I stock up on storage bins when they’re on sale. I have to – the amount of clothing I’ve accumulated for my kids is beyond ridiculous. With 1 boy and 1 girl, I had to keep all the clothes they outgrew since we were unsure if we would have more kids. Once Everleigh arrived, and we (tentatively, ha!) decided that we are happy with 3 kids – it’s now time to start moving those boys clothes out of the house after 7 years! I was stuck though – have a garage sale when all I had to sell was clothes, or take them to a store where they’d buy them outright for me, but at disappointingly low prices. Then, as if the frugal-Gods were listening, a friend shared a link on Facebook to OutGROW OutPLAY, and I found the answer I was looking for!
Launched in 2008 in Ottawa, OutGROW OutPLAY is a unique way to sell your children’s clothing, toys, and other items while putting the most money possible in YOUR pocket. The annual sales are springing up across Canada and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan is holding it’s first annual OutGROW OutPLAY sale September 10th and 11th! I’ve already signed up as a consignor and am getting organized!
All the information on how OutGROW OutPLAY Saskatoon works is available at the link, but the basic gist of it is this. When you sign up as a consignor at OutGROW OutPLAY Saskatoon, a $15 registration fee will be deducted from your cheque at the end of the sale. Once you have your special consignor number, you can log into the (awesome!) system on the site and…wait for it…catalog and print all your own sale tags for your items! Consistency is key to a successful sale – so by having ALL the same style of tags, shoppers will be able to easily see the BRAND, SIZE, and PRICE of the items. You know how this works – the easier it is for someone to shop, the more they are likely to buy. There’s no worry about one of your items not being counted because you have your own unique bar code!!
All you need, aside from a printer of course, is cardstock for printing the tags onto (regular paper is too thin), hangers for clothing (ask your friends for plastic hangers or check at Walmart, they throw all theirs away!) and a pricing/ticketing gun. You can buy a Tagging Kit from OutGROW OutPLAY for $30, or you can check at places like Michaels or craft stores (I went the eBay route and have a tagging gun on the way from China right now that was ridiculously cheap!)
This sale is definitely for the organized mom – and that’s me! Knowing over 2 months in advance gives me plenty of time to go through all my storage bins, arrange items, enter them into the inventory online, and print the tags.
I know that this is going to pay off big time because this sale is going to draw a huge amount of people – it simply can’t compare to a garage sale or trying to sell my items one by one on Kijiji.
So how much ends up in your pocket at the end of the day? Here’s the breakdown. The basic margin is that you earn 65% of your items sold (minus that $15 registration fee that gets taken off the cheque). However, there’s ways for you to earn more than that. For example, if you as a consignor sign up for one volunteer shift you get 70% of your items sold and $5 off your registration. Sign up for two volunteer shifts and get 75% of your items sold and save $5 off your registration. Also, every friend who you refer as a consignor that signs up will earn you an extra $5 on your cheque with no limit!
I’m always looking for ways to save money and in this case make money so you can bet I’m signing up to volunteer for a shift and I’ve already referred several friends!
Ready to sign up to be a consignor? Check out the Saskatoon OutGROW OutPLAY site and follow the steps to sign up within minutes – then start organizing your items mama and get ready to make some money!
Eager to pick up some great second-hand items at great prices miss bargain hunter? Here are the details of the sale:
Saskatoon OutGROW OutPLAY Fall/Winter Consignor Sale
Friday September 9th to Sunday September 11th
(Pre-Sale Pass Required to shop the Pre-Sale Extravaganza September 8th)
Lions Arena – 2205 McEown Ave. Corner of Taylor Street East and McEown Avenue
Full details of the sale including consignor drop-off times and pre-sale times can all be found on the site here!
Like Saskatoon OutGROW OutPLAY on Facebook to stay up to date on the latest!
Remember, after you sign up to be a consignor, email your friends and tell them all about it and make sure they mention your name when signing up so you get a $5 referral bonus on your cheque for every friend you refer!
See you at the sale in September in Saskatoon!
i signed up but am confused about the pricing. i thought they would set standard prices for tshirts, pants, bouncy chairs, etc but i didn’t see that. so how do we know what to set the price at? what if i overprice or ridiculously underprice? i usually just donate old clothes so anyone that can help with some basic prices, i would really appreciate….
Hi Crystal! Check out the FAQ here (http://saskatoon.outgrowoutplay.com/faq.php)
I read that you should price your items at 1/3 the original price, and to follow the $3 rule for clothes. If an item can’t get you a minimum of $3 then combine it with something else (so basically nothing should be under $3).
I’m sure there may be people who overprice and others who price things super low. We can compare notes on things if ya like!
Oh, and I’m sharing my pricing gun if you don’t find one. 😉
I love this idea! We have a ton of swapmeets that are kid specific – from the big commercial type ones to ones at schools/churches and that’s how I usually go – but as a shopper – I’d love this set up so much since it’s easy. (albiet without the ‘haggling’ that we all enjoy at the swaps) as a seller – AWESOME!!! I wonder if they’ll ever come to the Vancouver area. I’d be in! Good luck on your selling – I hope you sell lots.