Shopping for the Kids

Over a year and a half ago, I used to work for a children's consignment shop, and then it kind of went sour and I stopped working there. I blogged about it here. I have since looked for other consignment shops, hoping to find something closer to home, but nothing is as good as what I had with her. A friend of mine tried to get me to go 50/50 on opening up our own consignment shop, but she moved way too fast on it and it was at a time when Andrew and I had absolutely no money to spare; how in the hell could I start up a business when I can barely scrounge up enough money to make the next car payment? Plus, she wanted to do it in one weekend and I just cannot fathom how to pull of a consignment sale in just 3 days, not after seeing first-hand how much work is involved with setting up a sale. My friend went ahead with someone else, and they lost money in the sale. Can't say I'm surprised.

Anyway, I still get the flyer from the old consignment shop whenever her Spring and Fall sales come up. I didn't consign or shop at the last 2 sales; I had gotten enough free clothing to last for quite awhile, but now, with Peter quickly out-growing his 18-month sizes, I really needed to shop. Yard sales are a great way to pick up kids' clothing for 25-50 cents apiece, but sometimes, it's hard to find the things you need when you need them right now! After much thought, I decided to go to her 50% off sale on Monday.

It felt a little strange to be there, but my kids needed things and I can't deny that her sale is one of the best places I have ever been to for children's things and at 50% off, I can find plenty of clothes for the kids at sweet prices. I sent the girls off to the racks and told them to find a few clothes each, and I went through the boys' clothes for Peter. I set a limit for no more than $100 to spend. Boss Lady was there and we hugged and caught up a bit, the usual chit-chat when you haven't seen someone in awhile. I'm glad we went, I found some nice clothing for the kids-- they all got 2 swimsuits/trunks each; several tops, bottoms, and dresses per girl; tops, bottoms, sandals and pj's for Peter. I picked up 49 items, so that works out to just about $2 per item. Not too bad, considering a majority of the things were top brand-name quality clothing and in excellent condition.

On the drive back home, I knew I made the right decision not to force myself to work there and bend to her new rules. A hour and a half drive really is a bit long to go one way and with 4 children it's just too much for them. Also, with no bathroom, I would be spending most of my time escorting the kids to the food store next door to use their bathroom. If one kid has to pee, I'd have to take them all with me, whether or not they have to pee. Then as soon as I got back to the shop, I can guarantee you that another kid will pipe up and say they have to pee and it starts all over again. Gretchen pulled her hair out in clumps each time we worked there and her hair is finally nice and thick again. And all of us suffered with the disruption in our meals and home routine. As much as I miss the freebies and the full amount of my consigned items, my family comes first, and it is best that we not work there anymore.

I will, however, try to consign with her in the Fall and unload the closet-full of clothes I have. I never did find anyplace here to sell them and selling at yard sale prices, when I know I can get more selling through her sale, is just not an easy thing to do. I took some clothing to a place that pays you cash right off the bat, but out of 25 outfits, they only took maybe 10 of them and when I asked why they didn't take the others, they just shrugged and never gave me an answer. I know it's not because of stains because I looked them over, so I asked if it was a seasonal thing and they told me they take all seasons any time. I didn't get much for the 10 items they did take. The frustration alone is not worth taking them there.

The kids are happy with what they got and they were happy to see Boss Lady, though they were disappointed not to see any of the other staff kids there (school hours). I am happy to have clothing for them that fit and some are even in sizes that they'll be able to use next year too, provided they don't have growth spurts and shoot up a couple sizes. Sylvia will at least be able to get the hand-me-downs from her older sisters anyway. Everybody is happy and I didn't have to break the bank for clothing.
-