Since 2010, I have organized a children's consignment sale in Richmond, Virginia. We just finished up our spring sale so I thought it would be the perfect time to share a few tips for anyone new to consignment:
- Get to know your sale. See what other sellers are bringing and how they are pricing items.
- Keep it seasonal. Bring short sleeved tops and bottoms in the spring and long sleeved shirts and jeans in the fall.
- Quickly run an iron over your clothing. It's all about presentation!
- Don't bring worn, stained clothing. It hurts the reputation of the sale which will end up hurting your bottom line too!
- Price to sell. Again, overpriced merchandise hurts the sale's reputation and won't sell either.
- If the sale allows it, assemble playpens, cribs, high chairs, etc.
- Find out if your sale offers perks for things such as friend referrals or volunteer shifts. You might be able to bypass the registration fee or earn a higher percentage of your sales by helping out.
- Use printed tape or ribbon on your hangers to easily find and sort your items at pick-up.
- Tell everyone you know about the sale! Word of mouth is a huge traffic source for consignment sales. My friends usually end up buying a ton of my stuff too! We all just have great taste. ;-)
