TIPS to Prepare your Items:

Remember: Quality is Everything

If you wouldn’t buy it, don’t consign it.

All consignors must work together to provide our shoppers with the BEST Quality merchandise!

The time you spend preparing your items is $$ in your pocket. Wrinkles can put a "KINK" in your sales!!

Tips shared from Consignors selling more than 85% of their Treasures:

Jennifer entered 392 items and sold 338!! WOW !! She had a 86% Sell Thru Rate… Here are her Tips for Success

I love selling at Treasured Once Again sales. A few tips that I would like to share are:

#1 - PRESENTATION is key! Take the time to hang your clothing nicely on hangers where the clothing is not going to slide off or look "sloppy." When I shop and comb through racks of clothing, I want to be able to see the full item without having to pull it off the hanger or unfold it from the hanger or pick it up off the floor. I usually only have 1 free hand when shopping so if it takes some extra effort to look at an item, I just push past it. Take the time to wipe off toys that have dust, dirt, etc on them. Put batteries in them so customers know that the item works. Use zip ties, ziplocs, safety pins, etc to bundle your items and make sure your price tags are on the item so that it is not going to fall off. The newer the item looks, and the better the presentation the better your odds are of selling it.

#2 - PRICING- It is very important to price your items to sell. Think about what you would want to pay for a gently used toy or outfit. Our tendency is to overprice because we want to get more of our money back or because an outfit was one of our favorites on our child and you feel it is therefore worth more. Price reasonably and your items will sell without having to be discounted. Discounting your items is important as well. I mark all my items to be discounted. I'm a shopper and when there's a sale or clearance rack, that's where I want to shop. So on discount days, I'm mainly just looking at items that are discounted.

Andrea entered 54 items and sold 50!! WOW !! She had a 93% Sell Thru Rate… Here are her Tips for Success!!

Thank you for reaching out and for your encouraging words! Here are some tips that may be helpful to others. Basically, I try to present items the way I would want to buy them.

1. I try to sell outfits rather than tops and bottoms separately. I keep outfits together in our closets because it makes our morning routine easier, so I look for outfits when I'm shopping.

2. I make sure clothes are fresh and not wrinkled. I also check for stains and holes. I only consign clothes that are in good shape.

3. I'm realistic about pricing. Think about retail prices and what prices you find on a clearance rack. If I can find a similar item, brand new, on clearance for $5, I'll price my used item at $3.

Is this helpful? I hope so! I love being able to buy clothes for my kids at the sale, and get disappointed when I find shirts with holes from tagging guns, stains on otherwise nice dress shirts, and t-shirts for $10 with no discount. Maybe some tips can be helpful for the first time consignors, and I'm looking forward to reading tips from other consigners as well!

Colleen entered 222 items and sold 200!! WOW !! She had a 90% Sell Thru Rate… Here are her Tips for Success!!

Lets see....

I discount everything!

I try to make outfits and sets for my items.

I keep the price down.

Items are washed before hand and in good condition.

Supplies you will need:

Hangers – You can get FREE Hangers at the 2nd Ave United Methodist Church in Altoona and the Franklin Street Church in Johnstown. These hangers are given out on a first come basis so check early to see if they are still available. You might also check with your local cleaners or K-Mart, they may have some they can give to you. Goodwill or Salvation Army is another possibility. Other consignors have used facebook, craigslist, and a Yahoo-group site called “Freecycle” to post a request for hangers. Of course, they can be purchased too. We accept any type hanger, but prefer wire as they take up less space on the racks.
Safety Pins or Tagging Gun– Medium Size or larger safety pins. These can be found in boxes of 200 at Dollar Tree or in smaller quantities at WalMart. If you have lots of clothes to consign, we highly recommend that you consider purchasing a tagging gun (it is easy to use and will save you a ton of time) Tagging guns can be purchased on ebay for very little cost and usually arrive in about a week.
Clear Mailing Tape - We recommend Duck brand EZ Start that is sold at Walmart.
Ziploc Bags – various sizes for smaller items, small pieces, etc
White Card Stock – needed for printing tags
Zip Ties – only needed if you need to secure 2 or more hangers together or for shoes. Available at Walmart in auto section.
Bright colored Duck Tape - If you are not donating your items and you will be picking them up, we recommend that you place a brightly colored duck tape around the neck of your hangers. This will help you to locate your items more quickly at the end of the sale.

Clothing: The better they look the better they sell!

Wash, iron, and repair your clothes to ensure they are in excellent condition. Check the resource page for tips on stain removal. We can not accept any items that are stained. Remember, WRINKLED items will NOT sell.
Hang clothing on hangers so that the hanger looks like a question mark when you look at the front of the garment. Be sure to button all buttons, snap all snaps, and zip all zippers.
Pants, shorts, and skirts should be secured on hangers using safety pins. (NO straight pins…they jag)
Pin shirts that could slide off the hanger at the shoulder
Two piece outfits should be pinned to the same hanger to ensure they stay together. Make sure both pieces are visible. If it is necessary to use two hangers be sure that the hangers are securely attached to each other with zip ties. These can be purchased at Walmart in the automotive section.
Group small or inexpensive “LIKE” items together so they will equal a value of at least $2.00. These may be placed on hangers and secured together with zip ties or small items such as socks can be placed in a clear Ziploc bag. Be sure to “lock” the bag with clear packing tape.
Need more hangers? See our resources page

Shoes: see resources page for cleaning tips

Please bring only like-new shoes
Shoelaces may be tied together with tag safety pinned to laces or zip tie shoes together using the zip tie to secure the tag.
Infant and Toddler shoes may be placed in Ziploc bags, only if there is no other way to connect them.
Write your consignor # on masking tape and tape to the bottom of each shoe. Just in case they are separated.

Toys: see resources page for lists of phone numbers to order replacement parts

Must be clean and in working order. Batteries included
Small parts must be bagged and securely attached to the main part.
Games should be taped closed.
Wooden Board and boxed Puzzles should be covered with plastic wrap and taped on the back to keep pieces in place.
Books and videos should be covered with plastic wrap if you are selling a set.
Small toys should be grouped accordingly and placed in Ziploc bags. Secure each bag with clear packaging tape. It is a good idea to write your consignor # and price onto the bag with a sharpie just in case the tag comes off.
It is very important to check the following cpsc website for current toy recalls.
You can also visit this website for toy safety guidelines including a recall database.

Car Seats:

Must have been manufactured within past 5 years.
Seat cover and straps must be thoroughly cleaned.
You will be asked to sign a waiver stating that your car seat is in excellent condition and has not been in an accident
Check website for current recalls: http://www.carseat.org/Recalls/179NP.pdf

Blankets/Bedding

Hang for display. Pin blankets over hangers so shoppers can see them. Small receiving blankets should be grouped and pinned securely together.
Hand Bedding sets on one or more hangers and pin the items together to keep them from getting separated. Remember to use zip ties to keep hangers together.

**Tip** use a few hangers bound together for heavier blankets and bedding sets to help support the weight and reduce sagging.