Twice a year there’s an amazing team of women who host a Just Between Friends (JBF) sale in our area. They work incredibly hard to promote the sale, gather parents in the community, and organize tons of gently used merchandise to offer tremendous savings on baby gear, children’s toys and clothes, maternity items, nursery items, books, homeschool curriculum, toys, shoes, clothes, furniture, DVDS, strollers, car-seats and more.
In our community, the leaders of this valiant effort to have friends re-sell to other members of the same community through a week-long incredibly busy consignment sale known as JBF, are Melissa Meifert and Lynn Jennings. Melissa and Lynn have been running the JBF sale for years and I decided to ask Melissa a few questions about how to price consignment items for a quick sale.
Parents, if you have ever considered re-selling your gently used kids clothes or toys for cash, this article is for you. Teachers, JBF accepts used curriculum to help supply homeschooling families. According to Melissa (pictured below-on the left, Lynn is on the right) homeschooling curriculum sells really well.
How to Price Consignment Items for Quick Sale
Pricing items for consignment can be tricky. What items can fetch a higher price because they are in low supply? Which items need to be priced lower to aide in a quick sale due to the high supply? Well, no one could have more insight than veteran consignment owner Melissa Meifert when it comes to pricing consignment items for a quick sale. Here Melissa shares her secrets.
- According to Melissa, the vast majority of items at the JBF sale will be priced between one half and one third of the retail value. Items need to be in gently -used condition. If an item has outlived its useful life, it should be donated and not brought to be sold at the JBF sale.
- Melissa shared that maternity clothes, crib bedding, and baby clothes up to 12 months, need to be very competitively priced due to the high supply of these items. If you are consigning these items, you’ll want to price these items closer to one-third of the retail price.
- Toys, older kid’s clothing, and baby equipment tend to sell at just under 1/2 price.
- Car seats, strollers and pack-n-plays may sell at half price if they are in excellent (like new) condition.
- Beyond 12 months, boy’s clothes fetch a slightly higher price (higher – meaning closer to the 1/2) than girl’s clothes (closer to the 1/3) simply because there is a lesser supply of boy’s clothes. Boys are harder on their clothes.
- Girl’s dresses are plentiful, which is important to keep in mind when pricing girl’s dresses. Consigners want to have competitive pricing to ensure a quick sale.
The following photos are from an actual JBF sale. The prices marked were determined by the individual consigners, not the owner-operators of the JBF sale. Consigners set their own prices and you can tell pretty quickly which consigners are very motivated to sell.
If you’re thinking of selling items on consignment, you’ll want to read another article I’ve published on How to Make the Most Money on the Sale of Your Consignment Items.
After three days, the majority of the items still on sale at JBF will drop to half price. Not half the retail price. Half the price marked on the tag. Consigners need to consider their pricing scheme. Are they willing to let the item go at half the asking price? Price tags easily indicate if items will drop to half price during the half price sale. However, if you’re shopping JBF, I recommend buying the things you really need as soon as you see them. Nothing hangs around for very long at a JBF sale.
The half price sale opens to volunteers on Friday night. The ultimate half price sale opens to everyone else on Saturday.
A snapshot of the JBF schedule.
Do large items sell at JBF?
According to Melissa – Yes, large items do sell at JBF. Again, supply and demand, many parents do not want to lug large items to the sale. So buyers looking for play gyms, ride-on toys, climbing centers, and similar items, will normally purchase the larger floor items first. Melissa would like to see more large play items brought to the JBF site for resale.
What about books and media?
According to Melissa, books sell really well at JBF. As kids become readers, parents are stocking up on books and junior novels. The JBF volunteer crew checks DVDs and other media carefully for any damage prior to allowing the media out on the sales floor. The JBF team has also found that even old VHS tapes sell well as day care moms and grandmothers still use VHS technology for their kids.
Can I find Halloween Costumes at JBF?
Absolutely! In fact, I photographed a few costumes to give you an idea of the variety. All of the costumes pictured here are on sale for less than half the retail price.
What about Christmas?
Lots of parents like to take advantage of the JBF sale to meet their children’s Christmas wish list. Many of the toys, games, books, DVD’s, sports equipment, and kid gear are priced at less than 50% of retail value. It’s a great way to save and spur on a community of recycling gently used kid stuff.
With children back in school and fall right around the corner, the JBF Sale is a great way for consigners to make a little extra cash and for parents to save money on gently used items. With a bit of planning, parents can take advantage of the great sale prices and save on Halloween costumes, Christmas presents and more.
I hope these tips have helped you in pricing your next consignment. And if you’re shopping at the JBF sale, you may just see me there!
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This post gives tips at consigning at Just Between Friends. In the event there is no JBF in your area, you may want to check out consignment online. This link will take you to ReCrib – a fabulous source for online consignment.
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