Consigning Your Children's Clothes

A friend introduced me to consignment sales last year. They are a great way to pick up some gently used kids clothes at great prices. Some deals I've scored in the past: Gap swim shirt (brand new with tags, $2), Gap hooded romper (like new, $4), Carter's outfits ($1 each), Kissy Kissy romper with shirt (new with tags, $5). The first couple of sales I attended I just shopped. The process of getting clothes ready for consignment seemed hard...all that pinning and tagging and pricing. 


But this past fall, I decided to see what I could make. I contributed a pile of Jaxon's clothes and a couple of baby items we weren't using anymore, like the bouncy seat and swing. The sale cost me $10 to enter, and they took 30% of all I sold. But I still made over $100 and I was very happy with that. Since I normally just donate or give away the kids clothing when they outgrow it, it was nice to make a little money to put towards some new outfits for them. 


I found that consigning kids clothes is actually very easy. There are typically guidelines for tagging and hanging but they are clear and the most difficult part is usually accumulating enough wire hangers (hint: most thrift stores sell these). Consignment sales charge a fee of around $5-$10 plus they keep 25-30% of whatever you sell. So if you sell $100 worth of clothing, you'd walk away with around $60-$70. 


The hardest part is trying to decide where to set the prices. For baby items such as Boppy pillows and toys, I suggest setting prices at 1/3-1/2 of what you paid for it, assuming the item is in great condition. For most clothing items, I suggest pricing your items at 1/3 of what you paid for it, unless it's a brand like Gymboree or a boutique brand in which case you can price it closer to 1/2 of what you paid. 

Here are a few more tips:


- Larger sizes sell better than infant sizes, mainly because bigger kids are harder on their clothes so there are usually fewer options in those sizes. 


- Take advantage of the 50% day that most sales offer. Usually you can mark your items to stay full price or allow them to be marked for either 25% or 50% off on the last day of the sale. If you're just getting rid of your items anyway, you have nothing to lose! Making $2 is better than making nothing at all!  


- Outfits sell better than single items. If you have a pair of overalls, try to pair it with a shirt or onesie instead of selling it by itself. Just make sure it matches and that both items are the same size.


- Make sure your items are perfectly clean and ironed. Yeah, I know. I don't like to iron either. But I iron for consignment sales. It makes the outfits look better on hangers and will appeal to more buyers. 

I made $166 from my first spring sale. It was a specialty sale that only took certain brands, so I still have other clothes the kids have outgrown. Luckily, there's another sale in our area starting next week and I'm currently getting the rest of the clothing ready to sell at that one and hoping to make some more money!

Want to find a consignment sale in your area? This site has a great listing of many sales.

What do you do with your children's outgrown clothing? If you consign, do you have any tips to add to this list?