They are a good thing right? Of course, the concept is simple and is a win-win for everyone! A consignor takes the clothes her children have outgrown to be sold in the Consignment Sale. She then shops [early, as in before the general public] the sale for gently used clothes for her children. So, she sells clothes, gets money, and then buys more clothes at a great price.
Okay, that is the general idea. However, some sales are planned out better than others, some are more organized, and some are not worth your time. I have been to consignment sales in 4 different cities, and been a consignor at 3 of those.
The sale I am involved seems to be a good one, but the rules are quite extensive and specific! When I was getting the clothes ready Todd was trying to help, but he was getting quite exasperated at all the rules. I know there are reasons for rules, but what is really the difference between a 1.5″ safety pin and a 2″ safety pin? 1/2 an inch, right? Well, apparently it matters for whatever reason, and safety pins smaller than 2″ are not allowed! The clothes must be hung on the hanger facing a certain direction, if it is a complete outfit, the pants must be pinned to the back of the shirt at the shoulder, the tags must be printed on cardstock using a laser printer, which means that you have to take them to Office Depot or Staples or somewhere like that, b/c most homes have an inkjet printer!
They said you should plan to take your clothes early to Receiving to get a low priority shoppinng number for the Contributor Preview Sale. Of course I procrastinated, so the Sunday before the last day to drop off, I was frantic! I had heard tales of people waiting in line 3-4 hours to drop their clothes off and get their number. I stayed up late, trying to finish up the tags and get everything on hangers, but I ran out of safety pins. I decide to head to Publix, it was about 11:15. Of course Publix was closed! Who would have thought a grocery store closes at 10:00???? So, I decide to just go to bed, and finish up the next morning. I wake up and call my friends hoping that someone has some safety pins – no such luck! I head out to Publix, and find the safety pins, two boxes left, and they must be sterling silver or something, because it is a pack of 20 for $2.99!!!! Highway robbery, I tell you! Sadly, I bought both packs – I had to have them! I didn’t have time to run around town to find safety pins at a reasonable cost! I had planned on being at the door when they opened for Receiving at 9:00. I actually made it there at 10:15. The line was not terrible and I was actually back out and on the road by 11:30 – thank goodness!
Time will tell if it was all worth it – hopefully, I will sell all the clothes I took for a nice sum, and find lots of great items when I go to the sale too. Oh, yeah, and the Priority Shopping number I got? HA! I was not even eligible for the first Contributor Sale on Thursday night, I was not even anywhere near early on the Saturday Contributor Sale! My number is 970 – which puts me able to shop at 12:00 on Saturday! ridiculous, I say!
