Please enjoy this super nerdy photo of me being excited to volunteer at my favorite consignment sale this past weekend!
This was the BEST sale I have participated in so far in my last 3 years of sales! I usually do 2 sales each season and still have stuff left over, I sold almost ALL of my inventory at this sale so now I have an excuse to hit up those last garage sales of the season the next few weeks so I can find things to put in the 2nd sale I'm signed up for in October!
I started collecting fall/winter clothes and toys earlier this spring after the spring sales. The nice thing about this is that at garage sales and thrift stores off season clothes are usually priced cheaper because its off season. I spent anywhere between .25-$2 per item and tried to find things in mostly sizes 2T-7 in girls and boys that would be good for fall which means long sleeves, coats, fleece, holdiay dresses, costumes, fleece, jammies and sweats. I also grabbed toys I could find for under $2 that were in working condition.
All that collecting led me to lots of tagging and organizing and general panic when I realized I only had 2 days before drop off to get everything done. I ended up with 136 items, they didn't take 7 at inspection because of a couple stains I had missed and 2 of my toys decided to stop working that day. (boo!) This is my favorite sale because of the fact that they are strict with what they accept, only the best! They are also the most organized sale I participate in, I don't have to put my items out on the floor they have volunteers for it which is very helpful because I usually have my kidlets with me!
If you are local in Washington, I highly recommend the Jack & Jill Sale. Check out their website and come shop the spring sale in early 2013!
I shopped the consignor presale with a friend that night and spent $42 on a bunch of cute new clothes for DD and 2 pairs of shoes for DS, a few toys, a DVD and even a pair of shoes for myself that didn't end up fitting so I sold them on FB yesterday for $10! I was so excited that night after the sales went up and I had already sold over $150 worth of inventory!
This sale ended up fabulously. I decided to volunteer this time to earn 70% instead of 65% and I picked the clean up crew shift which was lots of work and lots of fun. I think I will probably do this shift every time!
Final Tally:
$83 invested in consignor fees, hangers, & inventory
103 items out of 129 sold!
$535.50 in total sales!
I will get a check for 70% of that so probably around $375
If I can make an extra $100 at the October sale I will have had my best season to date!
Have you participated in any sales this year? How'd you do or have they happened yet? Any questions for me about consignment sales? Leave a comment!
My 1st consignment sale starts this Thursday. I took in 278 items. ALL my kids outgrown clothes. It was way too much work, IMO. I have sworn NEVER to do it again. Maybe because I had too many items? I also work FT so I only had time to do it after the kids went to bed after work. My friend tells me that after I see how much I make I will change my mind. I'm very optimistic and hoping for the best!
ReplyDeleteAlso, how did you price your stuff? I had no idea how to price anything and questioned myself all the time...did I price too low too high? lol
Thanks for the comment Doris! How did your sale go? I price pretty competitively depending on the size range. I have started to really avoid anything sized under 18 months if I have anything in the NB-18 mo size range I price it about $3 depending on what it is. Older children clothes are not as stocked as the baby stuff so I tend to price a little higher in those sizes. It really depends on the brand and the condition. I try and think to myself, what would I personally pay for something like this at a sale and if it's too much then I lower it a little. The more competitive the pricing the more you'll sell but I also have to factor in what I spent to begin with. An example: I bought a Janie & Jack Pea Coat in size 2 - I paid about $2 for it and sold it for $12. Better brands = better profit! :) Hope that helps!
DeleteI just dropped off at the Just Between Friends sale in Tampa today....I also swore I would never do it again! I was at drop off for 3 hours :( I dropped off around 365 items.....I hopefully will make $1000, but I think I spent over 100 hours on it! Usually by the time the next one rolls around I forget how much work it was...lol!
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your sale next weekend!
Yeah I hate that you have to put out your own stuff at JBF - last spring it took me and my husband over 2 hours to put everything out because they decided that year to separate everything out by type in each size and not tell anyone so I had to separate pants, shirts, pjs & dresses for each size and find the right spot. Not fun!
DeleteDid you hit your $1000??
Im so jealous that your sale has people putting the items out for you. I sweart I loose a few pounds in sweat every time I do a sale with all the lugging. I have to take all three of my tots with me to my first sale this week. I only tagged 250 items for it because I need to make sure my kids will fit in the van too! My next sale is in mid Oct and Im volunteering for that one. I priced very low for this first sale but did not do the half off the last hour. Sales around here are only 1-2 days ans this one is only 8-3pm so super short. I always think things sell the last hour for half off not because of te price but because people ran out of time. We will see how my theory goes. Honestly if I were to run one of these sales I would have it at a function place and drop off would be Thursday, pre sale Friday, sale Saturday and haslf off Sunday. Its a lot of work for people to only see your stuff for a few hours. Hubby says I should start my own sale.
ReplyDeleteI actually have thought about running my own sale too, but I have so much other stuff going on that I don't think I would have the time and marketing ability to make it popular!
DeleteI dropped off items last night for my area's very first JBF sale. It was kind of a last minute decision, so I only took around 170 items. I am HOPING at least half sell. We'll see. I also really question if the payout is worth the time invested.
ReplyDeleteThe presale starts this afternoon, and according to their "rules" you aren't allowed to bring kids to the presale. And my husband works late tonight. So I don't get to go. Booooo. I'll go first thing tomorrow morning instead, and try not to dwell on what I might be missing out on today. :-)
How did your sale go Kari? Hope it went great!!
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