Monday, August 27, 2007

Buying children's clothes at consignment sales

As promised, here is my second installment of tips for consignment sales. Today we're going to talk about the fun part of consigning, BUYING more stuff! After all, you know how good the items are that you are selling. Just think of other people with high quality items that happen to be selling them in your children's current sizes! If you know what to look for, you can score some real bargains.

Tips on Buying from Consignment Sales

1. Bring a BIG container! Laundry basket, stroller, new trash can (yes, I've seen it done), cardboard box, ANYTHING to put your prospective purchases in. Even if you expect to "only buy a few things" or "only spend just a little". Your arms won't be able to hold everything. Plus, you'll need to pick out more than you want to buy just so you can have some choices. More on that later.

2. Grab everything! Well, ok. Not literally EVERYTHING at once. However, here is what I witnessed at the Duck Duck Goose sale. These women have their huge containers and they go through the rack grabbing anything remotely interesting. THEN, when they are done, they find a corner and begin sorting through it. That is when they make their decision on whether or not to buy. So, if it looks like you MIGHT like it, grab it. You can always put it back.

3. Go through the racks a second time. This is a corollary to #2 above. Once these women have decided which items they are going to purchase, a sizable number of the items they first grabbed will be put back on the rack. So, wait a little bit and go through your child's size again. There may be stuff you didn't get to see the first time.

4. Double check sizes. I got burned by this just a few months ago in the spring. The rack said size 6. The consignment sale tag said size 6. I bought it for my oldest daughter. I get it home and it won't even button around her! I look at the tag in the dress and it says size 4!!!! Luckily, my second daughter could wear it, but boy was I mad. Ultimately, it was my own fault. So check the garment label and don't just rely on the price tag.

5. Double check for stains/holes/missing buttons. This one burned me as well. (Can you tell I've learned the hard way?) Some items have stains where you can't see them. On the bloomers of a dress, around the collars, on the back. There may be a small tear on the inside. Tears on seams can be fixed. Holes in the middle of a shirt cannot. The owners say they only accept high quality clothing, but I've seen stained and holey garments at all the consignment sales I've been to that the volunteer check-in workers missed. All sales are final at these things so double and triple check before you buy.

6. Shop the half-price sale! This one applies more here in Northwest Arkansas than at Duck Duck Goose. I have done 3 seasons of consignment sales up here now. Except for the sale last week, I got LOTS of my stuff back that was completely fine! This time, I finally wised-up and realized that if my good merchandise is still there on half-price day, then some other people's good merchandise is there, too. Last week at Rhea Lana's, I got a dress for $2, tights for $1.25, and several other items for only $1.50. THOSE are the great bargains we're all looking for! Plus, if you saw an item you loved but didn't want to pay $9 for it, it might just be available for $4.50, provided it doesn't have the dreaded "red dot" that means the consignor doesn't want it to sell for half-price.

7. Buy baby equipment and toys. Equipment has some of the best bargains at the sale! When my first child was a baby, I bought an exersaucer for $10. I saw the same one for sale at Toys R Us and Wal-Mart for closer to $50. I got a great Peg Perego stroller at one sale for $40. They are around $200-$400 brand new!

8. Check out the sides. Look around the walls of the room where the sale is held. This is usually where other items are displayed such as shoes, bedding, books, baby carriers, furniture, hair bows, etc. There are great bargains to be had here as well.

One last note: This is just personal preference. There are certain things I DON'T buy at consignment sales or garage sales either. Underwear, socks, potty seats/chairs, diaper genies, burp cloths. All those items that were more likely to come into contact with bodily fluids. Yes, I know clothes get spit upon and such, but these are items you KNOW were peed or pooped in. I know you can sterilize them, and they may be as good as new. Like I said, this is just my personal preference. If I was just dead broke, I probably would buy some of that stuff used. But I'm not so I figure I can afford new underwear for my kids.

I hope this helps some new moms who may be going to a consignment sale for the first time. There are some great bargains out there. You just gotta know where to look!

Here are links to the 3 main consignment sales that I know about in Northwest Arkansas:

Just Between Friends
Rhea Lana's
2nd Look Consignment Sale. Email 2ndlookkids@cox-internet.com

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