another one here in town (there are others around)? Opinions? Advice?

[thecooperhouse]

I have only done about 4 consignment sales. So I am sure there are others out there that know more than I do! I think half of your stuff selling is probably normal or better than normal. I probably sell about half of my stuff or less. That depends on what you have too. I think a lot more of the big items go pretty easy. I usually have a TON of clothes. I over do it with my daughter as far as clothes go!! I think the rate is about normal, maybe 5-10% higher than what my last one was. I would stick with that group as long as they bring in a lot of business. If they are good at promoting and bringing in customers, that is super important!

[my3girlz]

Oh now you're scaring me...lol. I don't have any words of wisdom, as I am getting ready to participate in my first in about two weeks. We only get 55%, so you did better on that end.

The one I'm participating in has a minimum $4 charge for each item(s). Only name brand stuff (no Wal-Mart or Target). It seems like a lot of preparation (uploading info to database, printing barcodes, washing, ironing, placing on hangers), so I hope it's worth it.

[thecooperhouse]

I haven't heard of one saying name brand only stuff!! Or a minimum charge!

[texaslady22]

I *love* Consignments Sales - I always spend wayyyy more than I make (he he).

But they're really great for things like socks, blankets, etc.

I got 65% and we could price however we wanted.

I had items like 3 pairs of kids pants for $3 and they still didn't sell. So plan on ALWAYS having items left over.

[oscamaya]

can't believe I missed this yesterday....and i was looking for something to do....

[JenAtKCS]

Hi All!
I'm new to the board. My name is Jenifer and my business partner and I own KidsConsignmentSales.com, we also own a seasonal sale in Nashville and own a magazine about consignment. I couldn't resist posting to some of your questions... I hope you don't mind.

Seasonal sales offer splits anywhere from 55%-75%. It depends on what the standard is in your area. The nationwide average is 65%. The more sales there are, the higher the percentage goes. In Nashville, where we have a sale, the standard is 70%. New sales in a highly saturated market may go as high as 75% to compete for customers. It just depends on what your market is set at.

Piece of advice #1. Volunteer! If you want the BEST stuff and the BEST deals, you want to volunteer to get the first pick. Depending on what you are looking for, the savings can be HUGE. There may be 3 playhouses, the same style, same wear, but one may be priced at $10 and the other 2 at $100 each. It's true. You can save big bucks by being the first ones to shop. Another bonus to volunteering is that you will make great friends. All who have kids and know what you are going through. It's like a big support system of Moms.

Advice #2. Your goal is to sell HALF of what you bring. Baby clothes are in abundance and you won't sell as much in babies as you will in bigger sizes. Also, once you get over size 10, the kids get picky and you don't sell as much. Now, if you have girls, mothers of girls tend to over buy and there will be 3x's as much girls stuff as boys stuff. Price girls a little less simply because you can have the cutest clothes in the world, but you have tons of competition! Boys 4-7 are in HIGH demand. You'll sell almost all of it and can price it a little higher because boys are hard on their clothes and the selection is thin. Equipment: 1/2-1/3 of retail and let it go 1/2 price if you don't want it coming back. If you have it priced right, it will sell for full price, if your price is too high, it will sell on 1/2 price day. Either way, it isn't coming home, and ultimately that is what you want : )

Minimum charges: Believe it or not, minimum charges are actually a good thing. No one here does it, but a sale organizer wants you to make money. Think about it this way: If you price an item for $1 and it goes 1/2 price, the selling price is now .50 cents. But don't forget... you're getting 55% of that .50 cents. Is it really worth your time to clean it, press it, hang and tag it for a quarter? Not really. I don't know how other sale organizers run their sales, but I can tell you that our goal is for you to make enough money from this round of items to pay for your next round of items. The other thing a minimum does is it keeps the junk out. If you have people who are valuing their items super cheap, you need to ask what quality you're getting. Many times people will put in stained items and say "well, it's just a buck, someone will buy that." That may be true, but you don't want to dig for the good stuff. Minimums help keep people from putting junk into the sale.

How much can you expect to sell? Like I said, the goal is half your stuff. If the sales you are participating in can bring in enough people to liquidate 1/2 your stuff... stick with them, it's a good sale.

Fees: Fees range usually from $5-$15. The Nashville standard averages $8, so I would say you're on average there.

Checks: 2 weeks is the standard time for checks. The main reason is because the sale organizer needs to make sure that all the customers checks clear before she sends out her consignors checks. And also allows the organizer the time to check and double check your tags to insure that you are paid correctly.

Even though you may be disappointed, it sounds like it may have been a good sale to participate in. Just remember that boys stuff and toys always sell better, girls stuff has such a large selection that 1/2 in girls is a great sale to participate in!

Good luck with the upcoming sale season! I'm about to go through my boys closet and dig up some more stuff to sell so that I can get into the presales here : )

Jenifer

[lilymaid]

I went to a consignment sale this past spring & although I'm not sure if it was through this website that Jenifer co-owns, it was the same idea. I was going for the sole purpose to look for maternity clothes. I found a lot! I thought the prices were great...higher than garage sales, but usually similar or better than Goodwill. And Goodwill's selection of maternity clothes isn't so hot...at the consignment sale I went to, it was almost all modern/current maternity. Nearly all maternity there was either Motherhood or Liz Lange...and Liz Lange is a Target brand, so apparently this sale didn't have a "No Walmart/Target" rule.

[DiannaK]

oooh!
Now, I'm excited!
I'm in KY, and we have a big one coming up next week. I'm getting my maternity things together to sell there. It's a $10 seller fee, 70% goes to seller, and that will go up to 75% if you volunteer.

At my local twins moms group, we also do a huge consignment sale, twice a year. It's a $10 fee, and sellers get a 90% take! WOO HOO! Only the members of the club can sell. It's open to the public, for a $1 admission fee. I've never been, but it's a HUGE thing around here.

I'm having trouble with pricing for maternity clothes. Much of what I have is Old Navy, Gap, Mimi, Motherhood, and Japanese Weekend. Any thoughts on what to charge for pieces??

[JenAtKCS]

Speaking from my own experience as a sale organizer... Maternity doesn't sell well unless it is priced cheap. $2-$5 per item. Doesn't really matter what the name brand is. If you have higher priced pieces I recommend ebay because maternity is really hard to move at a sale. Let it go 1/2 price as well.

I think because most expecting moms are either A. New Moms who want to go to the maternity shop and try on the belly : ) or B. Are expecting another baby and already have their wardrobe, but for a couple of bucks will pick up some new pieces.

Hope that helps!
Jenifer

[jennymid]

I found a web site where you can do a search and find all the upcoming consignment sales. It is thebargainwatcher.com
I have sold at several different sales now and yes, it can be a pain but the last sale I brought home about $1000. I'd say that was worth it. I still came home with about 100 items but I sold about 250 items. My sale took 30% so they did pretty well off of me, too! I love consignment sales, buying and selling!

[OBUmom12]

I only shop at the consignment sale where I live, but I know they make 70% of the tagged price, and 75% if they work two shifts. On Saturday, everything goes to half price, unless the consignor specifically marks their items "No Discount". The clothes are okay, some of them seem a little pricey (then again, I work at TCP and put some of my daughter's clothes on hold until they are only $.99 for a brand new shirt so a lot of stuff seems pricey to me), but the toys are great! I paid $11 for several "big" toys that would collectively retail for over $100 and they were all in like-new condition. The fall sale is this coming weekend and I can't wait!

[MrsPinecone]

For those in the Baltimore/Annapolis, MD area:

Wee-Sale.com (http://wee-sale.com/)

[my3girlz]

I had pretty good luck with the sale I participated in. I only made about $135, but I also didn't put a whole lot in it....just not enough time. LOL!

I sold all but five things (and it was all girls stuff). The bad part was I couldn't find two of those things when I went back, but they gave me a donation form for my taxes. But I found great stuff for my youngest and on the last day most things were 50% off, so I got her two great coats for the winter. Even found name brand jeans for my 13 yr old in great shape & far less than I would've paid anywhere else.

I'm already getting stuff together for the spring sale as I pack summer stuff up:biggrin:

[MommaBum]

I adore consignment sales. I did my first last fall. It was also the couples first in our area. This past weekend we did our 3rd and it has grown leaps and bounds. I spent $127 and made $100. I got tons of great things for both kids.

My first sale I paid a $10 or $15 fee but it was a one time thing for as long as you consign with them. I make 70% of sales. They suggested pricing things 30%-60% of retail (they suggested more in the previous sales but I'm sure with all learning experiences realized we all wanted bargains). I price things based on what I would give for it and I'm a tight wad.

I always volunteer to work a 3 hour shift which allows me early shopping priveleges which are awesome. There is usually about 3-4 of us that shop first. So not only do you get first dibs this sale there was this adorable table and chairs set that went on half price the last day. My MIL was interested and since I worked the day before I was allowed in before they opened. I bought the set and found out later that a lady I saw sitting outside waiting to shop was there to try and buy it.:shrug7: I didn't feel too bad though because I worked my hiney off for them the first day.:giggle2:

[JenAtKCS]

If you want maternity to sell, price it cheap. Seriously. Maternity doesn't sell well unless it is super cheap. $2-$5 per item doesn't matter what the name brand is. If it's something expensive, do ebay.

[ostatecoupongal]

Have you ever been to/heard of the 'Just Between Friends' consignment sales?

If so, I have some questions.
1. Were there good deals?
2. We are 1st time parents, what should we buy gently used?
3. How long will it take to get through everything?

[degood]

I have been to one in Wichita KS and it was great. At the time I had a 6 yo girl, a 3 yo girl and a newborn boy. I remember that I spent $121 and got a ton of baby clothes and gymboree outfits for the 6 year old. I was visiting from Seattle and ended up having to borrow an extra suitcase from my sister to carry it all home in. I didn't buy any baby equiptment there, but have bought swings, baby gyms, bouncy seats, bumbo chair and bassinet all used for our 4th child since we got rid of everything when our sone was born and because we have our own business, I wanted duplicates of some baby items at home and work.

It took my sister and I about 90 minutes to get thru everything but she was helping me look for clothes for my kiddos. Alone and to go thru three sections of clothes would have taken more time b/c I was making sure they didn't have stains or holes or anything before I bought them. It was probably an hour of going thru stuff and 30 minutes in line. We got there after they had been open for a few hours so we didn't have to stand in line to get in.

[MrsPinecone]

Childrens, Teens, Maternity Consignment Sales Event: Just Between Friends (http://www.jbfsale.com/home/)

[MrsPinecone]

Wee Sale Annapolis


Here is our Annapolis Spring Schedule:
The Medford National Guard Armory
15 Willow Street
Thursday April 2nd
Drop off 9AM-8PM (registered consignors)
Friday April 3rd
Drop off 8AM-2PM (registered consignors)
Manager Shop 4PM-9PM
Super Volunteer Shop 5PM-9PM
Volunteer Shop 6PM-9PM
Consignor Shop 7PM-9PM
Saturday April 4th
Public Shop 8AM-4PM

Sunday April 5th (1/2 price day)
Consignor/Volunteer ½ price 9AM-10AM
10AM-2PM Public Shop
3PM-6PM – Consignor Pick Up
Easton Spring Schedule
(That's right, on the RIGHT side of the bridge!)

The Easton Armory

7111 Ocean Gateway


Thursday April 23rd
Drop off 9AM-5PM (registered consignors)

Friday April 24th
Drop off 8AM-12PM (registered consignors)


Manager Shop 2PM-7PM
Super Volunteer shop 3PM-7PM
Volunteer Shop 4PM-7PM
Consignor Shop 5PM-7PM

Saturday April 25th
Public Sale 8AM-3PM

Sunday April 26th (1/2 Price Day)
Consignor/volunteer 9:30AM-10AM
Public Shop 10-2PM
Pick-up 3-6PM

[my3girlz]

Fredericksburg/Stafford, VA is having their combined spring consignment sale beginning today & running through Thursday, where most items will go to 50%off.

I'll be working Thurs 11-2 detagging, so if you stop by say hi:wavehi:

Weecycled Wardrobe (http://www.weecycledwardrobe.com/)

[mandigirl_12879]

I live in North Alabama and BFF and I love to go to the ones locally. We even take personal time off of work to go to one in Huntsville. I'm a big time bargin shopper and get a huge rush on worker night and 1/2 price night.

[mandigirl_12879]

North AL Fall Sales

Ditto's for Kiddos - Muscle Shoals
Aug 15-22

Wee Swap - Florence
Aug 15-22

MOMs Mart - Huntsville
Aug 7-8

Purple Monkey - Florence
Aug 7-9

Kid's Swap - Decatur
Aug 26-29

Cullman Kid's Mart - Cullman
Aug 29-30

Tupelo, MS
New 2 U
Sept 20-27