I spent yesterday morning in a small corner of hell known as the mom-to-mom sale. I don't know what it is about hanging out in a church basement, but I always feel gross afterwards. Too much old dust and no airflow, I guess. This was the first time I'd ever participated in such an event, and I'm not sure I'd do it again. It was a lot of work for me and in the end, I made $107. Take out the $25 I had to pay for the pleasure of having a table and the $15 I spent on a few things for the littles, and it wasn't really worth my time and effort.
I did learn some lessons, though, so I thought I'd post some tips for anyone who might like some advice.
1. Most people don't want to buy high-end stuff, even majorly marked down. The woman next to me was selling a Peg Perego Pliko stroller in excellent used condition (I checked) for $100. The stroller would retail for around $350, but no one really even looked at it.
Not to toot my own horn but I have a lot of really lovely, name brand girls' clothing in like-new condition. I admittedly had a bit of a shopping addiction while on maternity leave with my daughter. So an outfit that I paid, maybe $30 for at H&M, I priced at $6 - and no takers. So my advice is to price clothing at $1 per piece.
2. What people DO seem to want to buy are items priced at 4 for $1.00. I had a bin of bibs, socks, tights, and baby hats, and people really seemed to want to look at that stuff. I guess because it was cheap.
3. People don't like to rummage through bins, so display as much stuff as you can. I tried to do this but I just had so much clothing that it didn't work well. Get one of those garment racks to display your things, for sure. I also leabed that it's best to sell stuff for the current season. I had a lot of summer stuff but kids' sizing can be difficult so for a sale in the fall/winter, I'd stick with fall/winter items. One exception to that is bathing suits since babies and kids will often need those for vacations and swimming lessons.
4. Keep your expectations low. I went in expecting to come out with around $300 so I was disappointed to make much less. Also, get a float of change so you're not scrambling. I got $100 in $5 bills, loonies, and twonies. But that was too much and you can get by with probably half that.
5. What people DO seem to want to buy are TOYS! The lady next to me sold most of her stuff because it was almost all toys. Time of year may be a factor too because Christmas is 2 months away. They also seem to want to buy dressy outfits in good condition. I find most of the dressy stuff does tend to be in great shape because it's barely worn. Also, name-brand shoes in good shape. I had a pair of See Kai Run shoes that were snatched up quickly. Oddly enough, my Robeez didn't sell so perhaps they were priced too high at $8.
6. Bring WATER. I forgot and I absolutely needed it. Bonehead move on my part.
7. Don't bring too much stuff! Less is more since it can be displayed easily.
I'm going to take all of my own advice and perhaps participate in one more sale. After that, I'm going to give away any nice outfits to people I know will love them, and give the rest to charity...or maybe save it for a garage sale in the summer.
