A few weeks ago, I stumbled on the website for a huge upcoming kids' consignment sale about an hour from my house. I live in a really small town, so I had never heard of such a thing. I studied the website and read everything I could find about how it works. A seed was planted in the back of my head. I have a gazillion pieces of kids' clothes I'm trying to sell. Maybe I could take a few of them...Also, consignors get to shop the evening before the public sale. AND consignors get to shop the half-price sale the evening before the public half-price sale. My sister wanted to go along and buy things for her new baby, but she didn't have anything to consign. I told her I'd try to scrounge up enough stuff to split between the two of us, and that I'd list some of it under her name so she could get in as a consignor too.
I read their pricing strategy. They suggest pricing Gymboree clothes at a third of retail. Well, that's what I price mine for on eBay, so buying any Gymboree there for resale is obviously out. But if I sell my Gymboree for a third of retail, and they sell Gymboree for a third of retail, why not just take all of it? Yes, I'll lose consignment fees (this particular sale gives consignors 60% of the sale price), but the idea of having so much of that clothing pile gone in one weekend was very appealing to me.
Then I read their list of what they'll accept. They wanted nothing older than 4 years (2007 or newer). Drat. The bulk of my Gymboree is 2004, 2005, and 2006. So I went through and picked out all the newer stuff. I ended up with about 50 items. I entered it into the database, priced, tagged, and sorted it. Then I ended my eBay listings for those items (don't want to sell the same thing twice!)
Yesterday, I took them up and dropped them off. I happened to mention in passing that I have tons more of this stuff, but that it's more than 4 years old. She told me I should bring it anyway. Well! You don't need to tell me twice. I only had until midnight last night to get my stuff entered into their database. I rushed home and got to work. I ended 120 eBay listings last night. Several of those listings were lots that I broke up into individual items for this consignment sale. I frantically typed and typed and typed and got done at 11:50! Phew!
I ended up with 167 items. But I don't have anymore cardstock or safety pins for making tags. Ack! I have to drop this stuff off at 5:30 this evening when we go for the pre-sale. So guess what I'll be doing today (after an emergency Walmart trip)...
I have $1400+ in items that I'll have at the sale, which means that IF it all sells (which of course I don't expect it to), I could potentially make over $800 this weekend. Sure, that's less than I could get on eBay, but how could I resist the idea of clearing out my storage space and coming home with an $800 check all at once, rather than shipping them out one item at a time for $8 here and there?
Here's what I'll be taking up this evening (in addition to the 50-some items I took yesterday):
I'll let you know how I do!
Cannot wait to hear how it goes!
ReplyDeleteI actually started consigning before selling on eBay. I buy brand name clothes dirt cheap at yard sales and resell them for a couple of bucks each. I have been making $200 profit each season!
ReplyDeleteGood luck! Consignment sales aren't that big around here, but I know my sister in law does great selling her things in the South. Sound like a lot of work for 2-3 days, but you are so right, getting a lump sum check and not having to do all those individual mailings? So worth it!
ReplyDeleteThat's so funny, I'm entering our First consignment sale this weekend to. I have been tagging items left and right and my total tagged items is around the $800 range. It's amazing how quickly those things add up and I was a little hesitant about the fees, but like you the rejoicing in more storage space!!! If it goes well, I'm wondering if purchasing spring clothes now for $.25 to $.50 would be worth stockpiling for the Spring Consignment sales? Are you thinking forward to?
ReplyDeleteHow do you know the year of your Gymboree clothing? I can tell what is newer by the evolution of the tags but I have no idea what year it came out. Thanks!
ReplyDeletekdelrosario (Kim, right?) - Yes, I've been contemplating stockpiling spring clothes super-cheap for just that reason. I'll have to think about it, and I'll have to buy super-cheap.
ReplyDeleteDiana - the Gymboree tags have the year printed right on them.
OOOH! Please let us know how that goes! I'm sooo intrigued by the whole consignment sale thing, but here on Long Island, we only have two a year, and I just found out about them. I'm going to shop at one first to see exactly what the deal is, but I too have a storage area full of clothing that I would love to find new homes for (and money back into my pocket!).
ReplyDeleteGOOD LUCK!
I'm in the consignment sale trenches myself right now. I pulled out a bunch of stuff that was for EBay and added it to consignment just like you. Time, space and sanity are worth it. Best of luck :)
ReplyDeleteI have been selling at our local children's consignment sale for several years. I made $369.xx for my daughter's outgrown clothes and discarded toys. I don't even attempt to sell kids clothing on ebay nor do I purchase a bunch at yard sales. I spent $121 which included clothes for my daughter and 3 of my nieces.
ReplyDeleteI am thinking about jumping into consignment sales too. I can't wait to here how it goes for you. The fees and not knowing how to price items are making me hesitant. I hope it goes well for you.
ReplyDelete