You can be a wiz at turning your child’s old clothes into credit at your local consignment store. With the credit you earn from the clothes you consign, you can buy ‘new’ clothes in your child’s next size. Think for a moment about all that ketchup, paint and grass in your child’s future, and I bet you’ll jump at the chance to pay the lower price for second-hand clothes.
The difference between using a consignment store and donating to a thrift store is that consignment stores have higher standards for what will sell. You also get to split the cost of the sold items with the consignment store according to the percentage in the agreement you sign. Consignment stores usually accept only your best, so be sure you are offering them yours!
Make sure you’re in the know. Pick a few local consignment stores and learn the rules at each one. Become familiar with their policies, the season of clothes they are accepting and the items currently in high demand. Most have a fact sheet of basic information, but usually you can keep up-to-date with the latest changes by checking their website or following their Facebook page.
Sort your clothes by season. When you sort through the towering pile of clothes that your child has outgrown, divide them into bags or boxes for Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter clothing. Only bring in the season the store needs and bag up the rest to keep in storage until it’s time to bring them in. By the middle of a season, they are probably already accepting the next one. Also, check to see if there are specific kinds of items the store needs like jackets, bathing suits or a specific clothing size.
Check for stains, rips and wear. Make sure you have good lighting when you are checking your garments. If a piece of clothing has a rip or stain, it’s usually a waste of your time to take it to a consignment store. Most don’t accept clothes with stains, no matter if they’re brand-name or expensive. Even though you may have a gorgeous flower girl dress by a designer that costs $300 new, if it has a huge grape juice stain, they probably won’t take it because it won’t sell. Ripped clothing also does not sell. Garments that have pilling from frequent wear might be accepted, so you may choose to add them to your pile at the end of your sorting if you are not over your limit.
Schedule an appointment. If you schedule an appointment with the store, you can usually get the clothes back that they don’t take. Many stores also have a drop-and-run policy: you can drop the clothes off without staying to see if they take all the items. In the beginning of your consigning relationship, you should make sure you have an appointment or bring in the clothes you want to consign during hours when a clerk can look them over. This way, you can learn what kinds of clothes they are taking to help with future appointments.
Know the item limit. Most consignment stores have a garment limit. If they say you can only bring in 25 items at a time, follow their guidelines. This means they will look at your 25 items and decide which of those they will try to sell. If you drop off a larger pile, they may only take items from the first 25 they see. Sometimes the limit changes based on how much stock they have at the time. However, if some items were purchased as a set, you can bundle them together and count them as one item.
Pay it forward. Rosemarie Buchanan, mom of two kids and frequent consignor, sees the practice as more than just a way to roll the money she spends on her kids’ clothes into future purchases. “Sure, I get 50 per cent of whatever the clothes sell for, but just as importantly, I’m helping to create a recycling centre and a community service. The wear left in my kids’ clothes will get use from another family, and maybe even another after that.”
There are so many reasons to consign your children’s clothing. You can save money, thin out the huge pile of clothes that your children have outgrown and provide affordable, wearable clothing to other parents on a tight budget.
Get ready to weed out your child’s out-of-season clothing and become a consignment pro!
Ruth is a mom of two girls, and a frequent consignor at several stores. She is always on the hunt for a great bargain.
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