I'm a Consigning Convert

There are two things I really love when it comes to shopping. One, a good deal. And two, baby/toddler stuff. Hence, I own five diaper bags and four strollers. (Yes, I may need a 12 step program. I know.)

A few years back, a friend told me about something called Just Between Friends (JBF). Basically, it’s a consignment sale that happens once or twice a year per location and is organized by a franchise owner. Consignors bring their new and gently-used children’s and maternity merchandise to sell, and shoppers can then browse and purchase items—from clothes, to strollers, to toys, to books, to furniture and more—generally for 50 to 90 percent off retail prices. Consignors make 65 to 70 percent of the asking price they set for their items.

Sorting outfits

I’ve visited the JBF sale as a customer for a couple years now, and I have brought home like-new toys and name brand clothes for my son (seriously—a Ralph Lauren polo shirt for 5 bucks?! Don’t mind if I do!), but I sold items as a consignor for the first time at this year’s spring sale in my area.

Let me just say that this is no garage sale. It's an organized, upscale event so it does require some prep time. Clothes must be stain free, in season and in good condition. They ask that children’s clothing be hung on wire, child-sized hangers and then pinned to the hanger to keep everything neat and hung. Step one was sorting the clothes I wanted to sell by size and decide what would be sold as an outfit. I also sold shoes, brand new toys, a bouncy seat, a stroller, bottles, and other baby accessories.

                                                     The crib: a handy prepping area

Next, I made a list of all the items so I could enter them into JBF’s online tagging website. It was free to use and a really ingenious system. The consignor provides their own item description, size and asking price. There’s also a place to indicate whether you’d like the item to be donated if it doesn’t sell and if it should be included in the half-price day or remain full price for the entire length of the sale. Once the tags are all entered, all I had to do was print them on cardstock, cut them, and attach them to my items with safety pins or curling ribbon. Each tag was automatically coded with my unique consigner number, so when the item was purchased I would get credit.

                                          I had quite a few brand new items to sell

I dropped off my items on the designated day—which only involved signing a simple release form and then placing my items in the appropriate areas—and the next night the fun really began. I was able to log in to JBF’s online tagging system and see which of my items sold that day.  It was ridiculously exciting and made the hours of prep time totally worth it. In all, I sold about 45 items and made nearly $200. I had a check in my hand the week after the sale ended and was one happy lady!

I’m already setting clothes and toys aside for the fall sale, which is a small miracle considering my solid reputation for being a packrat who has a strong, STRONG aversion to parting with things.

But once I began to see old stuff as a way to make money to buy new stuff, it was a lot easier to come to terms with getting rid of the clutter!