Resale questions...

[ethansmom]

As a first time mom, should I even be thinking of reselling some of DS's clothes, or should I hang on to everything for the possible second baby? I'll certainly hang on to things that aren't gender specific, but I really wonder what the odds are of having another boy at the same time of year...or at least the same size during the same seasons!

Storage space is also something to consider...

If I do decide to sell some things:
1. Do I do Ebay or the cosignment shop?
2. If Ebay, do I sell each outfit separately or in lots?
3. What about his cheaper clothes from Target? Actually, some things were only worn once, so even though it's not high-end, everything still looks good. What's the best way to go about selling this stuff? Or, do I just give it away?
4. What about timing? Do I wait until summer to try and sell his summer things?

Many thanks!

[momathome]

Well, a compromise you could make to get yourself some more storage space is to save the outfits that are your favorites and sell the generic basic stuff. I have 2 girls and I have kept about half of the stuff from my older dd that I either loved or held up very well and consigned or garage-saled the rest. It is nice to be able to get my younger dd some new things but it is also great to see my favorite outfits get used again. As far as the rest goes...
1. I have never used e-bay but I have had success with my local consigment shop and garage saling.
2. If you do e-bay, selling the stuff lots would certainly make things like shipping much easier on you - maybe an e-bay verteran has some wisdom on this?
3. For the cheaper clothes, consignment shops are great - most take a wide variety of brands as long as it is in decent shape and even the cheaper brands tend to sell well there.
4. As far as timing goes, if you go the consigment shop route, most have set times of year that they take seasonal clothing so you would have to find out what the schedule is. If you e-bay the clothes, I am not sure how much seasons matter given all of the different climates around the country at different times of the year.
HTH!!!
-Lauren

[AngelaS]

My girls are 4.5 years apart. I saved a LOT of the first one's clothes and then when i pulled them out for the second one, I decided that I no longer loved many of the clothes that I used too. So take into account how far apart you're planning to have your kids before you save everything. :D

I would save the things you LOVE. Everything else can be replaced, imo! :D I have sold stuff on eBay, at the consignment store and on a garage sale. For clothes smaller than 12 months, I did the best on my garage sale, selling each outfit for $2 to $4. For bigger namebrand outfits, I use eBay. Generic clothes go to the consignment store. Once Upon a Child doesn't exactly give you top dollar, but they buy it outright and give you coupons to use in their store. :)

Yes, the season you sell in makes ALL the difference. I start listing spring clothes on eBay in mid February. :)

I kept 90% of the clothes from the first child to the second and on to the third until we knew we were having a girl. I bought big rubbermaid containers with lids and stored them in the attic labeled (ex. "6-12 months, winter, boys"). This system worked really well. My boys were born 2 1/2 years apart so totally in opposite seasons. In the smaller sizes, this meant that I had to buy a lot of new stuff for Wesley but the bigger he got the more things he was able to wear of Parker's. It really helped during those in between times such as at the beginning of a season he could wear the things that were hand-me-downs but might have to have a good bit of new stuff to last him all the way through the season. That wasn't a problem since I'm addicted to children's clohtes shopping! I was really glad that I had the old stuff. This winter when I got down Parker's things from a couple of years ago, I saw that almost everything was in great condition so Wesley only had to have a few new things. One thing that really doesn't last well once they get older is blue jeans. Both boys already have holes in the knees of pairs we just got in August!!

As far as selling, I've found that resale shops give very little money for clothes and so do yard sales. I think consignment shops are a real PITA. I mostly give away things we've outgrown but I will probably eBay some of Amy Grace's things that still look really nice.

[sarsah]

As a BTDT mom, I would say, keep anything you love and get rid of the rest, with the exception of sleepers and most things in size 'newborn' or '0-3' since you won't get much use out of those anyway. I have two boys who are almost exactly 3 years apart (DS#2 was born 9 days before DS#1 turned 3) and I kept most of the clothing from DS#1 for DS#2.

Believe it or not, DS#2 was smaller than DS#1 at birth and has remained that was so far. DS#1 never wore newborn or 0-3 where as DS#2 got quite a bit of wear out of the smaller sizes. DS#2 is wearing 3-6 month clothing now, where as DS#1 was in 6-9 or 12 months by this time. Also, we moved from Michigan to Atlanta when DS#1 was 1 year old so I had a TON of winter clothing that DS#2 will never wear as it just isn't that cold for very long here and most of them are too big for him right now anyway.


I have had great success with local consignment sales. I am in Metro Atlanta and a lot of local churches and private schools sponsor consignment sales, where you set your own prices and they keep 30% as a charitable donation (you get a letter stating they are a non-profit and the amount of the 30% they kept, so you can deduct it off your taxes). This past fall, I made $400 between the sales & a local kids consignment store that only takes brand names (no Target/K-Mart/Wal-Mart, etc). If you don't have consignment sales in your area, I would look for a local consignment store and take some items to them and see what they give you -- some are great about what they pay and others not so great. That's why I would start out with a few things and see what you get for them.

I've never sold on Ebay, so I can't comment on that.

I would definately sell things at the beginning of the season -- i.e. hold on to fall & winter items until last next summer, etc. Most people don't like to buy ahead becuase they don't know what size their child will be wearing ahead of time.

Sarah.......mom to Jason & Devin

[MelissaTC]

I am going through the same dilemma but as a shopper of consignment sales, ebay, garage sales, etc.. I think the advice these Moms have given is great. I plan to keep what I love and sell the rest.

1. Ebay for more popular items like Gymboree, GAP, Hanna. The consignment store will give you beans. A previous poster mentioned consignment sales and those are AWESOME. You can set your price and that is great.

2. As far as listing on ebay, it depends on what you have. Gymboree lines sell well together unless it is something really popular and then you can sell by piece.

3. I know the local stores here do not take any Target, Wal-Mart, etc.. clothes but the sales do. If you decide to sell these on ebay, make a lot and mix in some name brand stuff. You will be able to sell that way.

4. It is ALL about timing. Sell the summer stuff in the spring, etc.. People sometimes look for particular lines or items.

My advice to you is to join a kids clothing yahoo group. I have learned so much from them and there is a lot of selling/buying on them. It is another great way to sell your brand name items.

I saved everything of Alex's and then I had 2 girls LOL. But Daria's I saved everything also when we found out I was pregnant again.

Sometimes the season or size works out and sometimes it doesn't. Since Daria was born in February the winter newborn stuff worked out but the 3-6 months stuff is mainly summer since we live in Georgia and by March/April you need shorts! So since Eliza was born in September I needed to pick up some 3-6 winter stuff for her.

In my experience consignment stores are a total pita because you have to wait until the stuff sells and deal with paperwork then go back for your money etc. I have tried selling a few things at resale shops instead because they give you money on the spot. Although I really didn't get much and probably could have done better at ebay since it was gymboree stuff etc.

I now ebay whatever Alex outgrows and whatever Daria outgrows that I don't plan to save for Eliza. The season makes a difference on whether it will sell or not and putting stuff in lots is easier than selling a bunch of individual outfits. If you have cheaper but in good condition stuff like someone else said mix it in with a name brand thing or two in the same size and it will sell. I have done this. :) Some people don't think ebay is worth the hassel of packing etc. But it works for me since I'm a sahm and do it all when the kids go to bed. If I worked pt or ft no way would I have the time.

Good luck!

[khakismom]

That's why I have never done eBay for my kids' clothes. I work FT and have very little time. I recently sold 4 diaper bags and a stroller on eBay and I about lost my mind with all the packing and stuff I had to do. I can't imagine that doing that each time I sold one piece of clothing! If I have any clothes to dump, I do the the resale shop, but I keep about 95% of their clothes. I figure when I am finished having kids, I will have the mother of all garage sales and sell clothes, toys, equipment, everything! :)

I've kept much of Ian's 0-3 month clothes for the next baby, and consigned everything that didn't work out. The consignment store I use donates all of the items they won't sell to a local domestic violence shelter, which is what I would have wanted done with my unwanted items anyway. I think eBaying clothes for girls is probably more successful than that for boys - just a hunch.