Penny Pinching with Kids' Items

It's getting to be consignment sale time again. I just got the reminder email of the sale I participate in... set for mid-September. In this area, beginning in September, we have a consignment sale almost every weekend in our county... for 6-8 weeks straight. Love that! I only participate in selling at one of those sales, but will attempt to go to a couple during those months. My poor kids almost never own a brand new clothing item unless it is a gift, it's an immediate need, or I've found a NWT (new with tags) item on eBay or at a sale. Oh well, so far they are all under the age of 9, so no complaints as of yet. In fact, my daughter is beginning to appreciate the sales. Cheap clothing means more of it! She already owns more shoes than I do, I think.

During the summer, I usually just go to eBay for upcoming known needs (like next-size-up in jeans or "lots" of shirts.) Then the consignment sales usually cover whatever else is needed for the cold season... jackets, sweaters, etc. I just cannot see how people can actually afford to purchase all new wardrobes for their kids from department stores... or worse... brand name shops like Gymboree or Gap. Sure, sales racks can have deals, but c'mon. I don't even spend $60 on a 2 pc. outfit for myself, let alone someone 1/2 my size. Granted, the average home may only have 2 or 3 kids. But I know of many larger families (4, 5, or more kids)... how else can a typical middle class family afford to buy new clothes when kids turn over sizes 1-2 times a year?

About a year ago, I learned the benefits of VOLUNTEERING at these consignment sales. Volunteering at these sales never seemed "worth it" to me. I always consign clothes at one particular sale, but volunteering to work just didn't seem like it would pay off. Some sales offer higher percentages of sales to volunteers; others offer pre-sale buying opportunities. Higher percentages just didn't seem to be worth it when you only had a few things to sell. And pre-sale? It's just an hour before the consignor's sale. BUT.....

With a consignment sale, all sellers price their own items. So, a shirt may be priced $10 by one seller; $2 by another seller. If you are able to attend a pre-sale event for volunteers and/or consignors, you get first dibs on all the cheap clothing. Oh the deals you can find! With three kids and another "on the way someday", I spend forever looking through the racks during those sales, searching for those $2 items. I know my husband doesn't quite understand why I'm gone so long... but there is always a TON of things to look through. So, granted... spending 3 hours on a Saturday evening sorting clothing and tags for someone else (the owner) isn't my idea of great fun... it does pay off with those early sales if you are really scouring for deals!

So, let's see. I'm no expert in shopping for cheap, but I do have a few things I do to save us much as possible on clothing and toys for kids. Here are some ideas:

• Yard sales/garage sales: Granted, some sellers are ridiculous setting out off-brand clothing with high prices or just plain junky torn-up clothing. However, every so often, I hit the jackpot. Just this spring, I found a huge bin FULL of clothes in sizes for both of my boys (and even for our one-day-adopted girl... yes, I even stocked up a little for her) for 10 cents each. They were gorgeous! I got a Laura Ashley sundress, GAP clothes, Ralph Lauren sets and more. I think I paid $5 total and came home with 30 outfits. When the timing is right, Daddy gets to watch the kids for the morning, and Mommy grabs her wallet and hits the sales. April and May always seem to be the busiest months when neighborhoods will have their community sales... at least in this area.
• Consignment sales: Some are fundraisers for non-profit organizations (like MOPS), and some are owned by individuals for profit.... all are basically the same structure. People bring their used clothing, baby equipment, toys, etc. to the sale already priced (each sale has their own guidelines on how to do this). The organizers of the sale keep a percentage of the profit and mail out checks to the consigners. As I mentioned above, if you are a volunteer or consignor, you'll often get a better percentage of sales or earlier buying opportunities to snag the good deals. These usually occur in spring and fall... with an occasional one in the summer before school.
• eBay: I LOVE eBay! My mother-in-law introduced me to the site when my first son was born in 1999... she overheard people chatting at the post office. Well, now I'm almost at 2000 feedback... by no means a professional, but I've certainly had my fair share of transactions! In the beginning I found brand-name clothes and resold them. Now, most of my transactions are as a buyer. (My most recent deals: Brownie jumper, skort, skirt, and cardigan for my daughter... all in almost new condition... $42 total. They retail for almost $100)
• Thrift Stores: This is a tricky thing depending on what you have near you. I've been to a few stores where the selection is enormous... lots of brand name clothing cheap. I would walk out each time with garbage-bags full of clothes for $50. Then other smaller stores would be hit-or-miss if you find anything at all. Unfortunately those great stores I mentioned are back in the two states I USED to live in. Here, I don't have the same luck.
• Craigslist/Freecycle: These are two new venues to me. I now look daily at the recent listings... even several times daily if I can. I've sold furniture on Craigslist, but as of yet, have bought nothing. I've done nothing with Freecyle yet except sign-up. Part of me feels bad about snagging someone else's things for free (what if someone else really needs it more)... and then there's the fact that I'm sometimes just not quick enough.
• Passing Down/Trading: There always seems to be someone older than my kids that pass clothing down to us, and there always seems to be younger kids that we pass clothing down to. Even in the case of our adoption... I adore baby girls clothing. So when I see it in super good deals, I buy for my neighbor's daughter, simply asking that I get it back once our little girl arrives.
• Outlet Stores: This too is hit-or-miss. We are fortunate to have a pretty nice outlet mall within 15 minutes of our house. If we still need things after exhausting the above, I'll hit the Gap store or Old Navy for some cute trendy things for the kids.

In any case where you are looking through used clothing or toys, ALWAYS look carefully (unless the prices are so cheap you don't mind losing a few cents on stained clothing). If you're great with OxyClean, many stains can come out. But don't forget to look for missing buttons or holes or broken seams. And toys... be very cautious with baby toys. You don't want recalled toys or one that will injure your child. And always clean everything well before passing it along to your child.

Wow, that was a long entry. Sorry! Just thought I'd pass along some tips while I had the time. Time to go see where the kids wandered off. Tommy (3), is wearing his disposable swim diapers NOW... even though we don't leave for the pool for a couple of hours. Couldn't convince him to just wait. Now we have to be certain to avoid any accidents... swim diapers are just NOT cheap. Calling for 98 degrees today. I doubt we'll be at the pool for long today!