Consignment shops (Once Upon A Child)

[Pinky]

Do you guys take your kids old clothes to consignment shops or do you donate them? I am thinking of taking a big bunch of clothes to Once Upon A Child and am just curious about how the process works. I know they give you money outright and you dont have to wait for your clothes to sell, so that's good. Do they only buy certain brands or "fancier" clothes or do they buy everyday type stuff too?

[artvandalay]

I've taken boxes of clothes there. They don't take everything, in fact, they rejected a bunch of my clothes. I only took things in really good condition, but they are looking for specific brands. BUT it really depends on what they are short on for that time of year.

For instance, anything that was Baby Gap or Janie & Jack they took, but they rejected some things from Old Navy, etc. I think it also depends on what time of year it is and what exactly they are in need of. If it's fall, they will probably be more likely to take coats from a wider range of stores, but less likely to take summer clothes.

The process was, my husband dropped off about 4 boxes of clothes, they gave him a little receipt and told him to come back about 4 or 5 hours later. They went through everything, gave him cash, and then handed back all the clothes they didn't want.

I just donated all the rest.

[LMPC]

I once took clothes to OUAC and I won't do it again. IMO they don't give you anything for your clothes and I can get more selling them at a yard sale. On the other hand, I do sell at a local consignment place where they tag your clothes and split the profits. I make loads of money that way!

[artvandalay]

I once took clothes to OUAC and I won't do it again. IMO they don't give you anything for your clothes and I can get more selling them at a yard sale. On the other hand, I do sell at a local consignment place where they tag your clothes and split the profits. I make loads of money that way!

Oh yeah, I agree they don't give you much at all. I'm selling my baby stuff at our subdivision's next yard sale, and whatever doesn't get sold will get donated.

[AngelaS]

They don't give you squat for clothes AND they break up sets. Grr. I did it once and won't ever do it again.

[Indianamom2]

They are, at least in my opinion, extraordinarily picky....

I only ever bring in the nicest, barely worn (sometimes never worn, with tags) clothes from DD and Ds, and they try to say that there was "slight staining"...umm, nope...already checked. Or they say it's the wrong season, brand (I buy Gap, Gymbo, Old Navy). Which would be fine if, when perusing the aisles of clothing, I wasn't finding tons of really pilled, truly stained, and sometimes falling apart clothing from Walmart, Kmart and Meijer.

I really, really don't get what they are looking for.

[catsnkid]

I got about a buck apiece on some new with tags sleepers that MIL bought that I couldn't stand or return from my once upon a child. Since I haven't had DC2 yet I have been keeping most stuff, unless I hate it and won't use it again, then it gets donated. That stuff I know was not fit to be consigned. I do shop there.

[Pinky]

Thanks for all the replies... wow, it definitely seems like it's not worth the time. I'm thinking the ease and tax deduction might make goodwill the best option for us.

When you sell items to OUAC do you get any sort of discount on stuff you buy from them?

[LMPC]

Thanks for all the replies... wow, it definitely seems like it's not worth the time. I'm thinking the ease and tax deduction might make goodwill the best option for us.

When you sell items to OUAC do you get any sort of discount on stuff you buy from them?

When I sold stuff to them, they offered me one amount if I took cash and a bit more (maybe 25% more) if I took store credit.

[MamaMolly]

IME you get cash for the stuff you sell OR you can get a little bit more in store credit. So I'd sell the clothes and walk out with $25 in my hand or I could go on record and have $30 in store credit. Something like that.

I'm in the minority because I like Once Upon a Child. I knew from PPs here that I wouldn't get much $$$ for what I sold, so I chose to look at OUAC kind of like I was donating the items. I'd do the store credit, then when I needed an item or was having a rotten week and just wanted some silly retail therapy I'd go spend my store credit. It made it a whole lot more fun for me. Guilt free shopping, and I didn't even need cash in my pocketbook.

I don't think it would be possible to make money at OUAC. They just don't give you much for the clothes.

[lhafer]

I have done a consignment called Merry Go Round. They didn't give me money upfront - they waited until my pieces sold. They were picky on their brands. They said nothing from Target, Walmart, Old Navy, etc. Their reasoning was it wasn't worth it once they priced it, took their cut and gave me mine. I can see that - though it's still a HUGE PITA to remember what they take and don't. And they looked for seasonal stuff.

Theirs was a 60/40 split. I gave them about 16 or 18 pieces (some new with tags from Gymboree/Children's Place) and got a $21.xx check from them. Their policy is after 90 days it didn't sell, they call you back. You can come get the item back (to donate/sell whatever).

If you want more bang for your buck, you can start a membership (or whatever it's called) there and instead of cutting you a check, they give you 50% of everything in the store. This is actually a good deal since they sell a lot of brand new Melissa and Doug stuff!!

But it's not worth my time and hassle, seeing as I can donate it and get a write off a WHOLE hellava lot easier.

[Pinky]

IME you get cash for the stuff you sell OR you can get a little bit more in store credit. So I'd sell the clothes and walk out with $25 in my hand or I could go on record and have $30 in store credit. Something like that.

I'm in the minority because I like Once Upon a Child. I knew from PPs here that I wouldn't get much $$$ for what I sold, so I chose to look at OUAC kind of like I was donating the items. I'd do the store credit, then when I needed an item or was having a rotten week and just wanted some silly retail therapy I'd go spend my store credit. It made it a whole lot more fun for me. Guilt free shopping, and I didn't even need cash in my pocketbook.

I don't think it would be possible to make money at OUAC. They just don't give you much for the clothes.
This is a good point... It would be some guilt free shopping! I mean their stuff is so cheap I suppose I can't expect much for the stuff i trade in.

[Melaine]

I was totally annoyed by OUAC. I had to leave and come back after they had looked at my stuff, which I thought was inconvenient (it wasn't that much stuff). They offered me a ridiculously low amount for all of my items (I had like 5 or 6 things, not clothing). I asked if they could quote me a price on each item and they said no. It didn't make sense to me and the whole thing gave me a bad vibe. They weren't even remotely polite and I don't think their staff was trained well. I would donate before going there again.

[DietCokeLover]

I'm not a huge fan of OUAC. The store near me is always dirty and smells like dirty clothes. I don't like going in there. However, that being said, I did sell some things about 3 years ago and took store credit. Our store sells hair bows that someone locally makes, so I go in there and buy bows ever now and then when DD gets a new outfit that she doesn't have a bow to match. It comes in handy in that way because I don't feel guilty about buying so many bows.

[ellies mom]

They are, at least in my opinion, extraordinarily picky....

I only ever bring in the nicest, barely worn (sometimes never worn, with tags) clothes from DD and Ds, and they try to say that there was "slight staining"...umm, nope...already checked. Or they say it's the wrong season, brand (I buy Gap, Gymbo, Old Navy). Which would be fine if, when perusing the aisles of clothing, I wasn't finding tons of really pilled, truly stained, and sometimes falling apart clothing from Walmart, Kmart and Meijer.

I really, really don't get what they are looking for.

This has been my experience too. The way I see it is that since I don't really like the clothes they are selling, it only makes sense that they won't like the stuff I'm selling. I've had decent luck selling other things but usually I just skip straight to donating. Sometimes I'll be in the mood to sort out the gymbo stuff and see what they'll take but only if I've got non-clothes stuff to sell also.

[tarahsolazy]

I sell at a local consignment superstore chain, called Stuff. Its not a way to make big money, and they are very variable in what they take. I live in a fairly rural area, so I had to tell them that Boden and Naartjie stuff was good, several years ago. Now those brands (esp Boden) are creeping in here, so they know to take it. I made about $500 selling there this year, including a bunch of my old clothes as well.

I made more money reselling on BBB swap and some other internet boards I've been on over the years, but the increased hassle of photographing clothes, keeping up with emails, shipping promptly, etc, I've decided that its not worth it. I can take it to Stuff and just go pick up a check every once in a while.

[caheinz]

You might look into other resale options.

My twin club does two sales per year, and members who work the sale get 80% of their prices. It's possible for non-members to sell, and I think it's a lower percentage that they get to keep, but it would still be better than a resale shop.

One nice thing about the sale, too, is that getting so much back means that the prices are often very fair.