How to Make Money Back on Your Kids’ Clothes, Toys and Gear By Consigning at a Resale Event
This post is sponsored by Rhea Lana’s of West Chicagoland and Fox Valley. All opinions are my own.
Let’s face it: Kids are expensive and somehow need a lot of stuff for such little people. Always the bargain hunter, I learned real early in the mom game (like when Easton was the size of a mango in my tummy) that kids’ resales are where it’s at. Lightly used baby gear, clothes they’ll wear four times before growing out of them, endless toys … all perfect resale buys at a fraction of the “new” price.
Yes, I’ve been shopping children’s resale events since before my kids were born, and now I proudly buy 90% of my boys’ wardrobes from the sales (they’re only going to wreck all those clothes anyway). But it’s just within the past year that I’ve discovered how to make these resale events really work for me: by consigning all of the same stuff that I used to buy, to recoup a little of the investment that is having children.
Kids’ items in good condition hold their value and are in high demand at these events: I’ve watched moms literally fight with other moms over the last Mamaroo or Rock ‘n’ Play. If you’re looking to make some extra cash and clean out your basement at the same time, look no further. I’ve consigned at two sales in the past year and made more than $400 in profit at the first and nearly $300 in profit at the second.
Even if you currently have no idea what a “string tag” is, my tips for success for consigning at a children’s resale event will guide you through the process until you’re holding a consignor check of your own.
Local moms: Want to consign with Rhea Lana? The spring West Chicagoland Sale is April 28 to May 4 in Bloomingdale — and three weeks is plenty of time left to consign! I’ve partnered with RL to offer you a special incentive: If you sign up to consign and mention #NeverDoneWithFun, you’ll automatically be entered into my giveaway to win a Media Shopping Pass! The winner will get into the event two hours before regular consignors, at 11 AM instead of 1 PM on Saturday, April 27, and trust me, the early shopping benefit is awesome.
Keep reading below for exactly why RL is the only sale I consign with. To enter my giveaway, sign up to consign first, and then email
Christine@rhealana.com, erin.rlwc@gmail.com and kate@neverdonewithfun.com to mention the #NeverDoneWithFun sign-up. I’ll enter you into the giveaway, with the winner drawn on Friday, April 26 and announced on Instagram!
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Tips for Success for Children’s Consignment Sales
1. Start early.
The process of getting items ready for consignment can be tedious. There comes a point in the process every time I consign that I seriously regret starting it again. I tell myself I’m not doing it the next time around, that I’ll just give all that stuff to charity instead and feel superior about it. Then the sales start and I watch the money add up by checking my sales in real time (obsessively, like every hour) and my resolution for next time flies right out the window.
But even though the process of preparing to consign can be time-consuming, it’s not difficult. Just don’t wait till the last minute (like I usually do). If you do a little at a time over the course of two or three weeks, it’ll be easier than waiting until three days before and doing a mad dash to get organized. Trust me. I’ve done it both ways, and starting early saves a lot of headache.
2. Do your research and choose your consignment event wisely.
You may have a number of options to choose from in your area. How do you pick which one to consign at? Talk to other moms and find out what sales they are shopping at and selling at. Find out details like how items are priced, how organized the events are, etc. If you have the option, consider shopping a few consignment events before you consign for the first time, so you can get a feel for what you like best.
I shopped the Rhea Lana sale for years, back when it was only one sale twice a year in the old Kmart building in Naperville. Now there are two sale locations, twice a year! But I didn’t start consigning until a year ago, when I was finally ready to unload my baby stuff and make back a few bucks.
As a seasoned shopper, I chose RL because I found their sales to have the very best selection of items to choose from: a typical event has 100,000+ items consigned! When I shopped the events, I was impressed with the quality of the merchandise as well as the coordination of the event. Credit cards are accepted for payment, and admission to the sale is always free. Plus, as a consignor, Rhea Lana’s guarantees your items against loss or theft. Sometimes lines get long on “opening night,” but each sale I shop runs even a little smoother than the previous one. The combination of best quality, best selection and well-organized execution made my choice an easy one.
3. Audit your house for available supplies, then order the rest from Amazon.
I can usually come up with a decent number of kids’ hangers and safety pins from previous resale purchases that I can reuse to consign my own items. Check with friends and family members who also may have unwanted ones to donate to the process.
But I inevitably run out of safety pins part-way through my preparation. Avoid this issue by ordering a multi-size pack of safety pins on Amazon when you’re ordering the string tags you’ll need. It’s easier than chasing around to Walmart or the dollar store looking for the most usable size.
Other supplies you’ll need:
- Ziploc bags (go cheap, not name-brand)
- Packing tape (simplify your life and buy the rolls with dispensers rather than refills)
- Masking tape
- Sharpie for labeling
4. Get organized.
I transform part of our basement playroom into my workspace when I’m consigning. I set up a hanging clothes rack to organize all of the clothing, check it for stains, and sort by size. I also set up a folding table to sort and prepare toys, shoes, accessories and other small items.
Once my workspace is ready, I start. I get the clothes on hangers, safety-pin or packing-tape everything as required, and tag each item, numbering the tag manually. After everything is tagged, I enter the items into the system.
5. Gear sells – focus on the “big-ticket” items before clothing.
I start with my biggest items: baby gear like strollers, high chair, safety gates, bikes and ride-on toys, and more. These are the items that sell instantly and offer you the best ROI for your time. (Rhea Lana’s of West Chicagoland estimates they sell 95% of baby equipment!)
If you run out of time and can’t get that last romper tagged, you’re only out a dollar or so in profit; make clothing your last priority when tagging. My priority list usually goes something like this, as this is the order I see my sales fall into, and also the methodical order I tend to shop the sales in:
- Baby gear
- Large/high-value toys
- Shoes and boots
- Seasonal items, including outerwear, swimwear and costumes
- Dress clothes, particularly outfits
- Smaller toys
- All other clothes and miscellaneous (books, small accessories, etc.)
6. Use all the tools at your disposal.
Read the FAQs, watch tutorial videos, and talk to other moms who’ve consigned at the event you are consigning at to make sure you know the requirements. Rhea Lana offers great step-by-step videos on their social media to show you exactly how to package and tag gear/equipment, toys, shoes, clothes, and more.
This year, I’m giving the RL app and voice-activated entry a go too. Why wouldn’t I want to work smarter, not harder? If I can easily speak my items into the system rather than type and click, I’m sold. I also made sure to secure my Drop-and-Go spot early. This option saved me tons of time at the last sale, and it will be a necessary step every time I consign. (It means I get to drop off all my items at a designated appointment time, and the volunteer staff will handle the check-in and placement; without this option, you are responsible for placing your items on the sales floor yourself.)
7. Price your items with the buyer in mind.
Pricing is key to success. Rhea Lana offers helpful pricing guidelines for various categories, but my advice is: Price it on the low end if you want to get it out of your house. You don’t want to short-change yourself on your premium items, but at the same time, you don’t want to price yourself out. Chances are, there will be multiple of the same items you’re selling; you want your item to stand out as the best balance of quality and price.
When it comes to clothing especially, I sell it cheap and bundle items together to offer even better values. The amount of clothing at consignment events is frankly overwhelming, but low prices can help your items move.
8. Buy batteries for toys and other electronics at the dollar store.
A quality resale event like Rhea Lana requires that all electronic items be outfitted with new batteries. Batteries can get expensive, and you want to make sure you’re not losing money by the time you add batteries to your item for sale. (#DoneWithFun Daddy has delighted in pointing out that if I’m selling a toy for $3 and I’ve put $4 worth of batteries into it, I’d be much better off donating the item to charity instead of selling it.) The dollar store solves that problem.
And while we’re on the topic of donating …
9. Consider donating your unsold items at the end.
This is an individual decision, based on exactly what you’re selling, but I always donate all of my unsold items at the conclusion of the sale. If there’s something that I wouldn’t want to donate if it doesn’t sell … I don’t consign it and choose to try to sell it another way instead.
My rationale for donating is two-fold: First, if my item hasn’t sold after seven days of shopping at an event that attracts more than a thousand moms, why would I want it back to try to sell again? I’d rather it be donated to a mom in need, where it will be put to use, instead of going back into my house to clutter it once again.
Second, if you donate at the end, there is no reason to return to the sale at its conclusion. You’re done, and your consignment check will be mailed. Couldn’t be easier.
10. Take advantage of the perks for consignors and shop the pre-sale!
This is THE primary reason why I consign: I like to be able to shop early and find the best stuff. My main goal when I consign is just to break even on what I make in profit vs. what I spend in buying my kids’ wardrobes and gifts for the next season. I’m not always successful but I usually come close (and that’s more a reflection of my tendency to massively over-shop due to the great prices!)
Want to shop even earlier than the usual consignor pre-sale? Rhea Lana offers several ways, including volunteering in a variety of capacities. The savviest moms I know volunteer their husbands as well — how’s that for #winning? (Note: #DoneWithFun Daddy would absolutely divorce me for this, so any volunteering will be handled by this mom only.)
So now that you know my secrets to making consigning less painful, are you ready to take the plunge? If you’re local and decide to consign at Rhea Lana’s of West Chicagoland, use my name as a referral! If you sign up to consign and mention #NeverDoneWithFun, you’ll automatically be entered into my giveaway to win a Media Shopping Pass! This gets you into the event two hours before regular consignors, and trust me, the early shopping benefit is awesome.
To enter my giveaway, sign up to consign first, and then email
Christine@rhealana.com, erin.rlwc@gmail.com and kate@neverdonewithfun.com to mention the #NeverDoneWithFun sign-up. I’ll enter you into the giveaway, with the winner drawn on Friday, April 26!
And at the end of the month, when you’re obsessively checking your sales in real time like I do, share your excitement with #NeverDoneWithFun on social media.
Here’s hoping your consignor check exceeds your purchases! 😉
