Consignment Sales - Lenexa,KS

I'm a Kid's Closet owner as well (Gardner, KS) and I would strongly encourage you to stick with consignment sales.
I have a 10 year old, an 8 year old and a 10 month old. I have been consigning for 8 years and I would second what everyone else has said: Infant clothes are the toughest to sell. There are just always so many of them and usually they are in really good shape. I know at my sale it is not uncommon to see the EXACT same outfit being sold by 2 or 3 consignors, and the cheapest is always the one that sells. Making the items available at 1/2 price on the last day makes a big difference too. I agree with Lori A - Shoppers on the last day are looking for a deal. I've rang up more people than I can count who realize that something in the pile isn't 1/2 price so they have it pulled out. Never mind that it is still a good deal - on that last day they want the discount.
Consignment stores (Once Upon a Child, Children's Orchid) are only going to take a portion of what you bring in and they usually pay LESS than $1 a piece. Garage sales bring in even less. As you little one grows I think you'll find that you can make the most back at consignment sales.

Kid's Closet is great for many reasons! The rewards program is nice, and we pay back the maximum percentage whether or not you work the sale. Most importantly though is the exposure our consignors get. We have many, many sales throughout the KC area and many of our consignors take thier items from one sale to the next. So what doesn't sell at the first sale, goes to the second, then the third...so on and so forth. (There are 7 Kid's Closet sales in the Metro area.)
It makes the time you spend tagging more worthwhile, because you have more opportunities to sell (without paying any additonal fees).

There is also a lot o truth to Jill's comments. I have held sales and attended sales where the girls infant clothing sold really, really well, while the boys did not, or 12-18m didn't sell so well and 2-4T did. It really depends on so many factors.

Best of luck to you with whatever you decide. If you'd like more information about Kid's Closet check out our website: www.kidscloset.biz

A.

I tried one for the first time too and didn't sell much in the infant clothing area, either. Nor did I sell much in the way of infant equipment. For the most part, my good sales came from maternity and toys. There are TONS of baby clothes at these sales, so there is a lot to choose from. I've also found that people tend to not purchse starred items, unless they are really and truly special or unique or maybe brand new. I found that any infant clothing I did sell went on half price day, so if your prices are too high or starred, a lot of shoppers will pass them by, b/c there is so much other stuff to choose from. I didn't have much luck with Once Upon a Child - they are very picky and won't take a lot of the onepiece baby outfits, so that wasn't worth it for me, either. I have yet to try Children's Orchard - maybe they are better. I usually sell a lot at garage sales, but can't get much money for them - it is mostly just a way to move them out of the house.

Hey there... I am the owner of three Kid's Closet sales (LS, BS and NKC). What I can tell you about our sales-- is that all consignors make 70% (you do not have to work to make the full 70%, like some other sales require)... and we have an amazing transfer program for free... so the clothing you didn't end up selling at one sale, you can leave your same tag on it and just take it to the next Kid's Closet sale that same season (there are MANY in KS & MO to choose from) ... and your consignor fee is waived as well!

It definitely is harder to sell newborn clothing... that is the size that most people get for their baby shower gifts, from family, etc.... and the size that is hardly worn-- so a lot of it can be resold (unlike my 6 year old's clothes he plays in the mud with!)... Plus, some sales can be a hit where you sell 95% of what you bring in, while other sales you sell less... this can be due to a multitude of factors such as: shopper count, weather, how many other sales ran around the time of the sale you did, how many shoppers needed the size/season/gender/style of clothing you brought in, and what company you consigned with. Some sales just do better than others. Some consignment sales market a lot more than others... which means the consignors usually sell/make more money... you just have to find which sale is best for you... which can sometimes take a couple times consigning to find out.

Find out which sale your friends do, and ask them why they do that one-- that will help too. Also, consider asking the sale owner about your pricing... make sure you did not price too high and as a result did not sell much...

I am not sure which sale you did... but just wanted to let you know about the 70% and transfer program with kid's closet :)

Our website is: www.kidscloset.biz if you are interested. Hope I helped at least a "little"! Email me with any questions to: ____@____.com

Have a great day!

Oh, and if the link below did not work for the pricing suggestions... here it is again: http://www.consignmentmommies.com/_blog/Consignment_Mommi...

Jill

I have been doing the same consignment sale for almost 8 seasons now, so 4 years. And I have had great success. It is a process, and it does take time to prepare for the sale. That being said, what I have learned over the years is that you have to remove the emotional attachment of the items and price them to sell. This last sale, last week, I did the best I ever have. I had a running theme of $3 on almost everything. You aren't going to get that at a garage sale! I also marked almost everything to go half off the last day. My first sale, I would put a higher price on things that were originally of more value, but you aren't going to get that at a consignment sale, its a step above a garage sale, but not a boutique consignment store either. But remember, at a store you are going to get 30-40% of what the items sell for, whereas, at the sale you are going to get 65-70%. Take that into consideration too. Also, if you have items like a $150 Gymboree outfit, sell it on ebay, but getting rid of sleepers and onsies, pair them up in sets of 3 and put $3 on them, its more than you had yesterday, and they are out of your closets! Send me a personal message if you want some more pointers.

I love the consignment sales!!! I used to ebay everything and also have done my fair share of garage sales and find the consignment sales to be much easier and more profitable overall. You do have a harder time selling infant clothing unless it is priced low, as you get into the bigger sizes however, that is where you can make some money. This is a good place to start: http://www.consignmentmommies.com/_blog/Consignment_Mommi...

Personally I love the Here We Grow Again and KidsCloset sales. Let me know if you have any other questions
D.

LOL I noticed Dani already linked my guest post about pricing on Consignment Mommies. While pricing is a BIG part of being successful at Consignment sales, there are a lot of other factors that go into it. I would greatly encourage you to continue with consignment sales. At about size 2T your work will feel more worth it and at about 3T you should start earning more money than you spend. Check out:http://www.consignmentsalequeen.com/p/getting-started.html for more information on how to maximize your profit and minimize your work ;) GL!!

B., I am the owner of Kids Closet Lawrence & Topeka territories & I am sorry that you had a bad experience with Consignment! I would like to invite you to our sale to see if we can change your mind! www.kidscloset.biz/sales/lawrence or www.kidscloset.biz/sales/topeka Feel free to call me anytime as well at ###-###-#### or ____@____.com My hope is that you will not give up on consignment, and remember that each sale owner runs their sales a little different, although most are trying to do the best job for their consignors that they can! Good luck!

I have been doing Consignment sales for almost 13 years now & I'm still selling & loving it! I tried the ebay thing, but I hate standing in line at the post office. I've tried consignment stores (vs' sales) & they pay so little % for what you bring in, plus half the time they didn't want infant things because they already had so many. You have to price competitively for infant stuff. pair up a couple, or three onesies & sleepers & ask $3.00. The biggest plus I have found is always say yes to 1/2 price on the last day. people will buy if they feel like they are getting a deal. If you say no to 1/2 price they will overlook your stuff completely on the last day! I live in Lawrence, so I have tried them all! The last sale I did in the Fall I made over $800.00
Kid's Closet has given me the best bang for my buck (& time) because they give you 70% even if you can't work the sale. They have many sales so you can transfer your stuff from one to the other in the same season without paying the consignor fee again. and they just started a new rewards program where you get get even more for shopping with them! I don't do any of the other sales anymore cuz I don't want to re-tag. :) Kids Closet was the first in KC so they have moved ahead of the others who are still just getting the hang of it or so it seems. Here is a link that the owner of Kids Closet sent out for everyone to help us price things. It's very helpful! Good luck!

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.consignm...