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12 Secrets to Getting the Best Deals at Consignment Sales

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Have you wondered how some moms get all the amazing deals from kids’ consignment sales? Well, it’s not luck! There are a lot of tricks to getting the best deals at kids’ consignment sales.

Lucky for you, I’ll share the tricks with you! And at the end of the post, I’ll share my latest amazing consignment sale haul. It was one of my best yet!

Recently, I wrote about how to make money selling used kids’ clothing and gear at consignment sales. This week I want to talk about how to get the most out of shopping at kids’ consignment sales.

I love shopping consignment sales because I can get the majority of what my kids need for the upcoming season at one time and at great prices. Garage sales might be a bit cheaper, but I don’t have time to run all over town hoping to find my kids’ current sizes.

Kids' consignment sales

Over the years of shopping consignment sales, I’ve learned some tricks to getting the best bargains:

1. Take advantage of any early entry offers

Most sales have early entry offers for certain groups like expecting mothers, military families, or those who bring a canned food donation. If you can take advantage of these, do it! In consignment shopping, it pays to shop as early as possible. The best deals are scooped up first! 

2. Consign so you can shop early

As I discussed in last week’s post, selling your used kids stuff at consignment sales can be a great way to make some extra money. It also allows you to shop before the public gets to shop!

Even if you don’t have a lot to sell, it may be worth it to sign up as a consignor and just sell a few items so that you can get access to the early shopping time.

3. Volunteer at the sale so you can shop even earlier

Are you noticing a theme here? Do everything you can to get in earlier! If you’re registered as a consignor, you can sign up as a volunteer to work at the sale and get into the sale before the consignors who don’t volunteer.

Usually volunteering earns you other benefits too like lower consignor fees or higher earnings. Also, it’s a great excuse to get out of the house and hang out with other moms!

4. Leave the kids at home

Consignment sales are usually huge, crowded, and overwhelming events. The last thing you need is kids running around your feet or getting lost in the racks. Some sales also do not allow strollers, which makes it even trickier to bring young ones.

If you must bring them, you can, but try your hardest to leave the kids with family or a sitter.

5. Take measurements of the kids

If you’re leaving the kids at home, how do you know which sizes to buy? Every brand is a little different so you can’t always trust the clothing sizes.

I cut ribbons for each kids’ waist and inseam length so I can quickly measure pants. You could also bring a fabric tape measure instead of ribbons, but remembering all those numbers makes my head hurt.

For shoes, trace the kids’ feet on thin cardboard (like a cereal box) and cut it out. Then you can slip the cardboard inside the shoe to see if it fits.

Kids' Consignment Sales

6. Make a list

Since consignment sales can be so big, it’s very easy to lose focus on what you came for. Before you leave home, make a detailed list of what you need and how many.

7. Bring a basket or bag

Consignment sales don’t generally have shopping carts, although some do provide shopping bags. You may want to bring something to carry your mountain of great finds. A large tote bag, laundry basket, or wheeled shopping cart can work well. You could also bring an empty stroller or wagon if your sale allows them.

8. Use your time wisely

Search first for:

  • Items most important to you
  • Things in high demand
  • Large items
  • Expensive items that you want

Have you wondered how other moms get the most amazing deals at consignment sales? It's not luck! I'll share with you the secrets to scoring the best deals at kids' consignment sales. #frugal #kids #shopping #thrift #consignment

9. Use claim tickets on large items

The large items will probably have claim tickets on them. If you want to buy the item, you should fill out the ticket and take the bottom portion with you for checkout.

Of course, this means that if a claim ticket is already torn off when you spot it, the item is already sold and you should move along. 

10. Pick out everything you like and then sort

If you’re looking for 5 pairs of girls’ pants, go down the aisle and find all the pants that look nice and take them to the side. Maybe you can find 10-15 pairs that you like, but then you can take your time to measure them and inspect them for holes or stains.

When you decide which ones you don’t want, neatly return them to the proper rack or hand them to a sales volunteer. Please don’t make a mess by leaving them on the side of the room or on the wrong rack!

11. Shop for boys before girls

I have a boy and a girl and love them equally, but I always shop for my boy first at consignment sales. Why? Because boys’ clothes are much harder to find secondhand.

If you notice the racks at consignment sales, you’ll see that about 75% of the clothing is for girls. People just buy more clothes for girls and boys are generally harder on their clothes and shoes.

12. Be sensible about prices

At consignment sales, the prices are set by the individual sellers so you can often find identical items with vastly different prices. You have to decide if the price is reasonable. A good rule of thumb is to aim for paying 25-50% of the original retail price and paying 50% only for items in perfect condition.

I also try not to allow myself to be “too cheap” at consignment sales. If there are lots of shirts for $2, a $5 shirt can seem expensive… but if it’s something I love or a high-quality brand, then $5 is a great price. I try to keep the perspective that $5 for a nice shirt in a retail store would be a bargain.

For expensive items, I take the time to search for a retail price on my phone before deciding to purchase it at the consignment sale. 

Kids' consignment sales

My Awesome Kids’ Consignment Sale Haul

Last night was the consignor’s pre-sale for the fall sale and I found a lot of great stuff! In about one hour, with searching and carrying assistance from my wonderful mother-in-law, I was able to buy almost everything my kids will need for the fall and winter season. 

Girls’ Clothes

For my daughter (girls’ size 10), I bought:

  • 6 pairs of jeans
  • 2 t-shirts
  • 1 fleece coat
  • 2 long sleeve shirts
  • 1 cardigan sweater
  • 1 pair of shoes
  • 5 pairs of warm pajamas

Boys’ Clothes

For my son (boys’ size 8), I bought:

  • 5 pairs of jeans
  • 1 pair of athletic pants
  • 6 long sleeve shirts
  • 5 pairs of warm pajamas

In total, I bought 35 items. How much did I pay? Drum roll, please…

$134! That was after a $10 refer-a-friend discount, so without that, I would have paid $144. That averages out to around $4/item. Not bad! Even with sales, there’s no way I could buy nearly an entire wardrobe for my kids for that price in regular stores.

I was also able to do this in one location in one hour! Any busy parent can appreciate the advantage of that!

Consignment sale finds

My Consignment Sale Haul

Notice that my kids are in “big kid” clothing sizes and I still found a ton of great stuff. A lot of people think that kids’ consignment sales are all about baby clothes and gear. While they’re awesome for baby stuff, they’re also great for big kid clothes!

I was able to be very picky about what I chose, sticking to my daughter’s favorites (jeans, fuzzy shirts, sparkles, and animals!). Even boys’ size 8 had a good selection, but it wasn’t as large as the girls’ sections, as usual. The selection of boys clothes is always smaller than the girls’ clothes selection.

If you’ve never given kids’ consignment sales a try, I hope I’ve inspired you! It’s a lot of work, but it’s totally worth it. Use this national directory to find a kids’ consignment sale near you!

Are you planning to sell or shop at any consignment sales this year? Comment below.

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