Children's Consignment Sales: Selling in 10 Easy Steps

Ahh!! Can you smell that?  No, not your neighbors lawn clippings nor your blooming hydrangeas outside.  Were talking the smell of consignment season.  If your like me, your getting excited about the prospect of selling some old stuff and filling their places with "new to you" items!  I love selling at consignment sales because they generate a decent income for about the same work as having a garage sale.  With that said, depending on the sale, you may find the instructions for selling to be a little overwhelming at first.  I hope this article will help ease your mind and help you jump into a little extra money in your pocket.

Basic Supplies: (this totally depends on the sale in your area so check their guidelines).

• Band-aids
• Between safety pinning everything and using a packing tape gun, it always gets bloody at some point.
• Wire Hangers (apparently you may be able to obtain these for free or little cost at a local cleaners.)
• Safety Pins
• Tip:I get em' cheap at Walmart.
• Tip:The ones I have bought at a dollar store in the past were kind of dull.  My mom showed me a trick though, get out a bar of soap and stab the pin into it and it helps it go through the fabric.
• Light Colored Card Stock 
• I usually grab mine from Hobby Lobby when they are having a 50% scrapbook paper sale or with my always printable/mobile phone Hobby Lobby coupon for 40% off.
• Printer Ink
• Printer
• Computer
• Scissors
• Zip Ties (for shoes)
• Zip-lock bags (for loose items or linens)
• Packing tape (having a packing tape gun helps keep the tape in order so you don't end up throwing it.)
• Good Lighting
• Some stains are hidden in plain sight unless your in good light.

Advanced Supplies: (these are nice to have things)

• Magic Erasers
• Tip: These get most hard to clean dirt, scuffs & marks off toys.
• Bleach Pens
• Stain Remover
• Sweater Fuzz Buzzer 
• These little fabric shaver's cleanly remove those weird "balls" you get on clothing that make them look worn out.
• A piece of foam
• I learned working at a high end woman's clothing store that you can get a lot of surface dirt or deodorant out with a piece of foam.

Steps 1 thru 10

Step 1: Find a local consignment sale.

Step 2: Sign up for the local consignment sale.

Step 3: Find out about what you can and cannot sale.

Step 4: Gather your "Basic Supplies" from above.

Step 5: Pull all the stuff you wanna get rid of.

• Some people struggle with step 5.  If you do, I highly recommend that you read the book "The Joy of Less" by Francine Jay.  She has a blog on minimalism here.  It set me free from a life of clutter- which is a completely separate blog post.
• Some things have sentimental value, but it all can't be that special.  Keep the "come home from the hospital outfit" or the "dedication gown" and make some money on the rest so you can buy stuff they can be cute in now!

Step 6:Look over your items in good lighting.  

• If you see stains, treat them with stain remover or bleach pens.
• Use your fabric buzzer to see if you can get it looking new again.
• Go ahead and wash the items after you have treated them.
• Clean all your toys with a magic eraser to get them looking new again.
• Also be sure to search the web for recalls on your toys/equipment.

Step 7:Get out the iron & hangers.

•  The more pride you put into your clothing, the more likely they will sell.
• Make them look new by ironing them.
• As you iron hang them on the hangers.
• You may find for infant clothing that you have to bend your hangers to fit them, but it's okay cause if they are wire they will bend back.
• Follow any safety pinning instructions that the sale gives to help you keep your items on the hangers neatly (like shorts and pants).
• Also look for the correct hanging direction.  I always forget this and end up having to twist my hangers hook to make a question mark shape so my hangers and tags are all going the same direction.

Step 8: Log-in to your consignment account and start adding the items to your inventory.

• I have found this consignment mommies website to be very helpful in knowing how to price my items.
• I try to think like I would think.  What would I pay for this?
• Give a good detailed description of your item to prevent "tag swapping".
• Also remember, that you are only getting a percentage of that price, so make sure you pricing it to get what you really want out of the item.
• Decide if you want to have your item be priced at half price the last day.

Step 9: Print & attach your tags.

• Follow the tagging instructions from your sale.
• I attach them with a safety pin on clothing and put a small piece of packing tape over the pin to deter people from switching my tags.
• I attach the tag to toys in an inconspicuous place.
• I use zip ties to attach keep shoes together and safety pin on the tag.
• I put linens in zip lock bags and packing tape them up.
• I put sippy cups and other loose toys or feeding items in zip lock bags and packing tape the tag onto the bag.

Step 10: Drop off your items, shop and sit at home and wait as the sale does all the selling for you!

• The consignment sale I do, actually has a way to check my sales each night after the sale ends so I can keep tabs on my items!

Participating in consignment sales is easy and fun.  Check out this consignment mommies website to find sales going on in your area.

Let me know about any things you've learned about pricing or preparing that can help me and other readers!