It's Consignment Sale Time... Getting Ready For The Sale!!!... Selling...

    Since it is consignment time thought I would do a series of blogs on how I get ready for them (selling/buying) some one may find these helpful.. So the first one is going to be about getting your items ready to sell..    
     First thing I do is get my supplies ready some were left over from last season's sale some I had to buy but will tell you were they all came from.. This is just what I use other people may use different items this is just to give you an idea.. Hangers you can use wire ones, childrens or like I have done keep the ones from previous sales or when you buy new clothes in the store, sticker paper for your tags (walmart 4.44), rubber bands for keeping shoes or toys parts together (dollar tree 1.00), saftey pins for attaching price tags or clothing items together (dollar tree 1.00), index cards (walmart .48), sharpie marker to write your descriptions (walmart .98 or dollar tree 1.00) and different size baggies to hold toys together or items that have multiple pieces (dollar tree 1.00)..

     After I have all of my supplies together I sit down and go through my son's clothing, shoes, toys and dvds.. I separate his clothing into piles name brand, store brand, donate and throw away I usually only put name brand clothing in the sale because store brand does not sell as well.. Some of the store brand clothing I keep for yard sales the rest is donated and if there is any that has stains or holes they are thrown away.. I do the same with his shoes name brand goes to the sale, store brand is either yard sale or donated and if they have scuffs or anything really wrong with them they are trashed.. I usually put most of his toys up to go in the yard sale cause it is just easier but if it is a toy I want a little more for I make sure it has all of its parts/pieces it is cleaned/sanitized and bagged for sale.. If he has any dvds he is not into anymore I check them for excessive scratches, make sure they play and that they have their case and cover art..
     Then it is time to prep them for the sale with the clothing I just lent roll them (I have a dog) and hang them on the hangers usually I try to put them in outfits or bundle same brand clothing together it is easier since I have so much for me to do it that way.. The shoes are cleaned with a magic eraser then tied together (I use rubber band for that cause it is easier if they need to be tried on).. After the toys are cleaned/sanitized if they have multiple parts or pieces they are bagged to keep everything together.. Dvds are also put in bags (so people cant open them and take out the movies)..
     It is now tagging time first I go through and write down all of the prices on my items (usually do it in groups clothing, shoes, toys) then I go to my events website and print out the bar codes.. First I cut index cards in half and write the size and a brief description then put a bar code for the price on it.. With clothes I just pin it on the collar of shirts or the waist band of pants, shoes I just stick the bar code in the shoe (write the size of shoe on the bar code) and with toys and dvds I just stick the bar code to the bag and write a description on the bag..
     After all of this has been done I take them to the designated drop off location and let the volunteers do the rest.. It is a lot of work to do one of these sales but most of the time I make enough to cover what I purchase with a little left over so it is a pretty good deal.. When you are a consigner you get to go in the day before the public does so you can find better deals if you volunteer (which is impossible for me my sale is over an hour away) you can go in before the consigners which would be even better!! I have a sale coming up in a few weeks and I am very excited about it since we just found out what we are having pretty much every thing else I need will have to be bought at this sale because yard sales are dieing down and I don't know how much longer they will last..