Kid Clothes Consignment

With the changing of each season, as I sort through Lila's clothes, I inevitably come across items barely worn or, even worse, with the tags still on. Ugh! I cringe at the thought of money wasted. How did she outgrow this already? I used to fill trash bags with adorable, practically brand new clothing and just give them away. Of course, it's nice to donate but sometimes it's so hard to part with those special, name brand items. Can't she just squeeze into this one more time? It wasn't until recently, I thought of selling. I started hearing from other moms who use Ebay, Craigslist, and consignment shops to make a little extra cash for baby items they no longer need. In turn, they use the money to purchase the next sizes and gear, often for a fraction of the price from another consigner. Brilliant!

I started by using Once Upon a Child. Instead of consignment, where you have to wait for your items to sell, Once Upon a Child buys your clothes, toys, and gear up front. You get a check that day. So, if you have a box of stuff you were just going to drop in the donation bin anyways, you could take it there and see if there is anything they would want to buy. Just a heads up-- don't expect to make a ton of money. For a bag of clothes, I usually leave with about 40 bucks. Also, expect a wait for up to an hour.

For the first time, I am trying Tiny Tots Consignment. This is a semi-annual children's and maternity consignment sale. It's organized by two moms and when I say it's organized, it's really organized! Consigners sign up and enter inventory online. You then print your tags which include a description of the item, price, and a bar code. The time consuming part is that you have to prep your items so that they are "sales floor ready." This meant ironing, hanging, and tagging items days in advance. Consigner drop off was yesterday. I anticipated a long line and wait like at Once Upon a Child, but I just breezed right in. Once checked in, I joined the other consigners and started hanging up and displaying my items.  Everything is sorted by gender, size, and category. I followed the instructions online and priced my items at 1/4 of the original retail price. Glancing at some of the items already on the floor, I did notice that others were more aggressive with their pricing. I priced my baby bath at $4 and saw the exact bath there priced at $8. Since the tags are preprinted, there is no way to make last minute price adjustments. Well, I suppose my items will be viewed as the better deal and sell faster than those priced higher. 

The sale takes place this weekend, August 24th and 25th at Trinity Catholic High School in Stamford, CT. Consigners receive two passes for a pre-consignment sale on Thursday. I already have my eye on a big girl bike for Lila for $15! 

Hopefully, I'll land some good deals and make a little extra cash!

-Tara