Ways to sell baby/kid clothing

[DIS B]

My daughter has some nice clothes and accessories. Most are Baby Gap and I've tried doing the consignment route and I feel like it isn't the most efficient way. Also, I just bought her the Minnie dress from Disney and the ears for Halloween. My daughter is only 21 months, so she won't use it as dress up. It's the real deal Minnie outfit, similar to the princess outfits they sell. I don't think the consignment shop would be the best place to sell it.

What do you recommend for selling her stuff?

 

[jillily]

I recommend ebay. It takes some time to upload all the information but there is a high resale value on brand name clothes such as Gap & Gymboree. I would suggest listing a whole outfit together rather than each individual piece.

 

[3angelsmom]

I recommend ThredUp. They may not have the absolute best cash return, but it is definitely the most efficient for me. I tried ebay and it took way too long to iron, photograph, and list everything, when not all of it would sell and most wouldn't sell at a price I considered worth it for all the work involved.

For ThredUp, they send you a postage paid bag and you just literally stuff it with clothes and send it back. They only take 12 months + and name brands. I got $3-5 on most items, a bit more for sweaters and items new with tags. It's better than what I can make at the consignment shops in my area. OP, this might not work for you now since your daughter is young, but keep it in mind for the future.

 

[mousefan5]

I not sure if you have a Facebook account but you could check to see if there is a local garage sale group. We have a large and active group. It is easy to post on and items are picked up by the buyer. Seller sets the price. No other fees. It may be worth a try.

 

[DIS B]

I not sure if you have a Facebook account but you could check to see if there is a local garage sale group. We have a large and active group. It is easy to post on and items are picked up by the buyer. Seller sets the price. No other fees. It may be worth a try.

I don't have Facebook, but a friend of mine told me about a site that has a limited number of members and it is mostly moms who buy, sell, or trade things.

Also, for the eBay recommendation, do you sell like a group of say 12-18 months stuff or do you break it by outfit for the best results?

 

[jillily]

Definately by size and by what the current season is. You will probally make more money listing by outfit rather than all together especially if its name brand.

 

[RangerPooh]

We have a consignment shop in our town that specializes in kids and maternity clothes. I've sold a few items there and got 50% of the sale price in store credit. It took awhile but I recently went in there for a sale and learned I had $30 on store credit!

We also gave a Facebook group in our area (ours is called my Girlfriends Closet) where moms post items for sale. Think online yard sale. It can be hit or miss but I have a few girl friends that do very well in selling their child's out grown clothing and toys. Ask your friends if they know of a similar group in your area. Otherwise there's always Craig's List.

 

[girlsma]

In our area (southeast Michigan), we have Mom 2 Mom sales. They are hosted by groups (churches, schools PTA, cheerleading, etc) as fundraisers. The host group will sell tables ($20-$25 each) to the sellers and charge admission for buyers. It is basically a indoor garage sale for kids stuff. The host group will also have a 'big ticket' room for cribs, strollers, bikes, etc..

It is a HUGE, HUGE hit in our area and a big money maker.

here is the link for the lists of current shows:

http://www.mom2momlist.com/list/fall.shtml

NOTE: The list is small right now, because most of the sales are over, but in early fall and spring, the list is huge!

 

[tzeitel]

On Ebay, smaller sizes (anything under 2T) don't always do well - even with nicer brands. I would separate the really nice outfits (do you have matching accessories?) and do those. Then the rest I would make a lot by size, same for shoes. For Gymboree items make sure to include the line name. Gap now has line names but they are not super necessary.

Right now used clothes are not doing great since ppl are looking for Christmas gifts (used toys do well though). If you have anything that would pass as a holiday dress I would list them now. The Minnie dress I would save for September and list it for Halloween.

If you go the Ebay route I would look at completed listings for items similar to what you have. That will give you a good idea what to list and how much to ask for. You have 50 free listing a month (with free buy it now option) so you could always try it and see if you like it - good luck!

 

[jenlynn0808]

A couple weeks ago one of the Mom's at the bus stop mentioned a FB page for our city and a couple surrounding cities where people post things they want to sell. So I gave it a shot, I was shocked! I've made a good amount of money so far, about all of one kids xmas budget. As someone else said, it is sort of an online yard sale. I have had some things sell in a matter of minutes, others I'm still posting. So it depends on what it is, what you are asking, and what people are looking for.

 

[esk]

There really is no rhyme or reason to Ebay. I have been selling DD's outgrown clothes on there for 7 years now.

Sometimes, I make crazy money....like when someone bought a DisneyStore Cinderella dress and cape for $120....yep, I paid about $50 for the two of them brand new.

But then, a Ralph Lauren 3T dress wouldn't sell. But my son's Gymboree button down sold for $12, more than what I paid new.

I have listed in lots, but also single items. Be careful on shipping....I won't personally bid on anything with what I feel is ridiculous shipping....like $5 shipping for a leotard. That's going to cost $2 in a First Class envelope, and if you count the envelope and label, $2.50.

Weigh the items before you list them and go to usps.gov and figure out shipping to somewhere across the US from you, not in a big city, but a smaller metro area like Kansas City or Ann Arbor, and type in the weight. I have a small postal scale so it's easy for me. Anything over 1 lb is Priority Mail and starts at about $7.50. If I do a lot, I'll break it into 2 packages under 1lb each and charge $6 to keep costs down for buyers. I only charge for shipping, what it costs me.

Listing is generally free, but if you sell it, you owe Ebay 10% and paypal another % (don't know how much). I figured out that I had to sell items for $4.99 to make it worth it to me....that's about $4 coming back to me. That does not include shipping. So I don't list things at .99, because they may sell at .99 and then I get like .75 on it.

I don't sell Target, JCP, Kohl's on Ebay. Nobody wants it. I sell Ralph Lauren, Gap, Hanna Andersson, Hartstrings, Gymboree, Disney, Tommy H, and brands like that.

I do Ebay because the one time I went to the consignment store, they were nasty, and offered me $2 for a Ralph Lauren NWT shirt. Sold it on Ebay for $16.