Ever since I scored the in perfect condition $125  glider last year for Jasper’s Nursery (same model retailed for close to $800 new) I have been completely enamored of our  twice yearly local consignment sale “As They Grow“.

This was the first time I participated as a seller and Marybeth asked me to let you all know how it went, so here’s the rundown..

For a $10 registration fee, I could sell as many items as I wanted (clothing limited to 20 though) and keep 60% of the sale price,  plus a pass to shop during special “consignors only presale” hours. Everything is done with barcoding software so the consignors enter
their items in online, print out labels and affix them to their items.
From your online account you can see which items sold and which did not
at the end of the sale and for what price (you can choose to
participate in a 50% off fire sale the last day).  When the sale is over you go and pick up
your unsold items (you also have the option of donating them to charity) and they mail you a check. Easy Peasy.

It’s a totally brilliant business idea and completely recession proof. If anything it’s probably even MORE successful during a recession. If someone wasn’t already doing this in my area I’d be all over it… Think about it, for the price of renting a large space (this year it was in my alma mater’s gymnasium which rents for a song and a dance) and working their tails off for a weekend they keep 40% of every item sold! That’s a huge profit.

I had about 16 clothing items up for sale, all but 3 sold along with our swing and bouncy chair which made me so very very happy.  It’s great to clear out the clutter and make a little pocket change as well. All in all we made $126, which is only slightly more than I spent at the sale.. doh!

Anyway, onto the fun stuff, what I bought!

Here are some of my best scores:

This zoo house toy was $20. I don’t know what these types of toys are called, but they have them at Jasper’s daycare and the kids love them!  The nice ones usually retail for $50-$80.

Saving the best for last, this Melissa and Doug Latch board for $4 (similar to this one) is Jasper’s absolute favorite toy now:

I knew as soon as I saw it he’d be in heaven – it uses real window and door latches which he is completely fascinated by:

There’s only one teeny tiny little problem..

..I really love it mom, but I just can’t figure out how to get it in my mouth..

..Nevermind! Problem solved :

I could probably gotten better prices if I had waited until the last sale day when everything is 50% off, but we had a busy weekend and wasn’t able to make it back on that day.  The one thing we REALLY needed that we didn’t get is one of those play yard gate sets. We simply cannot keep Jasper in his playroom for more than 2 seconds without him crawling right for (insert nearest dangerous object here).  Rather than baby proof the whole house, we want to set up a large enclosed area for all of his toys. Does anyone have a portable gate/play yard enclosure that they can recommend?

Hope you all had a great weekend!

P.S. You can use this site to search for a consigment sale near you!

Filed under: baby products by ariana
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