This may be in the wrong forum so feel free to move it. I was thinking instead of donating old clothes to charity of taking them to a consignment shop for cash. I live in a small town w/ 1 consignment shop and was thinking of going to a larger city nearby. Has anyone done this and what is your opinion? Last time I used a local consignment shop in town it took months before I saw any $ and it was a couple bucks.

I also live in a small town with one consignment shop. It just depends on the month. Some months I only make a few dollars, but last month I made about $20. If you have some good name brand items, you will probably make a little more. You could try taking it to the larger city to see if you get more money there. It's worth a shot!! I don't make much, but I do use that money for my hobbies (scrapbooking and gardening).

I am absolutley ADDICTED to my local consignment shop!!!! I take clothes there every season, and I'm sure 2/3 of the clothing in my & my ds's closets are from the CS!! It has been a great experience for me, I'm in there at least twice a week checking to see what is new, what is on sale, etc. I'm a regular, when I walk there, I feel like "norm" on "cheers" lol, LOL They all know my name and that I'm always there on wed. & fri. when my ds has school!!

That said, all CS are different, they have different standards and different ways that they pay out, my advice would be to go in, check out the quality of the clothes and ask the owner/manager for a copy of their rules or a copy of the contract that you sign(if thats how they do it) That would determine if you want to use that particular shop.

The CS I use has very high standards for the items that they take, no stains, no rips, and it must be freshly laundered, ironed, if needed, and hanging on a hanger, you do put in a bit of time getting all of your stuff ready, but, it is well worth it in the end b/c I know that the stuff I buy in there is in great shape as well!!

If you have any other questions let me know, HTH!!

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I'm also very pleased with the local consignment shop. I've made a couple hundred bucks but used it as a credit in the store. They have a very nice selection and it works out well for me. Yesterday I loaded up a tote bag full and it cost me $5 because I had a credit.

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I am a huge fan of consigning clothes. I get a bit of cash and someone gets a great deal. I have found though that the benefit varies by the place. I like to use a store that categorizes each item and tells me up front what the price will be for each and offers a written contract. The place I use gives 50% of the selling price, which I think is very fair, but others in our area give as little as 20%, but offer cash upfront.
I always make sure all of the items are free of damage or stains and are freshly washed and pressed. This really shows off the quality-it's a bit more work but my consignments are usually all sold within the first 30 days.

Good luck. Another option is also Ebay, and I see there's TONS of great advice on this site about selling. I've done it, and it's really not that hard! I just find the shipments and SOME of the customers to be a pain in the butt.

Hope this helps
Lori

I just picked up a check for $107.00!!! I use a consignment shop in a nearby bigger town. I hadn't checked my account in about 4mos. and was surprised to get $107.00. I get 40%, they get 60%. I once took a big king size comfortor bag full of clothes to Once Upon A Child, they wanted to give me $20 lousy dollars for it and there was a lot of nice stuff. I said no way and took it to the consignment store, it took about 3 months but I got $80.00 for it. I have been a regular every since. It takes about 2 months for your stuff to go out, but if I bring stuff in regularly then I almost always have something out. They donate the stuff to charity if it hasn't sold by the end of the season. They have a end of season sale first. I'm fine with them donating what doesn't sell, it saves me the trouble.

My first run is through Once Upon a Child because they give you a check up front. The second run is the Stuff, ETC where I have had good luck. What they don't take I donate.

Call area churches...both in your area and the larger area you talked about. So many of them do a weekend consignment sale two or three times a year and take like a 20% profit to give to missions. It is a great way to give to a good cause, sell your stuff, AND buy good used stuff.

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