I wanted to take this opportunity to share with my readers, something that I’m so glad another mom friend told me about just before I gave birth to our firstborn son about four years, ago. Shopping consignment sales and selling your gently used goods via consignment is a great way to save money, and its a great way to put a little money into your wallet.
If you’re a mom like me with young children, you’ll be cycling through clothes, shoes, toys, and more on an annual basis. Read more to find out how you can save hundreds, and maybe even pocket some extra cash a few times a year.
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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.
Consign at a Just Between Friends Sale to Make and Save Money
It requires a little investment in terms of time and energy but I think the results are so worth it. Twice a year I participate in a consignment event known as the “Just Between Friends” (JBF) sale. Sales are held in the spring and in the fall which is perfect for a mom who only likes to clean out the closets and toy boxes twice a year. If you do not have a JBF sale in your area, you may want to consider starting one. The entity offers franchising opportunities and may be something worth looking into. If not, these tips will also come in handy for YMCA, church consignment, and/or small business consignment store sales.
A “Just Between Friends” Sale
One of the things I really like is the high volume of traffic generated by the JBF sale. This ensures the items I am consigning will be seen by a maximum number of people in a very short period of time. The sale takes place over the course of five days. I also like the way the sale is structured. Everything is well organized with a section for boys, girls, and maternity clothes, sections for toys, baby gear, furniture, books and videos, socks, shoes and everything else a child or mom might need. Volunteers get to shop the sale first, followed by consigners, first time moms, military moms, and then the public.
Pricing is also well structured. For the first three days of the sale everything is full price – meaning 50-90% off retail. On the fourth and fifth days, a large percentage of the items at the sale drop to half price. This creates a fantastic opportunity to bargain shop. If you’re looking for great deals make sure to catch the JBF Sale on a Saturday. Get there early because everyone loves a good bargain. Also, if you can, take cash. The checkout lines for cash shoppers is shorter and goes faster.
Once you get the hang of it, tagging is fairly easy, and if you need help, JBF offers training. They have a wonderful web site that explains everything and offers consigners tons of tips for preparing for the sale to help you get the most out of the time and energy you spend on gearing up to consign your goods.
A few of my clothing items after I tagged them.
How much money can you make?
At JBF, consigners make 60% with the option to make 70% for volunteering. From a consignment perspective this is actually a good rate. Other consignment shops I’ve worked with pay out 50%, and pay-in-advance stores usually only pay 20% of an item’s worth up front. So depending upon how many items you sell, and how much you sell them for, you can make some pretty good money via a JBF sale. My kids are only two and four and I usually make somewhere between $70 and $100 per sale. This go-round I hope to make more as I’m selling three strollers, an infant car seat (OK to sell as long as it’s less than 5 years old), two crib mattresses, and a bunch of toys and clothes.
How to make the most money
A few tips.
- Register for the JBF sale a few weeks in advance – failing to register may prevent you from participating in the sale. Try to register early so you don’t miss out.
- If you need child care so you can shop or volunteer, plan it out in advance. If I don’t plan child care in advance it’s always hard to find at the last minute.
- If you plan to take part in a sale, prepare ahead of time. You’ll need kid-sized hangers, and lots of safety pins, zip lock bags and packing tape before the sale. If you wait until a day before, your local Walmart may be sold out (I know this from experience).
- I keep the packaging for many of the kid’s toys and gear that I purchase now. When consignment shoppers see items repackaged in their original packaging – it indicates to them that the previous owner liked to take care of their things. This means a quicker resale.
- Clean items thoroughly. All items are inspected when you bring them to the JBF check-in so make sure everything looks clean. No stains or holes in clothes will be accepted.
- Attach important paperwork to big-ticket items like strollers and car seats. If you’ve lost yours, you can often find the files online. I printed the user manual for our car-seat online and attached it via a zip lock bag.
- Insert batteries in electronic toys so shoppers can see that the toys still work.
- Loose parts need to be enclosed in large zip lock bags and taped with packing tape to larger items.
- Anything a prospective buyer would not want 1,000 people to touch before they buy it should be wrapped in a zip lock bag – I zip-lock things that will later be used by a baby – rattles, teething items, etc.
- Pricing – I research the retail value and aim for somewhere between 20-45%. Pricing is determined by wear and tear of the item. It also pays to visit some consignment stores and see what other folks are pricing things at so you can keep your pricing competitive. If the item is worth less than 20% of the original value, donate it. It’s not worth your time of effort to put it into the sale.
Toys that are perfect for the JBF sale have all parts, are clean, and are in good working order.
How to Save the Most Money
- Make a list of what you need and research prices. Knowing what something costs at your local Toys R Us will help you know whether or not you are getting a good deal.
- Check Craigslist, eBay, and Amazon for prices. You may have to add shipping but know what good deals are out there before you shop.
- Volunteer to help at the JBF sale. Volunteers shop early and the best deals go fast. If you need some big ticket items – furniture, car seats, strollers, etc. you get the best selection by shopping first.
- Once inside the JBF store, shop for your largest ticket items first. Since those items are more expensive, you can save the most money by selecting them before you shop for toys or clothes.
- Prices at JBF are non-negotiable. JBF does not work like a garage sale. If you think you are paying more for the item than you should, just leave it behind. If you need to find it cheaper, you may need to do more shopping at local consignment stores, garage sales, or online.
Pictured here are two well-known entrepreneurs and successful business owners of a Just Between Friends enterprise, Lynn Jennings and Melissa Meifert.
With the new spring season in gear, its a great time to clean out closets. Consigning gently used goods is a great way to make money, and buying used is a great way to save money. And as they say, a penny saved is a penny earned.
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