Welcome to our series on 31 Ways to Earn Extra Cash Before Christmas. In this series, I’m highlighting simple and legitimate ways you can earn extra cash over the next few weeks for those of you who could use a little extra cash to help you pay for Christmas — or just for your living expenses if you’re in a tight spot right now.
If you’ve found a great way to make extra cash before Christmas that doesn’t require an outlay of cash upfront, please email me your tip. I’d love to hear it and possibly share it during this series!
Guest post by Carrie Hurst at My Favorite Finds
For about four years, I have been cleaning out my closet every season with the goal of taking items to our local consignment shop. At first, I thought it was cool that I could go in there with a lot of stuff I didn’t want, maybe make a little bit of money and they would donate for me what wouldn’t sell. It was a win-win situation.
Within the last two years or so, I’ve become more serious and focused on what I take to our local consignment shop or our local kid’s consignment sale and what I donate so that I can get the best value for my time and money. Here are some ideas if you are considering consignment:
Always be sorting your clothes.
I sort our clothes (kids and adults) in three ways: a) To sell b) to donate and c) to throw out. I don’t wait until the end or beginning of a season to sort clothes into the above three categories; I do this on an ongoing basis.
I am also fairly realistic with my clothes. If I haven’t worn it at all that season or if it doesn’t fit right, I don’t keep it.
Be organized about it.
I keep a bin in my daughter’s room for things which will go to the yearly consignment sale. Anytime the kids outgrow something, or it is out of season, it goes in the bin if it’s able to be sold.
I keep a garbage bag or a big shopping bag in the laundry room for the clothes I donate to our local thrift shop. Finally, I also keep a storage bin in the laundry room for the adult clothes that I take to the consignment store.
Be loyal to one or two stores.
When I walk into Worth Repeating, the local adult consignment shop I sell my extra clothes to, the lovely ladies there know me by name. They also know that I want to know what my store credit is, and they know that I’ll probably saunter through the kids’ section and probably find something. I love that.
I am also signed up for their email list and their Facebook page. That way, I know for sure when they are taking items. Since I typically have a few things sorted and ready to go, I can easily take them with me and drop them off at Worth Repeating when I’m out driving.
Buy new with resale in mind.
If I’m going to make an investment in my clothes, I’m going to get my money’s worth. That also means that when I buy something, I consider the brand and quality of the item because chances are, it’ll end up at the consignment shop in a few seasons.
This is especially true of my kids’ clothes. I have learned that the brands such as Carter’s, Gymboree, GAP, Children’s Place, etc., not only yield more at the consignment shop, they also sell faster. That doesn’t mean I pay full price at these stores — I shopped at the Children’s Place last summer and bought a few things for my daughter during their Monster Sale for $0.99. I am sure that I can easily sell those items and gain $3 at least at Worth Repeating.
Also, I don’t take the tags off of something until I know for sure my children or I am going to wear it. Clothes with tags attached yield more because they are “brand new”.
Inspect your items before taking them in.
I consider if I would buy the item or not. I make sure the zippers work, the buttons are buttoned and that most of the clothes are on hangers. Not only is the consignment shop trying to make a profit, but so am I. The better condition the clothes are in, the higher they’ll price the item, making it more profit for me.
Be realistic about your profit.
I don’t consign my items to make additional income. If I get a month’s worth of weekly Starbucks visits out of the deal, I’m happy.
I don’t like having or going to garage sales — so I have the ladies at Worth Repeating do the job for me! Thankfully, they’re honest and will tell me what will sell and what won’t and I have learned to be okay with that.
I will call them about every two weeks and ask what my store credit is. Sometimes it’s $12, sometimes it’s $30. It just varies.
Take your seasonal items in as soon as you know they are accepting them.
When I get an email or see on Facebook that Worth Repeating is accepting items for the upcoming season, I’ll be ready within a few days to drop the bulk of my items off. I consider the fact that my items could spend a few days to possibly a week — depending how much they have to sort through and price — in the back room before it reaches the floor.
I want to get it there ASAP so that they can get it out and hopefully it can sell soon. They are on a 90-day consignment. So, after 30/60/90 days, the price is reduced.
If I take a lot of summer items in mid July — even though they’re still accepting them — more than likely I’ll get them back because they didn’t sell. Ninety days from mid-July is mid-October. By then, my items could be supremely discounted and people aren’t shopping for summer clothes anymore.
What will happen to your items that don’t sell?
At Worth Repeating, they’ll either donate them to a worthy local cause, or they’ll give them back to you. I decide based on the group of items I have dropped off if I want them donated or returned.
Most of the time, I have the kids’ clothes returned so I can possibly sell them at the local consignment sale. I usually have the adult clothes donated.
I figure that if I didn’t want to wear it so much that I was hoping to consign it, or if it didn’t fit, I don’t want it back. But since I have a possibility of selling the kids’ clothes at the consignment sale or at the consignment store the next season, I go ahead and take them back to hopefully sell later.
Store your items neatly at the end of the season.
As I weed out what my children will be able to wear next fall/winter, I store the out-of-season clothes in plastic bins with lids. I wash, dry and neatly fold their clothes that are going to the consignment shop next fall and put them in a stack in the basement.
I won’t remember what’s in those containers two weeks from now, let alone next fall. So, I make sure they are folded and ready to go when the season rolls around to take them to the shop.
My name is Carrie. I am a pastor’s wife, mom to twin boys and an 18-month-old daughter. I also work full-time outside of our home. I love to find ways to save money, be a better parent and a better Christian example to others. I’ve been a MSM reader/follower for over a year, and I’ve learned so much. If you have a chance, I’d love for you to visit my blog, My Favorite Finds.
Kendel says
Did I miss the last two days of this? It says 31 ways but there are only 29 days.
Crystal says
Day 30 is coming tonight and 31 should be tomorrow. 🙂
Ruth says
I wondered when consignment shops would make it to the 31 days list! I love them. I’ve been consigning for about 5 years or so. We live in a small retirement community and a lot of ladies dress rather upscale compared to me; therefore the consignment stores are a little pickier I think than most. But I have been able to sell quite a bit, donate the rest and make a few network connections that way. Also the $ I make I frequently give away to those less fortunate, once it was a lady I just met that just got out of prison and was trying to start her life over. She had no clothes! I gave her a $50 credit at a consignment store. I have also taken my elderly mother in law’s clothes, jewelry, belts and shoes down to consign and given her the money. Kind of an odd ministry but it works! I can’t say enough good things about consigning.
Kristel from Healthy Frugalista says
I consider consignment shops a place to trade my unwanted clothes for something I want. I never take the money for my clothes. I let my credit build. I love the idea that I can go in and buy whatever I want because I have credit. It’s a way I treat myself.
Here’s a smart tip if you have a sluggish or sticky zipper on a garment you are wanting to sell. Put a little shaving cream on it to lubricate it. It works like a charm!
Ruth says
Wow that’s a great tip. I have lots of purses with that problem especially.
Brandy says
I have consigned my boys’ clothing twice a year, for the past two years. I use the money I make to buy their clothes for that current season. A word of advice from my experience. I have sold at a very large franchise, and also at a local consignment event started by local moms. While I do love both franchises, I have had more selling success at the smaller event. I also retain a little more of my own profit at this smaller event.
Erin says
I have not tried consignment, but I have tried Once Upon a Child, and I would not recommend them at all. I had four new items that I took in late summer: a Roca Baby snowsuit, a Children’s Place snowsuit, and two pair of shoes, all new with tags. They said offers were “computer generated” and would be up to 40 percent of what they would sell the items for. I browsed around and eveything seemed seriously overpriced, so I assumed that I would get a good offer, since it was the beginning of the season and they were new items for which I should theoretically get 40 percent of retail. The offer was $19 and change, which wasn’t horrible, but I didn’t sell because we had a yardsale coming up and I figured I could do better. I sold each pair of shoes for $5 (the store’s offer had been $1.20 and .60). It was hot and the snowsuits didn’t sell. Usually we pack up the “good” leftovers for the next year’s sale, but we’re burned out on yard sales, so I took them back to Once Upon A Child, thinking I’d get the original offer, minus $1.80 for the shoes, and be done with it. Well, this time, their “computer-generated” offer was $5 for one, and the other was rejected entirely due to a stain. When I asked about the stain, they couldn’t even find it, so once again, I took the stuff home and posted on Craigslist. When we had a cold snap, I reposted and sold one for $10 within minutes of posting. Once I’m tired of looking at the other, I’ll donate to Goodwill. Honestly, the writeoff is usually worth more than the cash you’d get for selling.
Sarah says
For making some extra money on childrens clothes I have great luck with a site called thredup. You send for a prepaid bag and then fill it with childrens clothes 12 mths and up. You dont have to sort it any certain way. They have a list of what they accept on their website. Then once they have received it they give you money for it if they can use it on their site or they donate the item if they can’t use it. You can spend the money on their site or you can request the money in Paypal. I think I got $46.00 for the last bag I sent in. I think its a great easy way to clean out childrens clothes and get something back for them! Plus, if they can’t use the items it gets donated. Perfect!
Sarah Tiani says
I follow a similar process of always preparing, and in fact for the past few weeks I have visited our consignment store almost weekly to drop things off.
I have one thing I do differently-I used to put my consignment items in bins, but found after a few months in the attic I needed to re-wash and/or iron them. Now, I put things straight on wire hangers, and had my husband put up a piece of rod between trusses in the attic. The clothes stay clean, smooth, and ready to consign and I just go up and pull down what they are currently accepting!
Jenny says
Just hear them mention you and your great idea on GMA! That is awesome!
Victoria says
I have not had much luck at consignment stores with adult clothes but I have with my children’s clothes. You really do need to try out a few stores until you find a good fit for your style. I like them because currently we live in a neighborhood that is not the best for hosting yard sales in so this way I can still make some money from my kids clothes.