Biggest Bang for Children Consignment

Consignment shops or consignment sales sell secondhand goods for owners, with some sort of fee kickback for the sell. Most consigned goods are normally priced a little higher than thrift stores but most always lower than the original purchase price. Both sellers and buyers can win through consignment markets. As a seller you can get rid of closet clutter for a reasonable profit and as a buyer you are getting quality clothes for a discounted price. A lot of consignment stores do specialize in name brand or luxury  clothing, jewelry and accessories, making it more appealing for both the seller and buyer. The seller doesn’t have to give away a high end item and for someone who cannot afford a luxury item new, buying consignment puts an item in an a realistic price range.

My recent experience with consignment was not in a store but through a community sale benefitting a non-profit called The Eastern Prince William Mothers of Multiples Club. The Club is organized to be of aid to mothers of multiples with networking and support, and also fund towards education, research and charitable purposes. The prices were comparable to local thrift stores and I felt good actually seeing the women who were selling their items and knowing that it was helping local mothers.

This was also possibly the MOST organized I’ve ever seen a secondhand sale. Everything was categorized, fully labeled, in bags, prices, etc. It was amazing! And I lucked out because it was a rainy morning, that the sell was not that busy yet and I didn’t feel like I had to fight for things. I had the girl 18-24 month aisle all to myself and took my time picking what I wanted out. Of course with full arms in about 20 minutes, I had to still reexamine my picks with Willie at the checkout, but we still walked out with a huge bag full of clothes for $50!! 18 items for $50 to be exact which averages out to about $2.70 per item (1 jacket, 3 sweaters, 4 onesies, 3 pants, 2 skirt/dress, 3 pajamas, 1 pair of shoes, and one fitted crib sheet).

How to get your biggest bang for your buck?

1. Look for jackets. The pink medium weight Oshkosh jacket was a great find at $8.
2. Look for items still with tags or in original packaging (like the fitted crib sheet I found) = AMAZING 
3. Look for full outfits. I got 5 full outfits for around $30!
4. Pajamas. We love these easy zip up PJs and for $2-3/each, they were a deal from buying brand new at about $10 each. Buying secondhand  saved us over $21 for 3 pairs.

5. Look for shoes. These adorable (brand new condition) Carter's white toddler shoes were $4, which are normally $15 (70% savings!)

Some things to look out for:

• Stains...yuck.
• Socks are extremely hard to find in good condition. The bottoms just gross me out entirely.
• Rips, tears, pulled fabric, missing buttons, and any imperfection that would make you unhappy with your purchase.

Support the recycling of clothes! Your baby grows way too fast to splurge on new and it’s a great way to be GREEN!