It’s Consignment Sale Time Again
Kid consignment sales are a big way that we save money.
There is one sale that is put on twice a year where I live that I usually always go to. In fact, I normally consign at least the minimum so I can get into the consignor pre-sale, which is the night before the public sale. The public sale is far too nuts for me to bother with and since there are 5 pre-sale times beforehand, all of the best stuff for the best prices is long gone.
This year, when I was dropping off the items I am consigning, I saw a sign stating they were desperate for worker volunteers and that in return for one shift, I could shop a day earlier, at the worker pre-sale.
So, both my friend and I signed up. So, Thursday night we shopped at the worker pre-sale and last night we worked the pre-sale for consignors. The public sale starts today, Lord help them.
It was exhausting. We shopped from 7pm to 11pm on Thursday night (and worked 5-11pm on Friday night). There is an enormous amount of things to go through at this sale! I didn’t even look at everything. Not even hardly! I skipped over all the TONS of baby things, ride on toys, dvds and didn’t look at the adult clothes either.
For Big D I bought ($60),
- 4 sets of pajamas (3 of which look brand new, Gap and Carters)
- 6 pants (3 are Gymboree)
- 5 shirts (4 are OshKosh)
- rain boots
- running shoes
- and an REI fleece pullover
For Little C, I bought ($14),
- 2 sets of pajamas
- 6 pants
Little C didn’t really need anything. But, I looked a bit and kept finding things, so I just stopped myself!
I also bought a puzzle game, two bike helmets and a telescope for the boy’s swingset fort, which was on Big D’s birthday wish list, all for $17.
So, I got everything for $97, which I thought that was pretty good.
I was disappointed in the books and games this time though. They normally have a much better selection. My friend and I were talking about this and we are wondering if the February sale is simply better for that sort of thing since it’s right after Christmas and people are getting rid of more stuff to make way for the new stuff they got over Christmas.
I also noticed that some of the clothes prices seemed to be higher than they have been in years passed. Some items I passed over because I knew I could get it on sale, new, for a similar (or better!) price.
It definitely pays to know your prices when you go to consignment sales. I have decided that I am going to make a chart of what I paid this time at the consignment sale and what I can get on sale at the stores I normally buy from (Target, Children’s Place, Gymboree Outlet).
I will probably try to work the sale again in February to compare, but this time I want to work when the consignors drop off their items so I can get a better look of what is coming in. I saw a lot of items last night when I was checking people out that I would have loved, for great bargains.
Volunteering to work is definitely time consuming, so I will give it one more chance to see if I think it’s worth it. As my boys get older there seems to be less and less to look for, toy wise (since we seem to have everything already!) and if I can get clothes on sale for similar prices and we now have a great used book store nearby….well, it’s a lot of work to shop that sale.
I did check out one family of people (2 sisters and their mother) whose total came up to $604! Good grief. They had 96 items of clothing, toys, movies, shoes, etc. Crazy. It all would have cost much more full price, but you have to ask yourself at these sales…do I really need or want all this stuff cluttering up my house? Have my kids asked for this? Do I really need 10 movies simply because they are only $1 each? My answer would be “no”, which is why I only bought one game.
What about you? Do you go to consignment sales for your kids? Have you ever consigned or worked a sale to shop early? Do you find better deals compared to on sale items at stores?
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07/25/2009 | Frugal & Green Living, Money Management.
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July 27th, 2009 at 12:56 pm
Sweet deal. I’ve not heard of a shop holding a deal where you volunteer to shop a day early. That is cool.
We don’t have much in children’s consignment shops here. Most of them cater to babies. I will have too look around again. Thanks for the tip.
July 28th, 2009 at 8:03 am
Consignment stores are a great way to get fairly new / brand new clothes at a discounted rate. There are four consignment stores that I know of in my area and they sell high-end designer items at really great rates. Consignment stores are actually doing much better than most retail stores because the clothes they accept is high quality and people can purchase them for MUCH MUCH cheaper than at the regular store.
How’d you and your friend like working there? Would you do it again?
July 28th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
Hey Christine and Amy,
The ‘sales’ I am referring to aren’t stores. We have a bunch of sales that are put on by churches (as fundraisers) or individuals. They are held either at a church or at a large space the individuals have rented. They rely on volunteer workers and consignors, thus allowing both to shop early.
The one I worked is run by 2 women, who have been doing it for YEARS. Like 15 years or something. Nuts. It’s WAY bigger than any consignment store, of which we do have a few of in my city. It’s basically their job. I would love to know how much money they make from it, but I’m guessing it’s nothing to sneeze at for a few months of hard work organizing the two sales they do each year.
The sales are so much better though than a store b/c it’s way more stuff and much more variety. To get an idea, this sale that I just worked at was inside a huge space that used to be a big, furniture store. And it was FILLED up with toys, books, clothes, adult clothes, shoes, anything and everything baby related, strollers, bikes, ride on toys….I mean, you name it, it was in there. My shift was from 5pm – 11pm and when I left there was still a HUGE line to check out and just tons of items unpurchased, as the next day was the start of the week long public sale. Nuts, I tell you.
As for working again, I might try to do it again for the February sale as I felt there was more at that one this year. So, I would like to compare it. I want to try to work the drop off times so I can see better what is coming in, before I shop.
But, working it was time consuming, so it will really depend on what I have going on. I will consign some things though to at least get to shop before the public sale.
Whew! That was a long reply!