Children's Orchard

[megthewonderful]

I'm sure some fellow DISers have sold used children's clothes to Children's Orchard. Did you get a fair price for all of the clothes you brought in or should you have just sold them on consignment, donated them to charity or passed them on to family and friends? I've heard pretty good things and when I called to set up an appointment to sell my stuff they are backlogged for two months! So, my appointment isn't until July and I am wondering if it is worth it.

 

[sunshine1178]

The Children's Orchard near me closed recently. But, it went through an ownership change before it closed, and it seemed like the prices and policies changed then, too. If they are all independently owned/operated, I'm not sure that you'll be able to get a good idea from the people here, unless they happen to be selling to the store near you.

Having said that, the store near me (south suburbs of Chicago) was hard to sell to, IMO. They weren't buying any clothes for 12 months or smaller, because they had so many already. They bought Halloween costumes and winter clothes for one week only, and the appointments filled quickly. I only managed to sell them a stroller, which they paid $20 for. I had paid $14 on clearance, and then used it for a year, so I was pretty pleased.

If I was in your situation, I would try to sell the clothes to them once, and then decide if the money was worth all of your time. It probably is, because you can take the "rejects" right to a donation center afterwards, so it won't be any extra trouble loading the car, etc. But whether a consignment place would be better or not, I really can't say.

 

[WDW4TheGirls]

I am also from NH, and I have sold to Children's Orchard. They typically don't buy clothes that are less than 12 mos size because they have so much. They will tell you individually what they are paying for each piece, so you can then decide if you want to not sell and bring home some of the items. If it is anything brand name (Gymboree, Gap, or boutique) and in good condition, you are probably better off on ebay. Also, CO will not take anything that shows any marks, so sometimes I have sold these things on ebay and just disclosed well the condition of the clothes and listed them as "play condition". If you are in southern NH, you can also try Mother and Child in Nashua, but they pay you AFTER the item has sold, not before like CO does.

 

[megthewonderful]

I am in Southern NH! Thanks for the tip about Mother and Child. I'm going to look into it today.

I think I need to figure ebay out. I have yet to sell anything that way. Usually I sell things through a yard sale each year, but I was hoping to clean out more of my house this summer than usual since we are hoping to buy a larger house in the next year.

 

[musclemouse]

They will buy your items from you that they are in need of and 1/4 of the original price. They do have listing prices for just about anything. Clothes...depending on name brands which they usually don't have trouble accepting. Larger items as well. Depending on the room available in their store. They do go through periods where they buy buy buy and then slow down. I know that lady that runs our local store and found her at a Mom2Mom sale I was working at....she was buying for her store. ??? Anyway...I love childrens orchard for buying but not for selling.

I mentioned Mom2Mom sales. They are located here in Michigan. We rent tables and then sell sell sell. I had very little to sell and made over $150! $26went to the organizers. But it was well worth it! If you don't have anything like that in your state...see about organizing one yourself. To get an idea of what it's about here is the website... http://www.mom2momlist.com/