Do you like or have any luck shopping consignment sales or thrift stores.

[lynn]

I purchased alot of clothes for dd through e-bay and sold a lot in the local consignment sales. I have friends who live for the yearly consignment sales and work them to get in on volunteer shopping hours. To me it's to much clutter and wasted time to come up empty handed. I've seen women with laundry baskets in hand lined up to shop these sales are there secret doors or passage ways to go through to find good items? The couple times I tried to look people either over priced their items or racks were full of left overs.

 

What is the secret to shopping consignment sales successfully?

[Beth S]

I don't know any "secrets", but I will agree that the volunteers get first pick.

 

I help set up our local library's used book sales, and the volunteers get to shop a bit at the end as a "reward" for their work.

 

However, consignment sales usually feature nice, brand-name clothing . . . but the price is not "cheap". It is cheaper than retail, of course. A laundry basket full of clothes at a consignment sale could cost $100.

 

We are blessed with a hand-me-down flow of clothing from friends at church, where we both receive from older kids and give to younger ones. We also shop at Goodwill, which seems to have a growing selection of decent clothing as people clean out their cluttered closets!

 

My dh asked me to stop participating in our local twice-yearly consignment sales. It was a colossal effort to sort, tag, hanger everything, then drop off, then shop, then pickup clothes then $$ (usually 4 trips to the sale), while I still had little ones. I was reluctant, but it did make it easier just to hand-me-down to grateful friends!

Edited February 28, 2012 by Beth S

[G5052]

It seems time-consuming to me. My clothes are almost 100% Lands End and J.C. Penney, ordered online. DD loves it though, and we've found a lot of great pieces including a costume for a recent event.

[BigMamaBird]

We have two terrific children's consignment stores near us where I buy most of my kids day to day clothing. For dressy items, I'll buy off the sale rack in the stores, but I just don't see the point in paying full price when I can get a bag full of Gymboree tops for $3 a piece used. I'm usually not a label shopper, but when I buy used I will aim for nice labels like Hannah Anderson, Land's End, etc. because I know they will have held up well. It's also the only way I can afford them!: :D

[amyco]

I looooved consignment stores for my children when they were little, and was sad when they got too big for the sizes carried. I don't do thrift very often; I find it takes a concerted, repeated effort and I don't have time for it. Sometimes I go in on a whim and will find something.

 

There's a consignment store here that has women's clothing and has sales a few times a year of "$10 for whatever you can stuff in the bag". It's a nightmare, imo, but I have a friend who braves it and has gotten some good stuff.

 

I never took my own kid's clothes to consignment; so picky about baby clothes being ironed and on hangers. I just donated/gave away everything that was still useful.

[TGHEALTHYMOM]

I take a list of needed items if I go to our thrift stores, and a limit of how much I will spend.

I look first at 3 charity stores if I have time.... 2 are on one side of the town I go to and 1 is on the other side.... Sometimes I find what we need and sometimes not... if not, we end up at JC Penney's or Payless for shoes... only with coupons at JCP... and it is typically my oldest whom I have to get the "new" shoes or jeans for right now.

 

We have randomly been given clothes that fit some of our kids on rare occasions and were very grateful.

 

We have 2 different sales that are too much of a hassle for me to participate in much. I don't have the health or energy, and it is expensive to print out tags, buy hangers, safety pins, card stock, and iron everything! Plus it costs time and gas to drive over to drop items one night, shop one night and pick up another day! And I can't volunteer so even as consigners get in "early", everything is picked through and over priced usually.

 

If you have time to volunteer and get in first, it may be worth it to find some great deals, but I just look for high quality and will pay a little more for them. I have found money in 2 pair of kids pants! Rare! And with baby clothes being 50 cents at one, they are always wiped out, so I have learned which one will most likely have baby clothes and usually get enough to last a few months at at time.

 

I have gone to consignment stores and put a nice selection on layaway, or found small nice shoes, but I rarely get do that now because of my time spent driving to get healthy meat, and having a rough pregnancy. I love finding gently used clothing, and have waited 2-3 years to find some I have wanted and seen new.

 

I am just a book a holic, and have to tell myself before going in.... only 1 or 2, and sometimes there is not 1 I want. I stockpiled paperbacks for bedtime stories, and now have some great CV fairy tales, CV picture books, etc. so don't even look at the pb unless I am looking for a certain book.

 

Most important for me is a set amount for clothes and save it up if I don't find anything. I don't go if I don't have enough to shop for! I have a card for 2 of the stores and if I buy $10 in clothing I get a stamp on the card. After 10 stamps I get $10 in free clothes. I sometimes spend the $100 in 1 day to save time. That helps.:001_smile:

Edited February 28, 2012 by TGHEALTHYMOM

[Guest]

I utilize consignment shops and thrift stores some of the time. I have never been to the type of sale you're talking about, though.

 

When I go, I'm looking for something in particular, a few months before I will need it. I usually look for coats, snow clothing, special occasion clothing and some shoes. I also look for casual clothing that doesn't need to look perfect. Sometimes I'm pleasantly surprised and find a bunch of things and other times, it's a bust.

[kewb]

I have never had good luck shopping at a consignment store or thrift store. I just do the best I can shopping sales and clearance.

[Momof3littles]

Where I live now a lot of churches run big consignment sales. There are definitely bargains. In the fall I paid 1-3 dollars each for like-new condition Hanna Andersson dresses, Lands End and LL Bean playdresses. Brand new NB sneakers for 2.00. It is more of a hit and miss thing in my area because there are lots and lots of what I'd say are smaller to medium sized consignment sales.

 

I lived in a different state previously, and in that area there were a few consignment sales, but they were ridiculously large. 30-40 double tiered racks that were very long of just clothing, for example (and the racks were looooong). There is absolutely no way I'd shop when it opened to the general public. DH or I would volunteer and that allowed us to shop early. Even then the lines were quite long and there were a lot of people. My friend warned me that people bring wagons outfitted with PVC frames to hold lots of clothing, and other people bring garbage cans on wheels. The first time or two I was somewhat unprepared, but after a while we had it down to a system. DH and I would both go, and my parents would watch the kids. I kept a list of things we wanted and needed, including things like giftable toys for my kids. I could almost always find everything on my list. One year I went and looked for a Loving Family Dollhouse for my DD. I went straight to that section while DH went to look for scooters. We found exactly what we were looking for, like new. We could routinely find nice coats for 3-5 dollars, Hanna Andersson playdress sets for 5-10 dollars, etc. We were able to purchase things like Playmobil still in the box with all parts for 1/4 of retail, and we would just set it up for our kids under the tree. It is also a great place to look for items that often don't get a lot of use like snowbibs depending on where you live. While it was definitely stressful and hectic, it was financially worthwhile. We learned how the sale was set up and DH and I would split up to find the top things on our list. I would not have braved it unless I was shopping early as a volunteer. Even on the day consignors shopped, the lines were 2-3 hours long at times :001_huh: It was usually a system where "super" volunteers shopped first, then regular volunteers, then consignors, then the public. So the best stuff tends to get picked up early on. Ditto the items that are really inexpensively or fairly priced (like tee shirts for $1). By the time it opens to the public, you are sometimes left with the items priced a bit high to begin with or the more impressive and attractive items are already gone.

 

I do not usually bother to sell at this type of sale.

 

I do well with thrifting for the most part too. I still enjoy the consignment sales. But yeah, brace yourself for chaos, pushy people, etc. At the really big ones I attended, there were often people who clearly ran consignment stores buying up stuff they could resell. They had "runners" who would spread out and look for the best deals on stuff that they could mark up and resell.

Edited February 28, 2012 by Momof3littles

[Tap]

We have a good consignment store by my house. It isn't super cheap, but that also means I make pretty good money on the items I sell there.

 

They may have shoes at $12 but they are quality brands in very good/like new condition.

 

Kids shirts like Gymboree are in the $5 range but they only take ones that are from the past few years, so they are the more modern fits and colors.

 

I don't bother with big consignment sales, I just stop in to this store periodically. I have $145 balance on the winter clothes I dropped off/sold a few months ago. I would guess I get back about the same each season.

[stripe]

I get new clothes on clearance (often at the end of the season) for cheaper than what used costs at thrift stores near me. I buy in advance.

[KrissiK]

I generally do thrift stores for playclothes for the kids. That way it doesn't really matter what they look like. I mean, I don't buy stuff that's torn or stained, but we spend most of our time at home so I'm not that concerned about what it all looks like. And DS1 is extremely hard on clothes, so I don't buy him new stuff to wear around the house when he'll get holes in them in a couple of weeks. I'll just load up on old jeans and sweat pants from the Salvation Army and for $2 each, I don't feel bad cutting them off for summer or throwing them away. I don't go a lot, really. But, when I do go I tend to find enough to make it worth my while.

[gardening momma]

When you say consignment or thrift, to me that is two very different things. As someone said, consignment is usually nicer things priced higher. Around here, I don't know of any consignment shops for kids clothes. (Consignment is when the store doesn't pay anything to the person who brought the item in until the item is sold, and then the store gets part of the profit. Resale/secondhand shops, on the other hand, give cash or store credit immediately upon accepting items for resale.)

 

There are secondhand kids clothing stores here--they generally reject anything that's damaged or otherwise doesn't meet their standards. Their prices are a little higher than the thrift store I go to. I mostly shop at the thrift store, where I can find good clothes for 1/2 the price of the price of the kids secondhand store. I do have to look things over very carefully, but everything is hung up and sorted by type of clothing and then by color. It's pretty easy to go to the area I want (kid's jeans, shortsleeve shirts, long sleeve shirts, sweaters, t-shirts, dresses, etc...) and flip through what they have.

 

ETA: I was confusing consignment shops with consignment sales (guess I've never heard them called that here). The shop would be a brick & mortar store, while the sale would be an event. I have gone to those types of sales. I have not worked at one or dropped off clothing (for the big sale here you can't drop off and not work, and to work at one you have to be on the waiting list and wait for an opening). They have this sale 2x a year here at the location I go to. They have it at a couple of other locations around Cinci too. It's from something like 8 am - 12 pm. When I go I try to get there before 8 and stand in line to get in the door. I bring a laundry basket. I don't have a problem finding enough clothing at good prices. I typically fill my basket for about $50-60 in clothing, shoes and books.

Edited February 29, 2012 by gardening momma

[Ottakee]

Look for Goodwill stores in more upscale areas. Ask if they put out clothing every day or if they have certain days/times they put out the new stuff.

 

If you have friends, etc. that have kids just a size or 2 ahead of yours, let them know that you would be interested in their hand me downs. We get a lot of nice clothes this way. Sometimes we weed through stuff and only keep a few items out of the bags but then we pass on the rest and keep the stuff that fits what my kids need.

 

Also shop clearance sales---Usually Valentine's weekend and mid August are the BEST times and pick up basics in sizes for the following year or more. I did this with shoes as well, buying a size or 2 bigger than we needed.

[TravelingChris]

My one daughter does great at consignment stores and thrift stores- She ranges in size from a 0 to 4, with only a very occasional 6. She often has an easier time finding clothes that are used than new clothes in stores. Now I doubt that I would find my sizes in the stores,

[Onceuponatime]

I shop thrift stores regularly and get a lot of clothes and shoes for myself. However, I know exactly what kinds of things I'm looking for. I also get pyrex/fire king dishes if I can find them.

 

I don't find much for the rest of my family. Nice clothes for boys and men are harder to find. I did get dh a brand new winter coat last autumn for only $10. I also found him a brand new land's end sweater for $3.

[ChristineW]

We have an "upscale" thrift shop in town. They put out new items on Tuesdays and often have themed sales (Disney, Halloween, Ski Week, Holiday etc) Some of the sales (ski clothes and holiday dresses for girls) you need to be there within the first hour to find anything. I"ve had good luck looking for me, but its impossible to find anything for DH.

 

The two big churches in town have annual garage sales, I love them but getting in line before they open makes a huge difference. Otherwise, I wait until the first markdowns.

 

The consignment stores in town are too expensive, I can often do better with Land's End clearance. However, I did find some Hanna and Naartjie playdresses for $10 last week. My 5 year old lives in these and they cost the same at Target so I snatched them up.

[jenL]

I used to take the time to sell my boys' clothing, shoes, and toys at bi-annual consignment sales in our area, but the time it takes to price, sort, tag, and deliver just stopped being worth it as my oldest grew. It's difficult to find boys' clothing in good condition as boys are usually harder on their clothes or they have less of it to begin with. I was doing all this work and getting nothing out of it in terms of new clothing.

 

There are some kids consignment stores in the area that I will shop at. I've done well at one in particular where I've found Talbots Kids, Lands End, and Gymboree clothes at great prices. I sometimes go to Goodwill for them, but I usually find more for me there. I buy ahead at the end of seasons when clothes are on clearance. Often those prices are better than the consignment stores for the same clothing brands.

[Laurie4b]

I regularly shop thrift shops and consignment stores (not sales.) You have to go pretty regularly and know what you're looking for. Around here, thrift shops for domestic violence seem to have wealthy patrons, so their stuff is excellent! I once got nearly a full set of Fiestaware at a Goodwill. :) One of my best finds. It was super cheap--like $1 per plate.

With both thrift and consignment stores, you want to find out when they restock. Saturdays are usually their busy days, so I tend to shop Tuesdays (if they are open Mon) or Wed (if they re-open Tues) to give them a day to restock.

[Crimson Wife]

My one daughter does great at consignment stores and thrift stores- She ranges in size from a 0 to 4, with only a very occasional 6. She often has an easier time finding clothes that are used than new clothes in stores. Now I doubt that I would find my sizes in the stores,

 

I have had excellent luck finding "like new" clothes in small sizes inexpensively at secondhand shops. I think what happens is that women diet, treat themselves to new clothes, and then quickly regain the weight before they get a chance to wear those outfits much. Fewer shoppers who can fit into those clothes means they aren't as picked over.