Money Matters
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Consignment shops?

I'm in the mood to declutter!  I spent an hour in the attic and have four boxes of kids clothes/toys/etc in my vehicle ready to be taken to a consignment shop this weekend!  I'm going to a "cash on the spot" shop which a friend of mine used and had good luck with.  H's company has an internal "craigslist" so we have listed a stroller and bassinet on their.  Two hours later he received an email about the stroller.

Has anyone else used a similar consignment/resale shop to get rid of things?  We've sold things on Craigslist with no problems before.  All local law enforcement encourage people to use their lobbies for transactions if desired but we haven't felt the need.
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Re: Consignment shops?

  • I've done Craiglist a few times, the biggest problem is with people not showing up when they say they will.  Most of the time if we have stuff to get rid of we just donate it to charity and take the tax write off (we itemize).  Sometimes the few dollars we would get isn't worth the hassle of taking the pictures, answering the questions and hoping that someone shows up.

    If the item isn't too big sometimes we will put it on eBay.  DH has sold some stuff there and made some decent money.
    Formerly AprilH81
    photo composite_14153800476219jpg

  • There are a lot of Facebook garage sale sites I'm a part of. Besides doing a garage sale, that is how we tend to get rid of most of our stuff, or just donating it.
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  • I'm always surprised how much used items, clothes in particular, are valued for charitable deduction. Unless you have a lot of high dollar items, I'd just donate it, be sure to keep your reciept and list of items donated, and then claim in on your 2015 taxes. That is of course if you itemize.
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  • I sold a super cute pair of Steve Madden heels for $15 on a local facebook swap/buy page. I'd originally bought them for $80 for a wedding party and only wore them that one time.

    I've never sold anything on craigslist, but I've bought a sofa, two tables, and a mirror. I've also gotten a duplex, became a roommate with a couple people, and found a job through craigslist. My only bad experience was with the washer/dryer I purchased there last August. It was the worst purchasing experience I've ever dealt with. 

    DH sold a bunch of stuff from his old apartment on craigslist and it worked really well. 

    I don't itemize, so we just consider anything we sell as bonus money. We used the shoe money for papa john's on Wednesday and 4 cookies at this cool place downtown on Saturday. 
  • If it were me I would sell the clothing on CL.  That's what I plan on doing with DD's baby/toddler clothes within the next year after TTC and know the sex of the next baby.  You can sell them in lots (newborn, 3-6 months, 1 year, etc)  sell it for $35 or so for the whole box.  Even the bigger items I would sell on CL - strollers, walkers, swing, etc.  I can wait to get rid of half my basement!  The small things I would just donate to get rid of fast.
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  • smerkasmerka member
    Ancient Membership 250 Love Its 500 Comments Name Dropper
    I have tried selling to a Once Upon A Child and was disappointed. They didn't take much and they gave me less than a dollar each for the things they did take. I have much better luck at kids resales or local Facebook groups where I can set my own prices.
  • smerka said:
    I have tried selling to a Once Upon A Child and was disappointed. They didn't take much and they gave me less than a dollar each for the things they did take. I have much better luck at kids resales or local Facebook groups where I can set my own prices.

    Yes! I had this same experience. I don't try to sell there anymore.

    I do use Craigslist for popular baby/kid items where I live, which is boots, snow pants, and other winter gear. I also sell all baby gear items there too like playsets, bouncers, walkers, etc..

    FYI: In January, Babies R Us has a sale where if you bring in any used stroller or car seat no matter its condition, they give you 25% off a brand new baby gear item. When our family out-grew the basket/pumpkin car seat for the infants, we sold it there and got 25% off a brand new car seat booster for 3+ year-olds. When we needed to upgrade from a single to a double stroller, we did this too.

  • hoffsehoffse member
    Sixth Anniversary 2500 Comments 500 Love Its Name Dropper
    We itemize, so we tend to donate more than sell.  I've mentioned before that my mom has been selling my old toys via ebay and she's done quite well - I think she's up to over $1,000 in the last month on those.

    She hasn't even begun the Barbie's yet.

    For us though, our tax bracket is so high that we get quite a bit back from donations when you figure in federal and state income taxes, and it's just easier than having to deal with the selling process.  H and I were talking about what to do with our "old" kitchen - the cabinets, countertops, appliances, etc.  Our contractor suggested selling them on Craigslist, but it's so much stuff that somebody would have to come to our house to pick it up and that makes us nervous.  We're probably going to donate the old cabinets and appliances to Habitat.  We have a Re-store in our town fairly close by and they will come haul the stuff away for us. 
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  • hoffse said:
    We itemize, so we tend to donate more than sell.  I've mentioned before that my mom has been selling my old toys via ebay and she's done quite well - I think she's up to over $1,000 in the last month on those.

    She hasn't even begun the Barbie's yet.

    For us though, our tax bracket is so high that we get quite a bit back from donations when you figure in federal and state income taxes, and it's just easier than having to deal with the selling process.  H and I were talking about what to do with our "old" kitchen - the cabinets, countertops, appliances, etc.  Our contractor suggested selling them on Craigslist, but it's so much stuff that somebody would have to come to our house to pick it up and that makes us nervous.  We're probably going to donate the old cabinets and appliances to Habitat.  We have a Re-store in our town fairly close by and they will come haul the stuff away for us. 
    We had a local Reuse place take our kitchen- they took the cabinets, counters, sink, faucet, light fixture, and stove.. it was great! They came with a truck, loaded everything, and gave us a donation slip. Some people use the cabinets, counters in the garage or the basement- ours were in really bad shape (from the 70's and the sides, back, and bottom of the drawers were plastic) so we just wanted them out of our lives. 
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  • hoffse said:
    We itemize, so we tend to donate more than sell.  I've mentioned before that my mom has been selling my old toys via ebay and she's done quite well - I think she's up to over $1,000 in the last month on those.

    She hasn't even begun the Barbie's yet.

    For us though, our tax bracket is so high that we get quite a bit back from donations when you figure in federal and state income taxes, and it's just easier than having to deal with the selling process.  H and I were talking about what to do with our "old" kitchen - the cabinets, countertops, appliances, etc.  Our contractor suggested selling them on Craigslist, but it's so much stuff that somebody would have to come to our house to pick it up and that makes us nervous.  We're probably going to donate the old cabinets and appliances to Habitat.  We have a Re-store in our town fairly close by and they will come haul the stuff away for us. 

    hoffse said:
    We itemize, so we tend to donate more than sell.  I've mentioned before that my mom has been selling my old toys via ebay and she's done quite well - I think she's up to over $1,000 in the last month on those.

    She hasn't even begun the Barbie's yet.

    For us though, our tax bracket is so high that we get quite a bit back from donations when you figure in federal and state income taxes, and it's just easier than having to deal with the selling process.  H and I were talking about what to do with our "old" kitchen - the cabinets, countertops, appliances, etc.  Our contractor suggested selling them on Craigslist, but it's so much stuff that somebody would have to come to our house to pick it up and that makes us nervous.  We're probably going to donate the old cabinets and appliances to Habitat.  We have a Re-store in our town fairly close by and they will come haul the stuff away for us. 

    That is what we did with our kitchen last summer. The only problem was someone had to be home for them to pick it up.
    Formerly AprilH81
    photo composite_14153800476219jpg

  • maple2maple2 member
    Ninth Anniversary 500 Comments 25 Love Its Name Dropper
    We got rid of some of our bigger baby items on Craigslist and never had a bad experience. Most of the toys and clothes we brought to a consignment shop. We always got store credit because they gave a higher return for credit than cash and it was easy to use up when we needed new clothes. Now that the kids are older, though, I tend to donate a lot more of the clothing. I am busier, and it's harder to meet the high standards of the consignment shops on cloths for older kids who are more active. I did recently donate a bunch of clothes and toys, but I kept the nicest toys to bring to a consignment store. Mostly because I don't have confidence that the donation center drop-off would be careful enough with them, and nice sets would end up with lost pieces. Our local donation center is usually a crazy mess of random bags all thrown together with stuff spilling out onto the ground.
  • bcarbbcarb member
    10 Comments First Anniversary Name Dropper 5 Love Its

    When I lost a lot of weight, I consigned most of my clothes at local consignments. I actually had pretty good luck, but they were decent clothes and a lot of work attire. As a pregnant lady--we bought our swing from Craigslist, it was the easiest transaction and we saved $100. I frequently look for baby stuff on there all the time, clothes and big ticket items (like the swing).

    For the most part, we usually just donate to GoodWill or give to my MIL(she has multiple garage sales a year). I hate clutter, so I tend to want it gone quickly.

  • My coworker just said she took a medium sized box of clothes and in 15 minutes she had just over $100 in cash. They wouldn't take her infant bath tub because they had so many already. I think I'm going to give it a try this weekend.

    We had a garage sale earlier (annual citywide) but it's so hit and miss on who will stop and what sizes, season, gender options are needed.
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  • We've gotten rid of small appliances and things on Craigslist and it worked out well for us. I also take clothes to a consignment shop. It doesn't give cash on the spot, only when things sell, but I'm not in a any hurry to get the cash and I can check the account online anytime
  • There is a thrift store right across the street from work.  That is where I take the majority of my old clothes and other stuff.  CL has been a god send when I am looking for a tenant or need an appliance, but I personally haven't had much luck selling on there.

    I've heard about those Facebook garage sales.  I'll have to check that out.

    A few months after Hurricane Katrina, I went to one of those storage unit auctions and bought a unit for $11.  I made about $400 selling the stuff on Ebay and a bit on CL.  But then I used freecycle to give a lot of it away.  It was such a good feeling because I had really useful things like gently used towels and dishes...that wouldn't necessarily be something that would sell well...but were so needed and helpful to some of my fellow New Orleanians who had lost everything.

    Alas, the Faberge eggs and gold bullion must have been in someone else's storage unit, lol.  Though I did find a mug filled with $32 in dollar coins and a diamond/opal gold ring.  Small diamonds and opals, but still a really pretty ring.  I kept that :).

  • Those cash on the spot places give you NOTHING for your stuff. I usually sell my name brand stuff on eBay, and give the rest away for a tax write off. I had Once Upon a Child offer me .75 cents for a new Baby Gap Dress. Um, no! I have had a lot of luck on Facebook yard sale pages, also.
  • Hoffse:  Consider donating your old kitchen to Habitat for Humanity Re Store.
  • TNChick said:
    Those cash on the spot places give you NOTHING for your stuff. I usually sell my name brand stuff on eBay, and give the rest away for a tax write off. I had Once Upon a Child offer me .75 cents for a new Baby Gap Dress. Um, no! I have had a lot of luck on Facebook yard sale pages, also.
    Yeah, I brought Once Upon a Child a bunch of nice Gymboree things and they wouldn't take any of the girl jeans because they weren't skinny jeans. This stuff was 1-2 years old, in perfect shape and newly washed. They are a joke for resale.
  • I just took my things to Kid to Kid(resale shop) today. They took 3 pairs of shoes and about 1/4 of the clothing I brought in. I got $48 in store credit. I then take the rest to Once Upon a Child since they are less picky and will see tomorrow what they offer. The rest will be donated. I love the convenience of these sort of places so that's the route I go. 
    Ella 8.6.11
    Carson 3.28.13
  • You have to decide is what you might get through craigslist or a buy/sell group on face book worth the time you will have to invest to sort things out, post them and them meeting up with someone compared to just putting it all in a bad and taking to to store for cash or if you still have kids that fit into sizes the store has, a store credit towards future purchases.

     

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