With consignment Sale Season right around to corner, I'm going to share some of my posts from
Consignmentsalequeen.net :
So it's your first time selling at a consignment sale. You've done all your research: read some of my posts, followed pricing guides, read the sale's instructions (about 100 times), asked other sellers from that sale 20+ questions; You've spent many hours washing, sorting, tagging;
your fingers are full of bloody holes (The doctor didn't even prick your finger this much while you were pregnant!),
you have blisters from ironing, and it took 2 hours to drop-off your 150 items. "This better be worth it!" is about the only thing you're thinking... then you find out you made a lot less than you were expecting. "What happened?", "I'm a failure", "Where did it all go?", "That was NOT worth it!"
are all you can think.
Before you give up, I want to offer you some words of encouragement: First and foremost, you are NOT a failure. Trying something new always comes with learning curves. If you're anything like me, there is no such thing as beginner's luck, so you have to keep regrouping and trying again until you have it mastered. Below I have listed some of the top reasons a new seller may have lower sales. See if any of these apply to your recent selling experience:
1. Low Demand Clothes- Most first time sellers are selling infant clothing. Anything under 2T is pretty hard to sell unless it is:
- NWT under $5
- Used, but PRISTINE under $2
- Something special: Halloween costume, High-end holiday wear, etc. under $9
even then they can still be hard to sell a large quantity. Make sure the sale you're selling at has special shopping times for first time moms.
2. No Toys - Toys are one of the easiest and profitable items to sell at a consignment sale (as long as they are priced right). Most fist time sellers are either still using the toys, only have baby toys (Rattles, teethers, etc.) or just forgot to dig through the toy box.
3. No Large Items - Some of the most
in demand items are large play sets, kitchens and tool benches, toy boxes, bookshelves, kid's tables and chairs. Unfortunately, this is probably a lot of the things a first time seller is looking to BUY not sell.
4. Over-priced Baby Equipment - Even with help a lot of first time sellers have trouble pricing their large items. Yes, you paid $220 for that BabyBjorn Bouncer seat and pricing it for $65 follows the '25-50% rule', however no one is going to pay more than $40 (Probably no more than $25 in some markets) for it at a consignment sale. Every market is different in their pricing, so your best bet is to talk with someone who has sold before in your area. The next best thing is to check out my
large item pricing guide. Baby equipment can be some of the quickest selling items just make sure it's priced right.
5. Poorly Displayed Items - Whether it's clothes, toys, or even equipment, if it's not displayed in an appealing, easy-to-see way, it probably will not sell. Remember:
It's all about presentation!
The first step you need to do after a bad season is figure out WHY it happened. You may need to
re-tag, or may just have low-demand items and need to try again once you're selling more in-demand items. I beg you not to give up if you've just had one bad season.
Once you are selling size 2T and up, and have plenty of toys, books, and/or large items to sell, you will see it's ALL worth it! It will just keep getting easier and better from here!!!
Please comment below and let me know how your first season went (Even if you've been selling for many years now), what tips would you give to a first time seller?