Kids Exchange

I'm gearing up for my first time selling at Kids Exchange in July. It's a lot more complicated than dropping the stuff off at your local consignment store. Keep in mind that I have two kids--Bradford is 4 1/2 and Anne is 2 1/2--and I have never given away or sold a stitch of their clothing or toys...now you realize what I have to wade through to get everything ready. This is a huge project that I'll be working on all week.

First, the supplies:
dry cleaner hangers: only these hangers are permitted--no plastic/kids size hangers (I've been saving ours for six months)
safety pins: for the clothes that are too small to hang properly and need to be secured
Ziploc bags: for small toys, groups of socks--anything that won't fit on a hanger
card stock: to label my items
hole puncher: to punch holes in the card stock
zip ties: to secure the card stock to the hanger

Kids Exchange has very detailed guidelines on what and how to sell!

Here's what I'll be doing (after I purchase safety pins and zip ties):
1. Separating the fall/winter and spring/summer (only fall/winter are accepted at this sale)
2. Washing selected clothes
3. Ironing clothes
4. Hanging all clothes on hangers, with safety pins if required
5. Placing all small items (socks, washcloths, towels) into Ziploc bags
6. Selecting toys
7. Cleaning selected toys
8. Printing off many pages of labels with my assigned bar code
9. Handwriting the name of the item on each label
10. Deciding how much each item should sell for
11. Using a hole puncher and zip ties to attach each label to each item
12. Creating a spreadsheet of what I'm selling to track sales

Later, I'll have to get all of the above, plus Anne's crib, high chair, and changing table into the van, and take it all to Kids Exchange. I'll have to hang up/lay out all of my items in the appropriate places, and then I'll have to go get everything that didn't sell when it's over (I really hope the big items sell so I don't have to drag them home again).

So why am I going to all this trouble instead of dropping things off at the local consignment store? Because they pay pennies on the dollar (I know--I've sold two items there, and I won't do that again!). Kids Exchange takes 33% of your asking price plus a $9 fee. I decide what I want for each item, and if people don't buy it, I get my item back. If I'm selling a dress for $5, I'll get $3.35--the local consignment store would give me $2.50 or less. Multiply that by a hundred, and it's worth the extra work (I'll let you know how many items I ultimately do sell).

There are a few things I'll never sell that I'll keep as mementos, but most of the fall/winter items are going. It was very, very hard for me to come to the place where I am able to let go of these things. I've always wanted a large family, but it just isn't possible for us. I've had a hard time accepting that (that's another post), but I'm finally there. Of course, we'll see how emotional I get when I drop everything off!