A few more consignment sale ?s

[ourbabygirl]

Thanks to those who responded to the questions on my thread from February! I'm going to take the plunge and try it out in mid-April (JBF sale). :)
I have some more questions; maybe you've got answers...

1. Is there anything you WOULDN'T sell at one of these sales (because no one would buy it)? Certain baby gear items/ etc.?

2. Our pricing system allows for flat dollar amounts, or $_.50 (no 25 cent increments, etc.). Would you try to do the __.50 route, or skip it altogether?

3. Do you use only kids' size hangers for the clothes, or do you ever use adult-size hangers? I think I'll be o.k. on hangers as I'm probably not going to sell as much as I thought I would, but I figured I'd ask just in case.

4. How do you price items that are NWT? I have a bunch of outfits that my daughter never wore (she got so many clothes as gifts), and I'd like to try to sell them now.

5. Any special tips on how to make people clamor to buy my stuff (other than clean clothes & low prices)? ;) Maybe special display strategies or something?

Thanks for your help! :bowdown:

[lalasmama]

Thanks to those who responded to the questions on my thread from February! I'm going to take the plunge and try it out in mid-April (JBF sale). :)
I have some more questions; maybe you've got answers...

1. Is there anything you WOULDN'T sell at one of these sales (because no one would buy it)? Certain baby gear items/ etc.? Toys without all the pieces! (It always annoys me--I saw an exersaucer missing several toys, and wanting a HUGE amount for it! I think not!)

2. Our pricing system allows for flat dollar amounts, or $_.50 (no 25 cent increments, etc.). Would you try to do the __.50 route, or skip it altogether? I'd do all flat dollar amounts. But I hate dealing with change!

3. Do you use only kids' size hangers for the clothes, or do you ever use adult-size hangers? I think I'll be o.k. on hangers as I'm probably not going to sell as much as I thought I would, but I figured I'd ask just in case. Assuming you only have younger children's sizes, thats all the hangers you should need.

4. How do you price items that are NWT? I have a bunch of outfits that my daughter never wore (she got so many clothes as gifts), and I'd like to try to sell them now. I'd price them significantly lower than the price marked, obviously. Even at resale shops/shows, I still don't want to pay more than wal-mart prices for anything, kwim?

5. Any special tips on how to make people clamor to buy my stuff (other than clean clothes & low prices)? ;) Maybe special display strategies or something? Clothes seperated by size/season/gender. And as funny as it sounds, if this is set up in a "booth" kind of thing, don't stand too close! I know it sounds odd, but our family did craft fairs for years. The further away from the table we got, the more people browsed our things, and, of course, we sold more! I have heard this from others as well.

Thanks for your help! :bowdown:

Good luck!

[mom2binsd]

Thanks to those who responded to the questions on my thread from February! I'm going to take the plunge and try it out in mid-April (JBF sale). :)
I have some more questions; maybe you've got answers...

1. Is there anything you WOULDN'T sell at one of these sales (because no one would buy it)? Certain baby gear items/ etc.?

2. Our pricing system allows for flat dollar amounts, or $_.50 (no 25 cent increments, etc.). Would you try to do the __.50 route, or skip it altogether?

3. Do you use only kids' size hangers for the clothes, or do you ever use adult-size hangers? I think I'll be o.k. on hangers as I'm probably not going to sell as much as I thought I would, but I figured I'd ask just in case.

4. How do you price items that are NWT? I have a bunch of outfits that my daughter never wore (she got so many clothes as gifts), and I'd like to try to sell them now.

5. Any special tips on how to make people clamor to buy my stuff (other than clean clothes & low prices)? ;) Maybe special display strategies or something?

Thanks for your help! :bowdown:

Disclaimer- I've done at least 10 JBF type sales.....I've seen it all!!!!!!!!!! I work as a 24 hr volunteer and know a former JBF owner.


I'd try to sell everything you can, scour your house for all that baby/kid stuff!

I use kid hangers still and my oldest is 6, if you need more ask at dept stores (our Bergners store is great about giving me hangers)...DON't use the pant hangers, I'm pretty sure they don't allow them, you'll need to pin the pants to the hangers- follow the instructions for tagging and hanging exactly....I get my large safety pins at Dollar General.

If you have matching socks/bows/hats, but them in a large baggie and attach securely (and place another pricetag in the bag in case it's lost).

NWT's still have to be a good deal, so at least 50% retail, and remember, most people know that nobody pays full price for gymbo etc.

If you have three inexpensive shirts/sleepers- put each on a hanger, tie securely together with string/tape.

I bring all my clothes to drop off in suit garment bags, they keep them clean in the car/in case you drop them and no wrinkles. I use my double stroller to bring stuff in.

Do not bring little one's to drop off if you can help it...goes so much quicker, esp if you have to make multiple trips out to car.

Have you signed up to volunteer??? Find the time if you haven't, it's so worth it!

Have fun

[jenmcadams]

Thanks to those who responded to the questions on my thread from February! I'm going to take the plunge and try it out in mid-April (JBF sale). :)
I have some more questions; maybe you've got answers...

1. Is there anything you WOULDN'T sell at one of these sales (because no one would buy it)? Certain baby gear items/ etc.?
Toys do really well...but they need to have all the pieces; bottles, feeding stuff, etc. always grosses me out and doesn't seem to sell.

2. Our pricing system allows for flat dollar amounts, or $_.50 (no 25 cent increments, etc.). Would you try to do the __.50 route, or skip it altogether?
Our sale only allows flat dollar amounts (until the 1/2 off sale); I'd just price fairly regardless of the theme

3. Do you use only kids' size hangers for the clothes, or do you ever use adult-size hangers? I think I'll be o.k. on hangers as I'm probably not going to sell as much as I thought I would, but I figured I'd ask just in case.
I used a combination...if you have kids sized hangers great, but I also used adult hangers and wire hangers from dry cleaner

4. How do you price items that are NWT? I have a bunch of outfits that my daughter never wore (she got so many clothes as gifts), and I'd like to try to sell them now.
No more than 50% of retail...this Spring will be my second time selling and I'm really happy that when in doubt, I went with lower pricing. I sold way more than most people and made almost $600 (with a few big items, but mostly clothes). I really wanted to get rid of stuff and people are looking for a great deal

5. Any special tips on how to make people clamor to buy my stuff (other than clean clothes & low prices)? ;) Maybe special display strategies or something?
If your sale is anything like mine, you won't be able to display your own stuff. I often grouped stuff into an outfit (pinned matching socks, hat, etc.) and sold things in lots. For smaller, less expensive things, I often grouped several together (e.g. footed cotton old navy baby pants...I put three pairs together). Also, make sure you follow the tagging instructions and make your tags visible

Thanks for your help! :bowdown:


Hope this helps! Consigning is a pain, but I like the extra cash

[ourbabygirl]

Thanks, Everyone!
Yeah, I did sign up to volunteer from 10-2 on the Saturday (discount day, I think) of the sale, as that's when DH is off work to watch DD, and I didn't want to do the evening shift or the next day (take down everything). Because I'm volunteering, I get to go shop that Tuesday around 5, which is cool. I'm not really in the market for much but it would still be nice to go.
And yeah, I'm definitely planning to leave DD at home w/DH when I go drop off stuff... I'll probably have to make at least a couple trips (don't have a double stroller, but I'll use some sort of stroller), and now that she's a toddler, she's impossible to keep still.
Since we only have one kid and one on the way this fall, I'm not actually selling that much of what we have from DD... I'll have to look at her toys and see if there's anything I want to part with. I would like to get rid of one of our strollers if possible.

It should be fun! The only time I've been to one of these is when I was about 9 months pregnant w/DD. I was able to get a lot of stuff but didn't realize there would be such big lines to check-out!

Any more thoughts, keep 'em coming! :thumbsup:

Thanks! :wink2:

[WatchingThemGrow]

If you're expecting in the fall (congrats!!) I would start making a list of the things you may need for that baby. Most everything can be found at those sales, esp. if you're looking for a wide variety of things. Buying things up to a year in advance is not unheard of if you have a place to store things until the next gift-giving occasion.
For me, volunteering at night on the sorting shift works well b/c I don't have to miss family time (that much) or do anything more than set dinner out.

[american_mama]

I have consigned a few times at two different local sales.

>> 1. Is there anything you WOULDN'T sell at one of these sales...
I'd probably try to sell everything, but maternity clothes and kid shoes do not sell well in my experience.


>> Our pricing system allows for flat dollar amounts, or $_.50 ?
I'd use whole dollar amounts for simpliciyt, but that is also all that is allowed at my sales.

>> Do you use only kids' size hangers for the clothes, or do you ever use adult-size hangers?
My sales only allow adult hangers, so that's all I've used. Some dry cleaners (not all) will give you the hangers for free, so call around. If your adult hangers are making your clohtes look weird (pushing the arms out too much), you can bend the hangers down to make it look better.

>> How do you price items that are NWT? I have a bunch of outfits that my daughter never wore (she got so many clothes as gifts), and I'd like to try to sell them now.
This has rarely come up for me, but I'd price it a few dollars below the tag price, assuming that still seemed a likely price people would pay. I would list on the tag that the item is "NWT" or write it out "new with tags." Maybe it's just me, but I notice things on the tags that I might otherwise forget to notice, like "adjustable waist pants" (I love those for my skinny older daughter) or "dress w/ built-in onesie, diaper never shows!" if you have room for stuff like that.


>> Any special tips on how to make people clamor to buy my stuff (other than clean clothes & low prices)? Maybe special display strategies or something?
At my sales, the salespeople categorize your items on long racks, so no individual display is possible. The only thing I do is pin tops and bottoms together to look like an outfit (if it's a onesie and pants, for instance, I'll put the onesie on the hanger, tuck the bottom into the pants, and then pin the pants to the lower part of the onesie.) I do not know if this helps sales, but it presents the clothes at their best, to me. But some sales won't let you pin them that way because it can hide potential flaws in the clothing.

[gobadgers]

I just participated in a sale for the first time this spring. It was actually a lot of fun, and it was definitely nice to have first crack at the sale.

I had good luck pinning outfits together, as some pp's mentioned. Be sure they are securely pinned together though, and even pinned onto the hanger if possible. There were things off hangers or without tags by the end of our sale (although not as many as I would have thought).

Lightly worn shoes went like hotcakes at my sale. I was surprised because I won't buy used shoes (on advice of my ped).

Our sale allowed $0.25 increments, and I used them in my pricing. I felt like they added up when I was selling, whereas not many people notice the difference between an outfit for $2.00 and one for $2.25, KWIM?

I noticed many sellers wrote good descriptions on the tags, which was nice because people do actually look at them. One seller in particular wrote "So Cute!!!!" on every tag. A little over the top, but I wouldn't be above writing that on a couple particularly cute outfits ;)

Good luck with the sale!

[ourbabygirl]

One more question:
Would you write "Never worn" or "Worn only once" on an outfit's tag, or does that scream "Impractical!"? I was thinking that it could be seen as a good find because there are obviously no stains or shrinkage issues or anything, but I don't want it to be interpreted as that it was worn only once because we didn't like it/ it wasn't comfortable/ whatever. DD just had SO MANY clothes that I wasn't able to put her in a lot of them.

[KrisM]

No comments on the details of a consigment style sale, as they aren't around here.




Lightly worn shoes went like hotcakes at my sale. I was surprised because I won't buy used shoes (on advice of my ped).



I buy lightly worn shoes for extras. Their main pair is new, but I keep an extra in the car in case we get wet or muddy, etc. And, I like another pair for home for those same reasons. So, I am fine spending $3 on a used pair of shoes that might never be worn.

I buy nearly all our stuff used at mom2mom resale events. These are more like a bunch of garage sales under one roof than what you're doing. I pay $20 to sell and bring my own tables and set up my own area and man my sale. No commissions, etc.

But, I don't buy used underwear, although I've seen people having it for sale. I don't buy socks either because I want all one kind per kid. I also never bought sippy cups, bottles, pacifiers, etc although I've seen them there.

Please make sure all puzzle pieces are there. I bought a 24 piece puzzle that was missing 3 pieces!

Good luck!

[gobadgers]

I buy lightly worn shoes for extras. Their main pair is new, but I keep an extra in the car in case we get wet or muddy, etc. And, I like another pair for home for those same reasons. So, I am fine spending $3 on a used pair of shoes that might never be worn.

Good luck!

This makes sense! I never really thought about it, but that's a good idea. I never looked at the shoe section, now I may have to check it out. I think things like rain boots would work too, since usually they don't get much wear.