While many of our mothers and grandmothers dealt with outgrown clothes and toys that were no longer age-appropriate by faithfully holding a spring garage sale, even they would be quick to admit that the return on investment wasn’t all that great. Everyone loves to find a great garage sale with items going for a quarter or fifty cents, but who wants to put the effort into holding one when those are the expected prices?
Today’s parents have turned to other avenues to sell kids clothing and toys, and some have found great success selling large lots of clothing online, with websites like eBay, around since 1995, and Craigslist. But those sites have their own problems, including the time that goes into packing and shipping items, meeting strangers at your home to peruse your items and handling returns if shoppers aren’t satisfied.
Mega sales
Another option that is growing exponentially in popularity in the Capital District is consigning locally with shops or taking part in the mega-sized sales held once or twice a year. You won’t see any twenty-five cent price tags there, but you will see countless high quality clothes and children’s items in excellent condition at 5 percent to 30 percent of the original cost.
The biggest children’s consignment sale in Albany is the Pass It On Sale, which takes place in spring and summer, and “passing it on” by word of mouth is the primary reason this sale has grown from 50 consignors in a rented firehouse 10 years ago to 550 consignors in the Albany Academy fieldhouse now. This spring’s sale takes place March 13-17.
When Pass It On founder Cathy Wood, of Averill Park, decided to start her business in 2002, the concept was relatively new to the Northeast, but it was very common in the South, from where she had just moved.
The process for the Pass It On Sale is fairly simple, although specific details are a work in progress and get tweaked a little with each sale.
Registration and entering items for sale are both done online through the website. Consignors may sell clothes, books, baby equipment, toys, costumes, dance and sport gear, bottles, blankets, shoes, boots, cribs and beds. Basically, if you’ve used it for your baby or child, it can be resold. The consignor chooses the price and receives 70 percent of the profit. The website provides to print tags, and it also keeps track of sales throughout the event, which takes place over five days.
At this point, Wood is able to take 550 consignors for each sale and has about 300 more on a waiting list. Her advice to those who think they might like to participate is to come to a sale and check out the kinds of things people are selling and how they’re priced, packaged and hung.
“You’ll get ideas. For example, you may say to yourself, ‘I would never have thought to wrap wooden puzzles in plastic wrap,”’ said Wood.
Katie Powers, of Averill Park, has been shopping at the Pass It On Sale since 2004 and has been a consignor for nearly as long. She said shopping the sale is all about strategy.
“Being very budget conscious, my first goal is clothes. I am able to buy beautiful boutique store clothes for cheap, and because (the kids) don’t wear those kinds of outfits often, I can then sell them back once they’re outgrown. Then, I can really afford to get those $50 Stride Rite shoes, an item that I’d want new.”
She also said her three children have a lot of fun at the sale picking out toys that she might not necessarily have purchased elsewhere. She is often able to pick up new items and stash them away as presents for the endless stream of birthday parties her kids are invited to, and her family builds the children’s library on “half-price day” the last day-and-a-half of the sale when most items are 50 percent off.
Her best deal ever? A Spyder ski jacket, with a retail price of $359, purchased for $35.
Jennifer Winne, of Glenmont, takes advantage of another Pass It On Sale perk: the volunteer program.
It takes dozens and dozens of volunteers to pull off the weeklong event, held in both mid- March and mid-August each year, and to make sure she has an endless supply of willing hands, Wood offers some great incentives. All volunteers are the first shoppers in the door, for an exclusive three-hour window. Additionally, depending on the numbers of hours volunteered, shoppers may receive a gift certificate toward the next season’s sale. For a select few who are able to volunteer for a full 40 hours, a $300 gift certificate is given. This upcoming March will be Winne’s fifth sale volunteering, and because of that, she is able to supply each season’s wardrobes for her three daughters with almost no out-of-pocket expense. She said she takes advantage of the August sale to get a lot of her Christmas shopping done for her girls. Some of her best finds? American Girl dolls and accessories
“In August, I bought Kit for $45 and a bunch of AG outfits for $10. One year I got an AG outfit for my oldest and the matching doll outfit for a total of $45,” said Winne. “Kit was a little loved, but I thought it was in really good shape.”
Although the Pass It On Sale is certainly the biggest in the area, there are two others in the area that also have fall and spring sales and are rapidly picking up steam: Encore Kids in Saratoga and O Baby in Chatham.
Consignment stores
If you’d like to start consigning and want to get going right away, check out the year-round children’s consignment stores in the area. These stores, like Polka Dots in Guilderland and Jack ‘n Jill Tots in Rotterdam, have hours all week, and their consigning rules are posted on their websites.
It’s always a good idea to check out the websites of stores like these before bringing in your items in to be sure you know how the system for that store works and if it will be a good fit for you.
For instance, while both Polka Dots and Jack ‘n Jill Tots take only the current season’s clothing, Polka Dots restricts their items to certain brands, whereas Jack ‘n Jill Tots accepts all store brands, including Target and Wal-mart. The way the stores pay you can also vary. Polka Dots will price items for you, unless you have a preference for a certain item’s price, and then will pay you 50 percent of the sale price after it sells. Jack ‘n Jill Tots will offer you a purchase price and buy your items from you at the time you drop them off.
Saydra Doyle, of Schenectady, owner of Polka Dots said her inspection process is pretty complete.
“I thoroughly look over each item that comes into the store and inspect it for stains, holes, etc. and choose only styles that someone would want to put on their child or themselves, right now,” Doyle said. “It’s great if it was cute when a child wore it 10 years ago, but if it’s not in style now, it’s not going to sell. Some brands (such as Gymboree or Gap) are classic looking, and those items may well still be in style 10 years later.”
She also noted that baby gear sells the best. Things like swings, vibrating seats, bouncers, crib sheets move quickly because they are used for a very short time and tend to stay in great condition, and many parents don’t want to shell out full price for an item that will be used for a few months.
Getting started
When you first start consigning, it can be overwhelming and it’s important to remember a few things.
First, consider the system you will use to organize your items. Some people go through their children’s clothes seasonally and sort through toys around birthdays and holidays when they expect to be bringing in new things. Sort items into piles to “save,” “sell” and “donate,” and immediately put the “sell” items in a specific location, easily accessible so that you can regularly add to it. Keep in mind that you’re not going to empty your house on the first sale.
Next, decide what your goals are. Often people sell items their children outgrew in exchange for their current needs. Many consignment shops give a discount for spending profits in the store, rather than taking a check. Jack ‘n Jill Tots will pay consignors an additional 25 percent if the payment is used on store merchandise.
Finally, just get started. Plan to visit a mega sale on both a full-price day and then a half-price day and take note of prices and difference in inventory. Visit a private store and meet the owner. Find out why she’s in business and when she has an open appointment to look over your things and give you a crash course in how to buy and sell second-hand.
One of the unexpected benefits that comes from becoming a consignor with a local company is that you will almost always develop relationships and eventually friendships with the people you do business with.
Pass It On’s Cathy Wood puts it best: “What better business could I be in? So many people depend on it. It’s just a win/win for everybody. I’ve met so many amazing people I call all of you my ‘consignment family.’ I look forward to seeing everybody. We catch up on life when we see each other.”
