I Just Started a Kids Consignment Business - Need Your Advice........

I have been shopping at a local consignment event two moms are organizing. Here is their web site, and you may get some ideas from them:
http://halfpintresale.com/

This relates to a second hand store and not a event consignment sale, but I hope you find it helpful: There is a franchaise, Once Upon a Child, that I've shopped at in OH and VA (but I think is nationwide) that I think stands out for a couple of reasons (1) the clothing is organized by size, by type (dresses, pants, shorts, shirts) and by color (2) there is a play area children (which prevents them from playing with the toys for sale and losing pieces) (3) all pieces for the toys are secured to the toys. I enjoy shopping there because the store is so clean and so very well organized.

Being organized is the key to everything. Lisa and Joy's tips were both full of things I was going to say. I would suggest advertising with a postcard mailer too, to get your name out there.

Set up your checkout system so that it is orderly. Get your line so that people are out of the shopping area. I hate trying to squeeze around the line. Have volunteers standing at clothing bars cutting tags off the clothes just below the safety pin (no de-pinning, too much effort) and write the total number on the back of the top tag. Then the buyer takes the stacks of tags to a cashier and the cashier rings up.

The sale I use bought a ton of big Ikea blue shopping bags and rents them out. There is a box at the door, and you take them on your way in, and get charged a dollar for them at the register when you return them. Genius for the tons of people who don't know what to expect or forget their bags.

Our volunteers system is awesome and I always "work" so that I can shop before the sale starts, even though I rarely sell anything. And our sale has consigner passes for the consigners to shop first, and she gives a guest pass to each consigner to hand out so that a guest can shop an hour after the consigner pre sale starts. Let men volunteer for the heavy labor setup and tear down and have it count towards their wives "working" to get shopping priveleges.

If you can do it, make your clothing racks 2 tiered, so that you double your clothing space and have more aisle room. But don't make the top tier too high for short people like me. My arms are always cramping up by the time I get through all the clothes because I am reaching up over my head to flip through them.

Check all items at drop off, including batteries in toys. Keep some batteries and a screwdriver with several size tips on hand just in case any batteries run out and a customer wants to check the toy.

For sorting at the end, our system works pretty well. She prints off each person's consigner number really large on a piece of paper (or uses a fat marker) and tapes them all out on the floor a few feet apart in number order. Then the volunteers spread out and start on a rack, taking a handful of things, and just start distributing it all out to the right number pile. When everything is distributed out, we go through each pile to make sure the pile is only that number's stuff. Then the consigner comes and picks it up, they just have to grab thier pile.

I've posted the link to the website for the sale I go to and 2 websites that list a bunch of our sales here in Tenn. You can find several sales that have websites from those. Just to get ideas, like how our volunteer system works and such.

Good luck! The lady who does our sale makes enough that she quit her job. Some of the bigger sales in our area must bring in $50- 100K, I swear. It is a TON of work, but well worth it once you get it built up. I'd love to do a sale if I am ever in an area that has a need for one.
http://www.thekidzklozet.com/
http://www.kidsconsignmentsales.com/tn.htm
http://www.consigningtime.com/

LIKES
The consignment event I frequent as a consignor and a buyer has a simple online inventory system that makes it a breeze to enter items and check your sales at the end of each day. The website offers a wealth of information on how to prepare items for sale, what items are acceptable, pricing guidelines, etc. The owner offers nice incentives to those who volunteer. Having things grouped by category - pants, shorts, long sleeved shirts, skirts, pj's, etc - is extremely helpful. All processes are organized with plenty of volunteers to help out - drop off, pick up, check out, etc.

DISLIKES
If the aises aren't wide enough for 2 people to get through side-by-side I leave. I can't stand not being able to navigate through a store because the aisles are blocked (literally!) with shoppers. I take the time to thoroughly check/clean my items before selling them and it irks me when I see stained clothes, shoes with dirt in the tread, extremely worn fabric, etc.

Good luck with your venture!

I sell my things twice a year at a week long consignment sale. What I love about this sale is the use of myconsignmentmangager.com. This is an online registration/organization system the sale uses. It is free for sellers, not sure how much it costs for the owners.

We register online and list our inventory. We print out tags for the sale. We can also watch to see what sells through out the week. It gives us a total amount that we will earn. In this case, sellers get 55% of profit.

Make sure you use volunteers for the sale. Volunteers can get first pick of the inventory. Some get an additional 5% profit depending upon how much they work.

At the end of the sale (if this is not in a store setting) I love that they sort our unsold items. We pick up our unsold items at the end of the week and get our check. No searching for our clothing.

Those who do not want their clothing back can donate them to charity.

Good luck with your sale. Remember to advertise in local papers, children's magazines, schoools, etc.

I shop at a kids consignment store its Called "We Kids" Mine St Flemington NJ. Maybe if you call you could ask her some qustions. Good luck.

I love second hand stores and especially children's consigment shops! Lets see, a clean well organized store is always best. I personally like it when boys and girls are separated. I hate having to go through each piece to see if its for a girl (which is what I have). I also like it when the clothes are organized by age (nb, 3/6 mo, and so on). What I absolutely can not stand, is when they have toys for sale that have not been cleaned, items that have a ton of bite/chew marks in them, shoes thrown into a huge bin, and not organized. I know this is a bit weird but some of these places also have a very musty smell. I like it when it smells fresh, and has air circulating (depending on the size and how many people are in there). Can you message me and tell me where your shop is in Covina? I am in Fontana, but go that way to my inlaws all the time. I would love to find some stuff for my little girl! It would be much appreciated. Good Luck with your sale!

I love the great deals and I only go to sales that sell things clean. Boys and girls clothes seperate is helpful.

I hate waiting in line for hours to check out and pay. I don't go back to those sales.

I love shopping at consignment stores. Finding things I am looking for at a deep discount from a regular store is great. Like the previous poster I dn't like clothing with stains and especially hate skinny isles. if i am pushing a stroller or cart and someone else needs thru it is hard.

ps: have thought about doing this as a fundraiser for our parish. can you email me the details of how your doing it. thanks