Now before you have visions of little old me rummaging through tattered baskets and dusty sweaters, let me assure that this is not the bargain hunting of yore. I am an aficionado of children's consignment events. It's a fairly new business model where organizations or owners will hold consignment sales throughout the year.
My favorite consignment sales are thrown by the Cumberland Community Church Mothers Of Preschoolers (MOPS) group. You can check them out and learn more about the sales here. They organize a spring and a fall sale. In addition to keeping 70% of their profits, sellers have the option of donating unsold merchandise to charity at the end of the sale. Its the best of both worlds! I've sold in 3 sales so far.
Selling is fun, but boy oh boy is shopping THE BEST. You can really find some great deals at the events. Sometimes there are even items brand new with tags on! Usually I focus on clothing for Khyri and Kielle. This year though it all started with one toy that I wanted to get... and activity cube.
Way back in June I was crusing through the Red Dot Boutique aka Target and I came across this: *cue angel music in background*
 |
| THE ACTIVITY CUBE!! |
I was absolutely positive that this was going to be the big gift that I got for Kielle this Christmas. It retails at Target for $59.99. Now me being thrifty, this was a big step for me to pay over $25.00 for a toy. But I kept looking at it every time I went into Target. I had to get this activity cube for my baby girl!
Fast forward to last weekend. I volunteered with the MOPS group to prepare for the upcoming consignment sale. I helped move furniture, stuffed goodie bags, and hung clothes on racks for the sale. It was during my volunteer shift that I spotted in the dimly lit corner not one but two of these activity cubes. I couldn't believe it! Sometime during my shift I managed to sneak away for a moment and get a peek at what the price was - $16! yup $16! So I set off home determined that on the first day of the sale I was going to get the cube.
The sale started at 5:30pm. I arrived at the church at 5:15pm. Dang. A line had already started forming. I was about number 7 in the line and since I was focused and knew exactly what I wanted I felt that I had a pretty good chance that I could get my cube. I mean seriously what are the chances that 2 out of the 6 people in front of me want activity cubes?!!? When the doors opened I struck in the room heading straight to the toy section on the right. At first I couldn't find the cubes. I started getting sad. I felt the tears starting to well up../ but then I located the perfect activity cube sitting under a shelf. I was so happy - no jubilant.. yes I was jubilant! Its not the exact same cube, but its close enough.. and dangit for 40 less dollars... yeah Kielle will still love it. So I grabbed my cube and stuck it in holding so I could continue shopping.
Finding clothes was a cinch because I had written a list on my cellphone of specific items I needed for Khyri and Kielle's wardrobe. Since Khyri has started going to school one extra day, we needed a few more long sleeve shirts and pants. So that was my main focus.
For awhile I was a little iffy about consignment shopping because I didn't know what condition the clothing would be. I am always pleasantly surprised at the good quality of the clothing I get. At this sale, I lucked up and bought mostly top tier name brand items - stuff that I definitely wouldn't have bought regularly. Here is a few of my great finds.
 |
| New With Tags (NWT) Gymboree sweater was $32.50 now $7.00! |
 |
| Janie & Jack sweater vest and oxford shirt only $8! |
 |
| $5 for this whole 3 piece outfit by Powder Bleu |
 |
| Khyri is gonna be styling in this Baby GAP pullover - $4 |
 |
| Pretty in Pink Gorgeous in Green winter coat by Carters only $5! |
 |
| And to think I thought my kids would never be able to wear Osh Kosh - $2! |
 |
| Khyri's first Tommy Hilfiger shirt only $4 |
 |
| Summertime Style in Smartfit sandals retails for $19.99. I got them for $4! |
I stuck to my list and got all the clothes we needed so I was happy. I even managed to squeeze in two puzzle games for Khyri and an additional stand up toy for Kielle. I was pretty happy with my haul. Now I just need to find places to hide the toys until Christmas. They both got a little taste - but they'll still be surprised in three months :-) Children... out of sight out of mind!
 |
| The complete haul! |
My big consignment score included:
- 1 three piece girls outfit
- 1 long sleeve girls shirt
- 1 pair of girls jeans
- 1 girls winter coat
- 3 pairs of tights
- 2 pairs of boys jeans
- 1 pullover lightweight jacket
- 1 sweater vest
- 1 winter sweater
- 1 long sleeve boys shirt
- 2 long sleeve waffle knit layer shirts
- 4 oxford style shirts
- 2 pairs of boys shoes
- 2 puzzles
- 1 stand and play toy
- 1 ACTIVITY CUBE ;-)
There's nothing close to the exhilaration of finding a great deal! Saving money is awesome ahahah. I walked out of the consignment event Thursday having spent $100.50 for 25 items! And remember one of those items was the $16.00 activity cube. Not bad... not bad at all...
