I am a huge fan of selling at consignment sales, but participating in them can be a lot of work. When my sons were younger, I sold almost all of our baby clothes, equipment, toys, books, etc. at the Moms of Multiples resale in Chicago. I made a lot of money, and I was able to hang out with other moms of twins. Although it was a lot of work, I always made enough money to make the venture worth my time.
Now that my sons are older, we aren’t churning through the merchandise as quickly as we used to (thank goodness!), but there’s still a lot of stuff to get rid of.
In the past year we’ve moved across the country, and I’ve noticed that the consignment sales in our new area are…not as lucrative. I’ve participated in two consignment sales in the past few months that have been very disappointing.
So, I’ve realized that my first experience with consignment sales was really stellar. In the future, I’ll need to check out consignment sales more before deciding to participate.
Here are some tips for checking out consignment sales:
1. Participate as a buyer first. Many consignment sales happen once or twice a year. Go to a sale first.
2. Check out the volunteers. Chances are, they are probably sellers. Do they look happy? Are the organizers yelling at the volunteers? Some sales require a lot of volunteer time from sellers. Some don’t. If you see someone that looks friendly, talk to him/her about selling.
3. Notice the customer traffic. Is there a line outside the door? That’s a good sign. Are you the only one shopping? That’s NOT a good sign.
4. Look at how the sale is organized. Is it set up professionally, or does it look thrown together?
5. Notice how the sale was promoted before the event. Were there signs around town? Did you see Facebook posts about it?
6. Check out the prices. How much would you have to price your items at in order for them to sell?
By doing your due diligence before a resale, you can save yourself a lot of hassle and disappointment. You may find that your time would be better spent selling elsewhere or donating. Good luck selling!
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