Goodwill Outlet Review

So I FINALLY went to the Goodwill Outlet in St. Louis.

I was really really excited.  I even brought my gloves!

My overall opinion...

Meh.  I was pretty disappointed.

I really didn't have much fun... EVERY 20 minutes when they rolled out the new bins it was like Black Friday in the ghetto.  I actually never even got a chance to touch the items when they rolled out, it was THAT crazy.  I consider myself pretty hard core when it comes to bargains but I will NOT resort to pushing people and I soon figured out that is the ONLY way to get the good stuff.

Boo. Hiss.

All was not lost though, the walls were lined with bins that had books thrown in them and I was able to find some nice children's books for 49 cents per pound.

I also met a nice African man from Ghana who told me about his shoe selling business.  He and several other men go to the outlet every day and buy tons and tons of shoes and then ship them to Africa.  I'm guessing it's pretty lucrative.  He told me it gets very "rough" at the outlet.  He said that several times... I'm glad I didn't witness any fist fights, that would have ruined my day.

So will I be going back?  Maybe, maybe not.

Would I recommend it to my "normal" friends?  Never.

Would I recommend it to my hard core thrifting friends?   I'd say it's worth it to go once but you might be disappointed.  In my opinion there are way better outlets for finding treasures.

It's That Time Again!

Is it just me or does consignment sale season reappear in a blink?!

I'm slowly going through tubs, organizing and preparing my items to hang.

Are you selling at a sale this spring?

Are you a veteran or a newbie?

What are your sales and inventory goals for this spring sale?

I'd love to hear!  Good luck and just keep tagging. :)

Children's Book Lots

 

 

Want to know what a sure sale for me is on eBay???

 

Children's. Book. Lots.

 

I was just looking back at my records, and since I started selling on eBay again (about 18 months ago) I realized that I have sold every single children's book lot that I've listed.  And I've listed 70 lots! 

 

So I've made a believer out of myself. ;) 

 

Children's book lots, in clean gently pre-owned condition sell great on eBay!  A few of the sets I've had to sit on for a few months, but they've all eventually sold and always for very good money considering that my investment for books is usually a quarter.

 

If you have the patience and room to store and collect books to make lots YOU SHOULD DO IT! 

 

It's been great for me.

 

Good night! :)

 

p.s. Want to know what books sell?  Easy peasy... do a search for book lots in the children's category on eBay and you'll get all kinds of good ideas for what to pick up while you're out shopping.

2012 Humdinger of a Fall Consignment Sale Summary

2012 Fall Summary

1386 sold 92%
117 unsold
1503 total

Total Sales - $7,873.90
My Earnings - $5,511.73

Ok peeps.  Thanks for the interest and questions... In a nutshell, all I do is price competitively.  Discount all my items.  And probably the most important unique thing is that I don't sell ANY crap.  Like, at all.

I don't waste my time with cheap brand clothes (I'll sell Target if it's an a trendy super cute item).  I don't hardly ever sell Arizona or Jelly Beans, etc.  I stick to name brand on about 95% of my clothing items.  I sell Gap, Justice, Gymboree, Old Navy (not a lot), real Levi's not Walmart version, Ralph Lauren, Carters, Columbia, Speedo, fancy dresses from department stores, etc.

Back to the not selling any crap... I MEAN this.
I think that's what sets me apart from lots of other consignors.
I really really really try hard to only sell VERY gently used, EXCELLENT condition, CURRENT (like purchased new within the last 3 years max - not outdated) items.

Non clothing items, same thing.  Excellent condition! Complete! Working batteries!  And most importantly I CLEAN my items to look like new.  We're talking, use a toothbrush, toothpick, cotton swab, magic eraser, elbow grease, car wash (seriously. for strollers etc)... whatever it takes to make the items look new again.

I'm not trying to sound all awesome or anything, just trying to be super honest about why I think I've had so much success with selling at consignment sales.  I have consistently sold over 90% for several years now.  This was by far the most I've ever dropped off so I was kind of nervous and pleasantly surprised when I again sold 92% of my 1503 items?!

I know you'll ask what my cost is... probably about $2,000.  Remember I have three children and sell all of their outgrown items every season (along with the items I purchase strictly to resell) and I don't keep track of the original cost of my own children's items.

Oh, and a question was asked about limits.  My sale has a limit of 600 clothing items. No limit on other items.  Because I am a team leader (like a super volunteer) and because I have proven myself by selling consistently over 90% for years, the sale owners (dear friends of mine btw) allow me to bring more than 600 clothing items.

If you want to know about my pricing or where I buy items, you can read previous posts that I've written on those topics.

Here is a more detailed report of the items I sold:

Category Breakdown

Girls Clothing

611 sold 92%
51 unsold

Boys Clothing

404 sold 95%
23 unsold

Maternity Clothing

33 sold 80%
8 unsold

Baby Equipment

26 sold 100%
0 unsold

Costumes

24 sold 86%
4 unsold

Toys

183 sold 100%
0 unsold

Other

105 sold 77%
31 unsold

Aaaaand this post has taken me over an hour to write. :(  Which sadly I just cannot give that kind of time commitment to a blog that is purely just for the fun of me telling people about my treasure hunting adventures.  Oh, and I earned $7.38 from google ads so far this year... gettin' rich. ;)  Life is incredibly stressful and crazy for us right now.  Please understand and forgive me... I won't be posting much for a while.  It's been 9 months of my husband living out of town for anesthesia clinicals and we have 9 more months to go.  Maybe someday I'll have more time, but right now I do not.  Thanks for reading.

I'll still blog but as you've noticed... it won't be consistent. At all.

Hope you're all rocking consignment sales, garage sales, and eBay! :)

The Van. Seats out. Stuffed full of clothes for drop off?!

750 actually turned into 1503

I actually ended up dropping off 1503 items at the JBF consignment sale.

Yeah.

I'm totally crazy.

Buuuut...

It paid off.

BIG. TIME.

Like, biggest check they've ever written, big time.

Oh, and I sold 92% of my items!

I promise I'll TRY to hurry up and post with a recap of how absolutely supremely awesome I did at this sale as soon as I can.

750

I have 750 items tagged.  All clothing.

I'm guessing I have another 100-200 clothing items and then I can start on everything else.

3 weeks?!

I'm freaking out juuust a skosh.

Are ya'll getting ready?  Are you selling or shopping at any sales this fall?  How many items?

Swamped!

Hi World! 

All I can say is that I have probably 1200+ items to tag for the consignment sale coming up in about 5 weeks so I have ZERO blog time. 

I hope to report back after the sale. 

Praying for rain.

Hope you're all enjoying these last days of summer!