It's Consignment Sale Season!

So my family has a running joke about the ladies that sell all of their stuff on Facebook and out of their cars at Ingles from VarageSale being ~gypsies~ but have ya'll ever sold anything on there because it's addicting! You make $10 off something you spent $150 on and you feel like you've won the lottery. I tried that for a while but I'm just not cut out for the meet up at Publix in the middle of the weekday lifestyle, so I started putting all of Nolan's old stuff in consignment sales and I LOVE IT. It's awesome. I would seriously love to open a children's consignment store one day. 

You buy clothes for 1/4 of what you would pay brand new (!!!) Half of the time I go through the racks and grab things Nolan would never need or wear but it's SO CUTE I have to remind myself that I will never put it on him and to put it back up. 

Picking which sale to register for:
In Knoxville there are many options for consigning in sales. ConsignmentMommies.com and Knoxville Mom's Blog can hook you up with an entire list like the ones here http://consignmentmommies.com/Partners/FrugalissaFinds.html however I personally love Duck Duck Goose and Jack & Jules for how organized they are. These women KNOW their consignment sales, probably because they have done them so many times.

Duck Duck Goose: Double the setup space, so many more consignors and alot more people know about the sale- so it's an easy choice for the first time. It's a little overwhelming to think about how anyone really find my items in this sea of endless stuff but it's totally worth it! I've made anywhere from $250-$400 from consigning in Duck Duck Goose at the Expo Center location.

Because there are over two THOUSAND consignors at DDG- they inspect clothing as it arrives for season, condition and wear. Usually you only leave drop off with a few pieces but they have to take it serious because of the quantity of items they put out each season.

http://dkdkgoose.com/

Jack & Jules: J&J is hosted in the same location, The Knoxville Expo Center, as Duck Duck Goose but uses only half of the space. With a fraction of the consignors, the sale is smaller but there are definitely people still shopping this sale. Sometimes the quality of items is better at this sale but it all goes fast because there is less to choose from!

 http://www.jackjules.com/

Getting things together:
When going through the piles of clothes you feel like your child never wore, sort them into Spring/Summer & Fall/Winter. Both of these sales are semi-annual so eventually your stock pile will make its way to their floor. Get organized and it will go alot faster!

Don't be afraid to get creative when selling your stuff! Most of the time if you bought it for your kid, someone else will be looking for it too. Bags of extra diapers, bibs, bottles, even furniture!

What you need to get started:
-Index Cards: This will be what you attach to each item as its tag, best deal for these is at the Dollar Tree
-Hangers: (& lots of them): I find wire hangers are the easiest/cheapest way to go. Save the hangers you get when you shop and reuse them! Sometimes dry cleaners have a recycle pile that they will give you.
-Safety Pins galore: You will use these to tag and reinforce your items to the hangers so they don't fall off being picked through and sorted.
-Stickers: Most likely Avery (or store brand) 5160 will fit the labels.
-Printer/ink: to print the labels
-Markers- I used Sharpies to write on the tags, It's easier and shows up better.
-Highlighter: for these particular sales, you will be assigned a color of highlighter based on your name. This is crucial in the sorting process to have your items returned.
-Zip Lock Bags: This is the best way to display toys with little pieces and sometimes shoes.. Some buyers are skeptical of buying shoes in bags but I think it keeps them in the best condition.
-Tape: You will need packing tape NOT scotch tape for attaching tags to toys, boxes, etc. Scotch tape will not hold up from the amount of hands that will touch each item you put out.

Tagging:
Tags for both of these sales are pretty similar and luckily both websites have clear instructions on how they want the tag to look. The only difference between the tags for DDG and J&J is the half price day indication.

For DDG the tags will include a RED DOT beside the price. This means that on the last day of the sale, an item WITH  red dot will NOT be discounted. All items without a red dot will be sold for half the given price.

For J&J the tags will include "ND" on the left side. This means that on the last day of the sale, an item WITH "ND" will not be discounted. All items without "ND" will be sold for half the given price.

Pretty straight forward on how to tag.. Tagging is TIME CONSUMING and not something you want to do the night before your drop off shift. My advice is to work on it a little at a time so that it doesn't become a chore and overwhelm you. It can be relaxing if you do it in small doses!

Printing labels: 
I make labels all day long at work, but for those of you that don't this process can be confusing and not worth it. Both of the sales I have mentioned use "Print at Home" systems that will save SO much time and can be such an asset to a consignor once you get the hang of it. Each sale's website provides the template for the labels. You won't have to rely on someone sending you specific amounts of labels and you can print them at your pace.

My best advice is to hang, tag and price everything before you print the labels. Then you can count how many of each price you will need to print out. This eliminates waste and can help you get your items organized. This can also help you get a good idea of what your goal is to make in sales.

Pricing:
You basically have two options when pricing your items. Price to sell or price to make money. You are taking a chance with either of them and it's really your personal decision on which to choose. Most likely, shoppers are only willing to pay 40% of what the orignial asking price is. Honestly, that is sometimes a stretch.

If you NEED to get rid of the items (aka all this old baby stuff is taking over my house, garage, attic, living room, bathtub, etc.) then you probably need to aim for a lower percentage but don't sell yourself short. Remember you are only getting a portion of that back so don't basically give your item and the time it takes to get it all together away.

For higher end, larger or boutique items I would suggest pricing to make money. Obviously you aren't going to make a profit on these items unless you purchased them at a steep discount from the beginning, however there is potential to make some serious extra money from these sales.

Drop off:
Make sure it's sorted properly BEFORE drop off. Each rack is sorted by gender then by size. For clothing, I recommend grouping hangers together with rubber bands so it's easy to unload and hang up on the appropriate rack. I would bring a basket, cart, something with wheels for all loose items like shoes and toys and have them ready to unload as well.

Drop off can get a little crazy and definitely overwhelming the first experience.  Be sure to give yourself enough time during the day of your drop off shift for your items to be inspected, sorted and put out.

Pick up:
Depending on the time of day and season of the sale, pick up can be kinda annoying and a headache. Most of these sales offer to cut your check when you pick up your unsold items. After getting your remaining items off the shelves and into your car, you might have to wait in a line that is LOOOONG. Duck Duck Goose especially, due to the volume of consignors. Plan for this time, maybe try to do this while the kiddos are not with you because it can either be easy breezy or a headache.

Working shifts:
4 hours? Really? I feel like alot of people have no interest in spending any more of their time devoted to these sales. Especially once they realize how much it will really take to get all of their stuff prepared to sell. However it's crucial to make these sales successful. The biggest perk is shopping early, not waiting in line (!!) and sometimes a bigger percentage of your sales but you also have an opportunity to make sure your items haven't fallen off the hangers or been left out on the floor. I personally think it helps your stuff to sell.

DON'T FORGET TO SHOP!!

My favorite part about these consignment sales is that I basically make around the same amount of money that I spend, so it turns into a cycle of how I get clothes/toys. It's perfect!

Here are some examples of what you can find:

@ Jack & Jules

Octonaut's OctoPod with characters $8

Jake & The Neverland Pirates "Bucky" $7

Melissa & Doug Wooden Pots & Pans $4

Polo t-shirt $4

Bag of dinosaurs $2

 Cole Haans IN THE BAG for $7... yes $7

@Duck Duck Goose 

Toy organizer bin $25

CARS chair $2

Mickey Chair $3

CARS toy bin $5

Nikes $5

Piles of clothes!!!

LIGHTNING MCQUEEN BED-- $75.. what?!??! steal of the century!

When you go in to shop the sale, remember you are not the only person in the store. Be considerate of the people shopping around you and don't take up too much space or crowd someone on the same aisle as you. Also, respect the consignors by placing the items you don't want to buy in the discarded areas or back on the racks. Don't tear off tags, leave stuff on the floor or anything like that. If you put something out of place it makes it really hard for it to sell. Being a consignor always helps you to become a more considerate shopper. Finally, prepare yourself for the line. If you are as impatient as me, you definitely need to figure out a time in the day that the line isn't wrapped all the way around the store. My best piece of advice while shopping: you get what you pay for! You are (hopefully) getting some AWESOME deals, so it's probably out of your shopping comfort zone a little at some point in the experience. It isn't a department store however the workers that run and organize these sales try their best to make it the most pleasant experience possible. Appreciate the deals you're getting.