Shopping Kids Consignment, Part 1

I am going to do a few (hopefully) informative posts about why you should shop consignment. As I have recently posted, I have  become OBSESSED with shopping consignment sales.

Hello, my name is Mandy, and I am addicted to Children's Consignment Sales.

First off, you should know a little about the consignment sales in your area. I found mine from http://www.kidsconsignmentsales.com/. In my area of Brentwood, TN there are numerous seasonal consignment sales. I will talk more about picking which ones to go to in another post. The first post is about reasons WHY you should shop consignment, and not regular retail.


1. Kids grow up SO FAST. Can I please tell you the amount of clothes I consigned in my first sale that Josh and Jules never, ever even wore? Its terribly sickening. And when you talk about buying things that are sized every three months, there is probably tons that they will never wear. And guess what? Even if it is worn, it "maybe" has been worn only a couple of times. How often can you change the clothes of babies? Like I said before, their closet was full of things, and sometimes we had to (unfortunately) change clothes three times per day, and still didn't wear all they had. It just sickens me as well, because I paid retail for post of those Gymboree dresses and they maybe got worn twice :(  Plus, since most of these sales are seasonal only, you are only buying that season of things. So, its not like you have to stock up on all sizes. For instance, I only bought 18m spring/summer stuff this time. There will be more sales in the fall, so I can buy more then!

2. Bigger, better, more fabulous wardrobe. My kids mostly only wear the cutest, branded clothes. (because, ummm, they are the cutest babies ever, fyi).  If you have only bought retail, you may have a few really cute shoes, clothes, etc at high name brand. At consignment sales, since everything is only 25% of what you would pay retail, just think of all the Gap, Gymboree, Boutique, Janie and Jack, Stride Rite, etc you could buy for the same price. You will have little fashionistas on your hands in no time. There are actually two sales near me that ONLY do higher end brands (no Old Navy, no Target, no Children's Place, etc). You better believe I hit up both of these sales, especially on 50% off day.

3.One stop shopping. I love buying on the internet. I hate shopping at malls - I always have. There are so many more things I would rather do than to do from store to store looking for something. Yet, another reason to love consignment! Where else can you go that has toys, books, strollers, carseats, clothes, etc all in one place from 100+ sellers? Plus, again, I love buying boutique items for my kids, but I don't like shopping in them. The cool thing about consignment I ALWAYS find boutique clothing.

4. You are one of those "green" moms. What better way to be green than to buy pre-owned? Americans throw away 68 pounds of clothing each year (Earth911.com).

5. Some things you should never buy new. Its just stupid. Dvds, Books, "seasonal" items (Christmas, Easter, Halloween, winter coats, etc), pricey toys, babys shoes (I only say this because this is the #1 thing I have bought that almost everything is new, and they have a TON of them)

Up Next: How to Shop Consignment - what's your strategy?