The day I went into labor with Kye was actually also the first time I ever heard about the local kid sales. Crissy texted me that morning to see if I wanted to go with her to the sale, but I was too busy going into labor to meet up with her 😉 The first time I went to one of the kids sales I was SHOCKED. People were lined up down the street. They had camped out all day waiting to get in. They had baskets and trash bags ready to fill with their goodies. It seemed a bit extreme. Maybe crazy even.
Well. Now I’m one of them.
I decided to blog about this because it’s one of those things that I’ll always have wonderful memories of! There are four kids sales a year and, seriously, I look so forward to them. Here’s what I do…I get a seller number for the sale then mark all the clothing and other items I want to sell. I don’t sell much. Just enough to be considered a seller so I can shop the pre-sale haha. I save pretty much ALL of my kids clothes since we’re not done having them yet. But I do sell stuff that I know the next baby won’t wear, things people have given me that I couldn’t return (better than re-gifting right?!?), or stuff I just wasn’t crazy about.
Since there are two different places that host a sale and they each have a sale each season, I price my stuff higher for the first sale. That way it won’t all sell and I can re-enter it into the second one. Sneaky, I know 😉 The people that hosts these things are SO smart. Each seller only makes 70% of what we sell and we have to pay an entry fee (one of the sales it’s $5, the other one is $8.) Plus the people who work the sales don’t even make any profit, they just get to come to a pre-pre sale just for the workers. The people who run these things make some serious BANK. I have considered volunteering to work some hours so I can get into the pre-pre sale but honestly I already spend TOO much dough at these things, I can’t imagine how much more I’d spend if I got to go that early!!!
I have a large tub I keep in the attic and every time I come across something to sell at the sales I toss it in the tub. I also toss in hangers I don’t want, safety pins, straight pins, and notecards. That way when it’s time to price stuff I have it all ready to go! I price my items slightly higher than garage sale prices. Some people way over price stuff in my opinion. But then again, I’m not selling my best stuff since I’m saving it for future babies…so maybe once I’m done having kids I’ll ask more for my items.
My priced stuff ready to be sold!
They have a drop off day for each sale where you take all your items. One of the sales hangs it all for you and the other one you have to hang it yourself. I don’t mind either way, although Zach will do the drop off for the one the workers hang and I wouldn’t ask him to go hang everything for me!
Since I’m always a seller, I always get to go to the pre-sale. It’s a night earlier than when the sale is open to the public and it’s only people who put items into the sale who get to shop. This is where you see the people sitting in lawn chairs parked outside the doors waiting to get in. It’s where the people in charge have to give a lecture each time about not running people over! Craziness I tell you! Robyn and I have gone to EVERY pre-sale together. We are so hardcore about it that when she found out one of them was the same day as Lorelai’s birthday party, she moved the party time haha. I would so do the same thing!!!
We typically get in line around 45 min prior to the doors opening. NOTHING is worth getting there earlier than that…at least not to me. I’ve NEVER walked away empty handed or wished I’d gotten there sooner. Usually at drop off I’ll kind of eye the things that are already there and have in mind where I want to run to first. Now that I have two kids it was a tough call to decide weather I should shop the boys side or the girls side first. I ended up asking on facebook for help because I was so torn 😉 I hit up the boys section first because there are WAY less items for a boy and I don’t want to miss out on the good stuff!
This is how hardcore I am: I usually don’t carry a purse because I don’t want anything holding me down. This last time I got the good idea to use one of my new little crossover purses so I could be hands free but still have my essentials with me (especially with Zach watching Britt, it’s good to have the phone in case he needs me!). I also bring a laundry basket with me to each sale with a dog leash attached. That way I can drag that thing around as it quickly gets too heavy to carry!
I drop a good chunk of change at these sales. Sometimes I feel like I spend too much, but honestly the MAJORITY of the clothes Kye wears (and now Britt too) come from these sales. Kids clothes are crazy expensive and over-priced. $20 for jeans?!?! Are you joking? I won’t pay that for my own jeans! I’m all about some deals and I can find all of Kye’s pants (khakis, cute shorts, jeans, etc) at the kids sales no problem. I also buy toys there and majority of what the kids got for Christmas this last year was used. Why not do it while I can pull it off? They don’t notice the difference! It’s great too because if they don’t end up wearing something I bought or I change my mind and don’t like it, I just re-sell it at the next sale.
Another part of the tradition is after we shop till we drop. We always hit up Steak and Shake when we’re done with our shopping and it’s great girl time! Steak and Shake is the best place to go because it’s cheap, bad for you (what could be more fun than eating a bunch of junk food with friends?!?), and it’s open allll night so we don’t have to rush. Sometimes we’ve been there past 11! I LOVE when a big group of us all go together, it’s always a great time! But even if it’s just Robyn and I, we still love it 🙂
The last day of each sale is the 1/2 off day…I’ve gone back a few times to check that out but usually I spend enough at the pre-sale and don’t want to tempt myself any further 😉 When the sale is over we go back and pick up our left over stuff and our money. I think I’ve made more than I spent maybe once, but it’s still nice to get some cash in your pocket!
I’ve heard of other kids sales in Albany and Nashville and someday I’d like to hit those up too…I could totally see myself being a kids sale junkie 😉 I bet my Atlanta friends have some AWESOME ones up there! We have very limited store choices for clothing around here so most of the stuff at the sales is stuff from the same stores (Carter’s, The Children’s Place, Gap Outlet…). I’m sure a bigger city has way more store choices and therefore way more used clothing options as well 😉
You can all laugh at me and how hardcore I am about it…but I love it and am proud of my kids sale craziness!
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I'm going to one in Atlanta tomorrow. My sister in law lives up there and says they have tons EVERY weekend during the spring.
I am a total junkie thanks to you!;) I he actually volunteered to work the last sale and it was awesome! I got to shop 4 hours before the sellers got to. It was so nice should not have 1,000,000 people to move through! Amanda, I met you there! Haha.
Okay, my first one I was a seller and did the pre-sale. The last two I've worked four hours to do the pre-pre-sale and you are right you do spend WAY more money. I like it because I can scope out everything and with two kids it helps to know which areas are most important to hit first! I'm a little sneaky too. My last sell I actually talked a friend into using my number (she only had a few large items) then we split the fee!! 😉 Then I just paid her out when I picked up!!!
Is this the Kidz Klothes sale?? My MIL's cousins run it, so we always get to shop early (it was 4pm Sat. this last time). It's not really crowded at all at 4pm. I get ALL my kids clothes there, I mean EVERYTHING! I've found Arabelle's Easter dress there the last 2 years. It is SO fun and makes not buying clothes the rest of the year tolerable. :-phttp://broxtonbabybabbles.blogspot.com/
I belong to the Gwinnett Mother's of Multiples club, and they have a HUGE sale every spring and fall. I basically joined the group just to sell and shop early!! It is ALOT of fun! And I always find great stuff =o) plus I make a few hundred each sale!
I love the kid’s sale!! I did not start doing them until last year. I usually work a 4 hour so I can do the pre-presale. This helps me know the locations of everything and I can make a game plan of what I “want” to get first. You are definitely right working the pre-sale you spend WAY more money J This time I actually talked a friend (who has older children and wasn’t interested in shopping early) into using my number so we could split the fee J