My mother is the queen of Thrift shops! Her new motto- why shop anywhere else?!! Since she has the time, she frequents several of these and MOST of our Christmas gifts came from there. MOST of those gifts were NEW IN THEIR PACKAGES. She even got me a massaging chair pad for my computer chair that retails for about $75 that was still in the box for $5!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I absolutely love it… it has heat and everything!
The only flaw in this thrifty system is that you have to shop OFTEN, which I do not always have the luxury of doing. So, I have learned to make use of my time in consignment stores and clearance sales. I may not actually have purchased ANYTHING brand new that wasn’t on clearance for any of my kids… EVER! Hard to believe but easy in practice, especially once you get the hang of it. I shop a season ahead, but shoes usually have to be purchased nearer the season. When I find that coat that used to be $150 marked down to $5 … I buy 1-2 sizes larger and usually that works out. Yes, I have gotten burned a bit on my kids growing at abnormal rates but I figure, if I pay only $1 for an item, and they only wear it ONCE, that is a lot different than paying $100 for it! So I am resolved that there are some pieces of the wardrobe that may not be worn for long. Troy calls the kid’s wardrobes “disposable”. LOL
Then there is consignment! There are MANY shops in Lexington, I think at least 5, that sell gently used and sometimes NEW, kids clothing. I am totally ok with used for my kids because I figure by the time they have worn it once, it is used ANYHOW! Plus, my kids have odd body types, that require CERTAIN clothing cuts and brands (namely Gap, slim, adjustable waist pants which cost roughly $25-38 each!!!). I have price thresholds for each article of clothing… pants – $7 (if they are GAP adjustables, but I really like to pay $3-5), shirts no more than $3, jackets $10- ifs its a good brand, smocked dresses $15-20 (these I splurge on!)… shoes I like to stay under $5 but I will go up to $10 if its a good brand. Ky is easier to find shoes for just because she is a girl and they have cheap styles that are cuter than boys!
Here are my tips to Consignment shopping.
Go often. Most consignment stores buy new items every day. To find the newest and best deals look often.
Watch for sales! Yes! Even Consignment stores have sales. On December 26th the Re-Kid here in Lexington had a 50% back sale. For every dollar you spent over $25 your received 50% back on a giftcard. This was extremely convenient for me because Owen has grown an additional size since school clothes and was in need of the next size in pants. I was able to purchase 8 pair of pants, 4 pair of fleece pants for KY, 2 shirts for Ky, 2 sweaters and shirts for Owen, 1 pair of Tommy Hilfiger shoes for Owen, 1 Kelly’s Kids peter pan collar shirt for Kyleigh, Sweater and shirt set (potentially for Easter) for Owen all for $55. Made each piece of clothing $2.50 when they usually started at $5+ each.
Join mailing lists. Most consigment stores, just like retail stores, have a loyalty program or email incentives. The sale I listed above was ONLY offered to the members of the mailing list! This is true for brown bag sales etc at most stores! The stores are not likely to offer a bargain once you are already IN the store… they offer bargains to GET YOU THERE.
Sell back to the stores! The one consignment shop that I like selling to also gives you 40% extra in store credit to take your “check” in the form of a giftcard. This increases my “buy” each time and I have no problem doing it since I do plan to buy more later. I recently sold about 10 shirts, 10 pairs of pants and a handful of toys to the consignment store for $140. If I had take the CASH it would have been 40% LESS than that! At one single time I have accumulated as much as $350 in credit at the store! That was AFTER I had sold at a yard sale, THEN to a local parent to parent consignment. That was what was LEFTOVER that I was going to donate to goodwill. THEN after I did all of that selling I donated to Goodwill and got a tax write off!!
Shop yard sales! I LOVE LOVE LOVE yard sales. I cannot tell you how passionate I am about them. It makes me almost sick to pay CONSIGNMENT prices when I know that I would pay 1/10th that price at a yard sale. Yard sales can mean money makers for you in the consignment stores. Rarely, at a yard sale, will you EVER see a pair of pants priced at $5!!! I usually pay no more than $2 each for ANY single item at a yard sale. I know for a fact that I have bought items at yard sales, my kids have WORN them (sometimes TWO kids have) and resold the items for MORE than what I paid for them!!! THAT is what I call bargain shopping!
Stick with brands. Yes, although that walmart brand item may only cost $3 vs the Gymboree which costs $5 the RESALE value of the Gymboree will be TWICE the value of an off brand. Know your brands and how much each piece retails for so that you know how much to pay and still get a bargain. Also, shop in LINES. Gymboree will offer 5-10 LINES of clothing each season. Collect the pieces to the lines, each tag has a “line” identifier number in it. Match up multiple items in a single line and you can sell the LOT for a high price on Ebay! Multiple pieces in a single line resell for a LOT more on Ebay than single items.
Watch for mis-tagged items and capitalize. Last year, I found a Ralph Lauren dress that was mis-tagged for $2.50. The exact same dress in a different size was $13… I bought it an put it up for later. This year, I took it out and had it monogrammed. For $5 total I had a high end monogrammed dress!!
Shop for off season merchandise. I will often times, buy bathing suits in the winter, and Sweaters in the summer. Why? Cconsignment stores work on supply / demand philosophy. As soon as the weather changes into another season, their prices will go up and their in stock merchandise will go DOWN!
Monogram it! With a SINGLE LETTER monogram. These can be resold MUCH easier than a full name or a triple letter monogram. If you are looking for a custom piece this will help to maintain the retail value of your item. OR, buy that super cheap walmart shirt and have a big beautiful monogram put on it to make it extra special. Since you won’t get much resale value out of it, at least it will be super cute!
Those are my tips for saving extra money at consignment shops! Next time I will talk about clearance sales and capitalizing on Clearance for your kiddos!
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