Consignment Sales: Tips for selling your items

So, for the last week I have been spending the time I would normally be blogging about deals preparing for a children’s consignment sale to get rid of all the clothes my kids have outgrown over the year.  If you have been following us for a while here at Coupons Are Great, then you have read posts before about our success with consignment sales.  Typically, these sales are twice a year (around March and August each year) and you can find clothing for your children for the upcoming season along with toys, games, baby gear, and just about anything else you can think of for children.  I LOVE consignment sales.  I have been a huge fan ever since my first child was born.  In the beginning I only shopped, but for the last three-ish years I have been consigning my items as well, and I have had huge success.  Last season I made a little over $600 on all our outgrown items!!!  Keep in mind, that was only 65% of what they sold at since consignors typically make between 65 to 70 percent of the sale and the rest goes to those that “own” the sale.  Now, I wouldn’t say it’s typical to always make that much.  Today I dropped off 284 items, mostly clothing and probably won’t make nearly that much since last time I had larger baby items that my son had outgrown.  I will keep you all posted at the end of the week on how much I end up making this time around!  I will also be heading out to shop the sale tomorrow as well so I can load up on fall clothes for my kids.

Here’s a not-so-great picture of my loaded car today!

 So, whether you have consigned before or you are new to it but considering it, I thought I would give you a few tips that I have found useful since I started consigning.

Picking a Consignment Sale and Getting Ready to Sell:

• Try to find two sales each season to consign in that are a few weeks apart.  I consign all my items I have to consign in the first sale and then just move any that don’t sell to the next sale each season.  I typically make an additional $100 moving it to another sale.  Many sales will even let you have the same consignor number as your first sale as long as that number is not already taken.  This alleviates the need to retag all your items between sales.
• Keep an eye on the sales you are interested in.  Some sales offer a discounted entry fee for those that register early.
• Collect extra plastic and wire hangers throughout the year as you purchase clothing from stores and take your clothes to the dry cleaner.  Many stores will ask if you want the hangers your clothes are on that you are purchasing- start saying YES!
• When shopping in the dollar store, make sure to pick up safety pins.  I found this time around that all the stores around here were sold out of safety pins when the consignment sales started.
• As you child outgrows clothing, try to wash the items and immediately hang them on a hanger to store until the sale.  This saves a step when you go to prepare your items.

Preparing Your Items

• When you are ready to start tagging your items, gather all the clothing in one room and sort by size and gender.  Pile the items up in that size order.
• Many sales offer computer-printed tags (many times through myconsignmentmanager.com).  Take your size ordered clothes and enter the items into the computer in that size order.  I typically have my pile on my left side, enter the item in the computer, and then put it face down on my right side when entered to maintain the same order as I am entering them.  This will save time in the long run.
• Once you print your tags, make sure you cut them keeping the item numbers in order.
• You can take those same piles and roll through the tags pinning them and still maintaining the order.  All sales require you bring the clothes organized by size and gender.  Now, you not only have them already organized but it also made it faster for you to type them in and tag them!

Have you been consigning a while and found some tips to save some time?  Please share them with us here!!

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