Once Upon a Child

[wtrmlnlabs]

That's crazy. We don't have that place around here but we have a Kid to Kid store that does the same. You take the stuff in, they plug it into a computer and get a price they'll pay. I took in some clothes and toys, NOTHING like what you are saying you had so much!!! I got just over $30 for what I took in. Most of the clothes weren't name brand, and they didn't take much of that. The toys brought in most of the money, but I didn't have that much. I certainly would have laughed at them and left!!! UGH

 

[robinb]

Find a consignment sale in your area. You will probably make a couple of hundred $$ from your stuff instead of $41 and that is with the 40% the sale takes off the top. I love the seasonal consignment sales in our area - plus you set your own price!

I was going to recommend a consignment sale too. I sell at Just Between Friends sales and get 70% of my asking price.

 

[SaraJayne]

OP, I've had the same experience at Once Upon a Child. That was our last time in the store.

If I bring in 7 brand new pair of Levi's (literally, 4 pair still had the tags and three looked brand new), don't offer me $10 and expect me to take it! Then I got attitude because I choose to walk away.

No thanks.

 

[shinysparklybubbles]

I am going to give the one by the moorestown mall a try. I have some items I have been listing on Craigslist that haven't been selling.

There Is also one (different name ) in Marlton Dragonflies and Ladybugs. I've never sold with either (not done having kids yet) and there is 2 big consignment sales that are twice a year. PM me if you want the details.

 

[Harters2WDW]

I use a similar store called Kid to Kid and they have always been pretty fair on their quotes... however, for items I think could be of particular value I usually sell on Ebay because I can make more money

Richmonder here too! I was wondering if Kid to Kid was any better than Once Upon a Child. I have a box of things I need to get rid of! So it's worth going there?

 

[NYEmomma]

They're notorious for paying next to nothing for their items (and ironically the sale sticker they put on them isn't THAT much less compared to buying new). I'd try to find a small, local resale store if you want to go that route as they typically pay better.

The resale stores are good if you want the items gone and gone NOW and don't care about the price.

If you want to make some decent money off of your items -- and it's TOTALLY possible to -- then use Craigslist or a resale group on Facebook.

 

[BellePrincessBelle]

I actually got banned from a local Once Upon A Child years ago. I brought in a Brand New Peg Perego Double Stroller that was $600 new & they offered me $50. While I was walking out with it after I said no another shopper came up & said I'll give you $400 cash for it. I said sure lets take this outside & the owner started yelling "Don't ever come back in my store again.". Yup no need to ever go back. They offer garbage for sale & pennies for decent stuff.

 

[delmar411]

ours isn't as bad as most ppl's I guess. They don't pay a ton but I normally get back more than I paid on new stuff and I don't really care what I get for clothes that I'm not going to bother to sell on my own anyway.

I only ask for item by item break downs if I'm looking for a specific amount to get back for certain items.

I'm thinking what they offer has to do due with what they make. If all they do is buy and they don't get anything sold then they can't offer much money for things, yk?

Ours has a very solid in and out so their offering prices are better. Like I was given $60 for the zooper stroller I brought in. I paid less than that new for it (snagged it on an amazing clearance sale at TRU.com). And it was sold super quick too so they are turning the big stuff quick. I had already put it up on CL w/o any offer so I was thrilled to get so much for it from OUAC.

 

[goofyredraider]

I've had hit or miss sales with ours.
When my kids were younger, they dressed head-to-toe in Gymboree....this was before the company was sold, and everything was a little more "detailed". I used to make several thousand a season selling on eBay (again, before the fee increases and before they gave all the power to the buyer only).
After that, I started selling on clothing boards, and shortly after that, I stopped buying Gymboree / GAP exclusively. It was just too stressful and too much money invested in clothing...and it took me years to figure that out.
I cringe now when I think about how much $$ I was spending on too many clothes!!

Now, my boys wear Crazy 8 and Old Navy ...and my daughter wears Old Navy and Justice. I buy at MEGA-sale prices. I resell what I can at OUAC when it is outgrown- take what I can get (usually anywhere from $100-200 for 3 kids clothes!), and then garage sale the rest. Whatever doesn't sell there, I donate. My BFF does consignment sales most of the time and does pretty well (she still buys some Gymboree - and her daughter wears Justice almost exclusively).

 

[OceanAnnie]

ours isn't as bad as most ppl's I guess. They don't pay a ton but I normally get back more than I paid on new stuff and I don't really care what I get for clothes that I'm not going to bother to sell on my own anyway.

I only ask for item by item break downs if I'm looking for a specific amount to get back for certain items.

I'm thinking what they offer has to do due with what they make. If all they do is buy and they don't get anything sold then they can't offer much money for things, yk?

Ours has a very solid in and out so their offering prices are better. Like I was given $60 for the zooper stroller I brought in. I paid less than that new for it (snagged it on an amazing clearance sale at TRU.com). And it was sold super quick too so they are turning the big stuff quick. I had already put it up on CL w/o any offer so I was thrilled to get so much for it from OUAC.

I asked and they wouldn't give me an item by item price. Would not budge on that one. It was a lump sum. Take it or leave it.

Once I took it and regretted it. And years later I went back, I don't know why I expected a different result but it was the exact same. I left with my stuff. I've bought a few things from them. But I wouldn't sell through them. In my experience it was a rip off. Different places, different experiences I guess.

 

[Shanna-like-Banana]

ggeeezzz, I guess I learned my lesson and should have asked here before I even bothered with them.

I did have a few of the itmes on Craigslist, mostly the stuff from DD's room.

Our neighborhood has an annual yard sale each spring, I think we'll just keep adding stuff to the pile for that. Last year, we sold all of our other big baby items and clothes and we made over $600, but we had loads and loads of stuff.

They did give me a few prices on the items. The one that stuck out the most was the Pack n' Play, she said they were giving me $7.50 for that. hhhmmmmm hellloooo, the used kids jeans you sell here are $8. Are you trying to tell me that 2 pairs of jeans is equal to the entire pack n' play set up ?

It was a tad embarrassing having to haul everything back out the car. I even had another mom come up to me and asked why I was putting everthing back in the car. She was shocked when I told her how much they were offering.



When I walked in the door, a few girls behind the counter were talking with the manager. One of them had mistakenly paid the wrong customer the wrong amount. They had accidentely paid another customer a higher bid than they should have, and when the correct customer returned they tried paying her the lower bid from the other customer.

 

[fairestoneofall]

OUAC has never been great with what they pay. I learned that when my now ten-year-old was young. Now, I send my children's nicer stuff to a friend who ebays it for me (it's great--she photographs it, lists it, ships it out, etc. and I get Paypal). for the things that I don't re-sell, I either donate it or hand down the things (in good condition) to my niece or a friend.

 

[clairemolly]

I have found that with clothing, it is actually more worth it to me from a time and money standpoint to itemize what I donate to Goodwill and then list it on my taxes. I'd rather get $1-2 tax credit by donating to them than deal with the headache of pennies for the same item at OUAC. Sets of gymbo stuff I may list on ebay, and the gear I am listing on CL, but I've been doing this with my own clothes for years and it is much simpler.

 

[Styx Fan]

I have had the same experience with OUAC here. Including the attitude.

In my area we have what are called Mom-to-Mom sales. They are usually put on by churches or schools as fund raisers. I have sold at them may times and helped put a couple on at my church.

The facility sells table space...around here usually $20 for an 8 foot table which they provide. Kind of like a flea market or a craft show. The renter then can sell whatever kids items they can fit into that space. You can rent more than 1 table if you need to, and also rent space for a rack next to your table (usually around $5). It is wild how much you can stuff into that space by using the space under the table and putting things like crates on the table. There is also a large item room they will staff and sell items for you, and they take a small percentage or charge a buck or 2 per item. The facility charges an entrance fee to shoppers of around a dollar. usually they also sell snacks/lunch items. The sale is not very long, like 9-1 on a Saturday morning. Depending on what you have, you can make some great cash. Prices are usually a bit more than a garage sale, but less than a resale shop. Fun to shop at also....when my kids were younger they wore tons of clothes purchased there. In the spring and fall you can find quite a few every weekend.

 

[WeLuvDCL]

I've had great experiences with the OUAC by my in-laws. I only take clothes and shoes though. And, I probably don't care as much about the price I get because most of my DD clothes were bought at GoodWill for $.79 or $1.49 to begin with. Or, I bought them for $1-$3 on clearance from Wal-mart or Kmart.

I've gotten to know what they will take and what they won't take so I leave with very few "unacceptable" items. Outfits, sets and dresses along with name brand jeans/shorts/skirts. Don't even bother taking shirts or non-jean pants/shirts/skirts (that are not part of an outfit). Really doesn't matter if they are brand new, they rarely take them.
I would never take big items like strollers, high chairs, etc. You will be insulted with what they offer you. I sold all those on Craigslist along with my carseats and larger toys.

 

[Derby4me]

So glad I read is thread. I was actually planning on trying to sell a few baby items this weekend, but will just list them on craigslist instead! I've shopped there a few times but felt that some of their prices were to high. For lots of their items, I'm able to get a better deal by looking at sales racks and purchasing new.

 

[disneyofcourse]

Yup, totally normal for this store. I went with a friend to sell her baby stuff and she walked out with everything she came in with. The amount they offer is a joke. She said no thanks that's a little bit too low and they got so irritated and rude towards her. All she said was literally "No thanks, that's a little low" and they acted so offended.

 

[Ioansgirl]

I've only had good experiences with them so far, well maybe not on the attitude of employees but on prices at least. I am really surprised that they offered you such a low price. I was given $40 for one bin which included clothes my daughter had grown out of an a few toys (v-tech, blocks) that sort of thing. I was surprised by some things they turned down but overall have had a good experience with them. The only thing that has surprised me is that we recently moved and at our new store they only give store credit for clothes, not cash.

 

[DisneyFansInLINY]

I just sold some items to them store. Yes, they do not pay well. It is because they only pay you 40% of their selling price. However, it does help families that cannot afford to pay retail prices for baby and kids items. So you are doing a good thing and walking out of there with some pocket money. I sold the a brand new in box Safety First playard manufactured in 2011 that had never been opened and they gave me $22 for it. I may not have gotten what it is worth but knowing someone less unfortunate will buy it, makes me happy.

 

[MaleficentRN]

I had the same experience there. I was offered pennies for high end children clothes, (Gymboree, Ralph Lauren, Hanna Andersson) I took it because I didn't feel like hauling it back home. That was the last time I took clothes there. I found an independant that offers more money. I'd rather give it to Goodwill then consign to them again. I understand profit margin, but it wasn't worth it to me.