I want to do both :-) Obviously I'm not going to make a profit, but I'll make more selling them than I would if they were stored away.
Finding the right sale can be rough. Consigning is a LOT of work and when you get a paltry check in the end it's quite disheartening---but it is a learning experience...the key is finding a sale that sells to people that are most like yourself. For me that meant finding a sale that sold quality things cheap but I wasn't afraid to pay for the items. Meaning, I paid $10 for a Strasburg dress. Ok, that's like 90% savings :-) Another time I went to a sale and got a two piece outfit from a Gymboree line I LOVED for $8. Those are two of the most expensive items that I have bought BUT I've explained about the Strasburg and the Gymboree outfit was a 2 piece so it was really just $4 per piece :-) From my experience those are pretty good prices so I didn't have any kind of buyers remorse. Oh yes, I forgot. I think the most expensive items I've bought was a set of 12 miniature books of Peter Rabbit sold as a set for $20. They were in excellent condition and I'm all about some books so I didn't mind paying that.
Ok back to the post at hand, you've essentially got to price your items into two different categories...the nicer ones you want to sell at the pre-sale, and all the rest that you will sell any other day. Basically what I mean is, the mothers that sell get to shop early. They know the bargains and good deals and what is worth what. I price my newer, nicer items for that day and everything else based on what the moms who don't know will pay. When you enter your items online you will have multiple options, but you will describe your items, list the size, tell whether you want it half price on Saturday, and whether you want to donate it if it doesn't sell. I always do half price for items on Saturday, therefore I price my items on that. Meaning if I am willing to accept $1 for something then I will price it at $2. If it sells the best case scenario it sells for $2, worse case scenario $1; I am fine with either of those!
If it is an item that I want G.O.N.E. then I will donate it. I have done that with all the shoes, dvd's and big items.
Now I have to admit that I don't do big shopping trips at Consignment Sales because I know that I'll buy items because they are 'such good deal's but in the end they will probably end up never worn and in the next sale. I am pretty strict with myself when I go to these things...I will only go to certain sections like shoes, books, jackets, etc...Those are generally the items I need and are hard to find out (like brown mary janes---they are IMPOSSIBLE to find!).
Expect to sell about 75% of your items...unless they are newborn-24 months (especially girls) because there are just HUGE amounts of those. Based off of that I price those items a little lower to ensure that they will sell. I want my items to stand out because they are good quality and cheap.
The last weekend in July I did the All 4 Kids Consignment sale. I had heard great things about it and I REALLY needed to get rid of some items. So I used the principles listed above and actually sold 80% of my stuff!! Almost all of my kids stuff sold, mostly what was left was the maternity clothes that I didn't plan on wearing again. Not to shabby! That won't always be the case and sometimes you could do better, but now that I know my pricing was pretty good I can hopefully do even better at the next sale!
Here are some pics of my favorite consignment sale finds :-)
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| Strasburg Dress |
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| Adorable 2 pc Carter's |
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| 2 pc Gymboree...I already had the socks and she matched big sis! |
We are eerily similar =) I give this post two thumbs up!
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