Tabernacle United Methodist Consignment Sale Haul

I know it's been a while since the sale; however, I've been running behind a bit due to some family emergencies which ended up leading me to miss 2 of the consignment sales I had been planning on shopping this season.  I am slowly trying to play catch up while also working on networking for the blog.  

So, even though it has been awhile since the sale, I still wanted to post my haul because I hope it helps others not only see what great deals you can pick up at consignment sales hopefully encouraging others to dip their toes into the addictive world of consignment sale shopping, but also to give you some idea of what typical prices are for items you would find at these sales.  While the spring consignment sale season is over where I live, summer and fall sales will be here before we know it.

This sale happened to be not only the sale I spent the most at this season, but also the one I picked up the most items.  I spent $40 total for all the items I purchased.  Since this was sponsored by a nonprofit, there was no sales tax which is always nice. 

I picked up this B. Meowsic Keyboard for $5 making it my most expensive purchase the entire season.  I didn't mind spending a little bit more on this keyboard since it is a rare item at the sales in my area, and something I know will keep her interest for years for my little one unlike some toys.  Both my daughter and her cousin who is less than a month away from turning 5 have logged in hours playing with this keyboard.  They especially like hearing themselves sing into the microphone which also has a record option.  

 18 month outfit for $1.50.  I like outfits that already go together but done in neutral colors I could pair with other items.  I find this is a biggie since sometimes I get lucky, and my little one only manages to stain either her top or bottom.  Since she is a stain magnet often going through 3-4 outfits a day, I will look for any reasonable way to reduce the amount of laundry I have to do.  I know I could just let her run around naked or just in a diaper to save on the laundry load for me.  However, her father is opposed to this.  You can easily guess which one of us is responsible for laundry in our house.

Four pair of 18 month pants grouped together for $3.  As I mentioned before, buying clothes in lots like this can often be a good way to save money as long as you like all the items which I happen to since I am a huge fan of bright colors.  

18 month jeans for $1.  I try to pick up jeans for $1 or $,50 cents if I can since I know they will get a ton of wear in my house.  

18 month yoga pants for $1.  Not only do I like the cuteness factor of these especially since I'm trying to start making it to mommy and me yoga classes, but I can always use some plain black pants for her.

18 month leggings for $1.  Nice neutral colors, and in the falls I figure I can pull her socks up to cover up the hot pink if necessary.

I broke my own rule on these and picked up a pair of 3t leggings for $1 due to my ladybug obsession since they looked rather new hoping the elastic holds up until she makes it to 3t clothes which at this rate feels like will never happen.

18 month ladybug tops sold as a lot for $1.50.  I am fairly certain she will still be in 12 month clothes by the end of summer, but they didn't seem too large to sneak them in by August.

12 month summer romper for $1.

18 month pants for $1.

18 month dress for $1.  Even though it could be worn by itself as a summer dress, I think the colors are neutral enough that I could make it a jumper to transition to fall or possibly next spring.

This onesie is by Faded Glory, so normally I would have avoided it due to their low resale value which is something I try to consider when making purchases.  However, I was having a great deal of difficulty finding summer tops for her after several sales.  So, I gave into the cuteness and picked this up for $1. Paired with the right bottom, I may still be able to make my money back on this when I resell it despite the brand. 

12 month dress for $2.  I am sure she'll wear this for Memorial Day or Fourth of July and hopefully, I will get tons of cute holiday pictures out of it.

I couldn't resist this watermelon dress and matching diaper cover for $1.50.

These shorts were all sold individually for either .50 cents or $1.  I was desperate to find some khaki or jean shorts to easily match her summer tops and onesies.

4 pair of 2t rubber pants for $1.  I was saddened to discover these will be way too big for her tiny hiny.  I am really struggling to find potty training supplies in sizes small enough for her.  

Melissa and Doug magnetic letters and numbers $2

$1 for this soft potty seat.  Can you tell I'm trying to gear up for potty training?

$2 for these Robeez.  These are a brand, I am willing to pay a bit more for in general since I do prefer having her in soft soled shoes, and they have great ratings.

18 month rubber pants for $1.  I know they seem like boy colors, but I am not that worried about it since finding any sizes below 2t is rare, and I suspect few people will be looking at what is on her bottom.

$2 for these sandals due to my ladybug obsession.

$1.50 for this Dr. Seuss book which is more than I'd like to pay but not a title I've seen at sales thus far.

$2 for this set of Beginner Books.

$1 for the Berenstein Bears book which is a classic I remember from my childhood.

I paid $1 for the monkey backpack toddler leash.  I have stated several times I am a huge advocate of babywearing, so this purchase may be surprising and perhaps even more so if I told you this was the first item I went looking for.  Well, as much as babywearing is convenient, there are some times where I want to let her get down ie folk music festivals, kid friendly events, amusement parks, and parks where I worry about potentially losing her in a crowd since she's a runner.  We tested it at a recent visit to the hospital just to get her used to it.  She really liked wearing it perhaps because she was in love with the monkey or because she's seen us with bags on.  For us, this is only for certain occasions and hopefully a short term solution as we work on her not trying to run off.  

Classy Kids Consignment Sale Haul

This was my first time at this sale.  I went for the discount day, so my selection was limited which I expect when hitting the discount day or hour of a sale.

However, there are a couple of other reasons I may not go back to this sale.  The lighting was poor.  When I go to a consignment sale some of the big things I am checking items for are holes and stains.  With dimmer lighting, this is not as easily accomplished.  Most of the clothes were in the wrong section.  I don't just mean that items that were 2t had somehow been left by another shopper in the 12 month section though that was common as well.  I mean items that were 4t were marked 12 month like this first dress I picked up for DB's niece.

Old Navy dress .75 cents.

Additionally, many items that were 6-9 months for instance had been labelled by the consignors as 9-12 months and placed in that section.  I probably had to go past 25-50 items in the 9-12 month section that were really 6-9 month clothes mismarked by the consignor. I would have hoped that the salespeople would have noticed and put them in the correct section as the Old Navy dress above had been placed in the 4t section where it really belonged despite the tag.

Additionally, it was a 40 minute drive.  Most of the sales I hit are between 15-30 minutes from my house, so it isn't that much more of a drive.  However, without finding lots of stuff to bowl me over, I doubt I will return.

Here are the rest of the items I did pick up.

4t top $1

Gap pants 4t $1.50

Lounging Elmo $2

Stride Rite shoes size 5 $1

18 month jeans $1

18 month skirt $1.50

Metal spinning top $1

Doll Carrier $3 (not discounted)

Infant Octopus Toy $1

18 month leggings .75 cents

JMU(my mother's alma mater) shortalls $1.75

18 month Osh Kosh top $1.50

12 month dress $1.50

Thermos sippy cup $1.50.  This cup is our new favorite sippy cup since my little one loves her water ice cold just like her mama.  Easiest sippy cup to clean as well.

Tips for Post Consignment Sale Shopping

Thrifty Thursday 
You may think that once you've shopped a consignment sale, you've done everything you can to save money.  However, I've found a few more ways to maximize your savings.  

1. Find out where they donate left over items:  If you notice, many consignment sales donate clothes that are left over after their sale.  After having been at the Moncure sale in line at closing time several times, I've seen on average about 30 lawn and leaf size bags filled to go out for donations.

I was lucky enough to be standing in line waiting to checkout the second time I went to the Moncure sale and overheard another shopper asking where the items that didn't sell were donated.  Much to my surprise, the volunteer told the other shopper they were donated to the Goodwill behind the school.  Huzzah.  I knew I could check there the following week for more deals.  The Goodwill stores in my area sell baby items except dresses for .99 cents each.  If they have a noodle in the color of the week, they are half off.  Even if they are regularly priced, when you bring a donation, you get a coupon for 20% off all regularly priced items.  So, shopping at Goodwill, the most I would spend on a new item for my little one is .80 cents.  Often an even better bargain than a consignment sale.

Due to the volume of donations they receive after a consignment sale, all the merchandise doesn't go out the first week.  So, you can often pick up deals for several weeks after the sale.

This is my Goodwill haul the week after the last Moncure sale.  I got 3 shirts, 2 pair of pants, 1 onesie, and a pair of pajamas for less than $5.  Yay!

2. Save your hangers: If you plan on consigning in the future which you probably should, many sales require you to place clothing items on your own hangers.  Sadly, kid size hangers aren't much cheaper than adult hangers.  If you save the ones you get at sales and stores when buying new if they will allow you, that will provide a good start to your collection.  

3. Save your safety pins: While safety pins aren't expensive per se, every little bit of savings helps.  For most people who will be consigning at a sale, you will need to invest in hangers, safety pins, clear packing tape, ink, paper, and gallon size ziploc baggies.  Little savings though can help.  I keep all my safety pins in a quart food storage container where little hands won't get to them.

Weecycled Fredericksburg Haul

Where I live, Weecycled is the biggest consignment sale.  It was my introduction to consignment sales when my daughter was just days old.

 I had been shopping for clothes for my little one at thrift and consignment stores throughout my pregnancy to be prepared.  However, after reading other mamas advice and being told my daughter would probably be close to 8 lbs when she arrived, I avoided purchasing hardly any newborn clothes.  I think i had 2 onesies, 3 sleepers, and a hat.  Imagine my surprise when I delivered a 6 lb 6 oz little one who quickly went down to 5 lbs 10 oz.  Even her newborn clothes looked big on her.

I mean look at those leg holes.  That was before she lost several more ounces the morning after she was born at the hospital.  We needed to get some more newborn clothes quickly.  Since I had been out of work on medical leave due to complications during my third trimester, our budget for new clothes for her was severely limited.  Luckily, DB's parents had been shopping at Weecycled's Stafford sale for a few years for his niece.  Thankfully, they picked up a some more sleepers for her the day after we got home from the hospital at the Weecycled sale that we were lucky enough to have the weekend after her birth.  I wasn't quite up to shopping or even walking yet.  Somehow, I got up the energy to hit the sale with DB 2 days later for their half off sale.  

That was the beginning of what now is a seasonal obsession.  So far this season, I've been to 4 consignment sales including one more I will post about after this.  I still have 4 more consignment sales I plan to shop.  

Weecycled Wardrobe's Fredericksburg sale is huge.  As my consignment sale style has evolved, I've learned that I don't prefer these large for profit consignment sales.  Additionally, unlike any other consignment sales I frequent, Weecycled has a minimum consignors can charge of $4.  This means even on half off days, the minimum you will spend per item is $2.  So, you are best served by purchasing bundled items.  

This is an Infantino Sling Rider that is recalled.  I have mixed feelings about this particular purchase.  I am seriously saddened that a for profit consignment sale specializing in children's goods would sell an item that not only was recalled but was also associated with the death of at least 3 infants.  It is illegal to sell recalled items.  I would feel awful if I saw this item and passed it by knowing that some other parent might buy it to use for their little one.  

The upside of me purchasing this,though, isn't just getting it off the market to prevent it from possibly injuring another child.   Owners of the recalled sling, can reach out to Infantino following the directions here to return the necessary portion of the sling to receive a different product in return.  Currently, they are offering a high chair cover or one of their mei tais.  The mei tai, of course, would be my recommendation as it is a well loved carrier in the babywearing community. 

 Their mei tais usually retail for around $35.  I picked up the Sling Rider for $2.  

This is an example of buying a bundle of items to get a better deal.  For $2, I picked up two 2 shirts and a skirt that will be perfect for Fourth of July, Memorial Day, or even Flag Day.

I am a huge football fan especially of the Dallas Cowboys.  Unfortunately, NFL licensed apparel is way too expensive for my taste brand new usually $20 or more for a single onesie.  DB's parents are huge Redskins fans, sadly.  So, I am always on the lookout for some Cowboys clothes to balance out all the Skins onesies we've been given.  So, I was thrilled to pick up this 12 month onesie and 18 month dress for just $2.

This bundle of wooden puzzles includes 4 puzzles one of which is the Melissa and Doug Dress up Teddy Bear Puzzle with 45 interchangeable pieces to change the both their expressions and moods.  Awesome buy at just $2 considering these puzzles run anywhere from $7.99 to $14.99 each new.

This bundle was two pair of 18 month jeans for $2 one of which had an adjustable waist which are more difficult to find but needed for my little one's skinny waist.

Melissa and Doug Alphabet puzzle $2.  Of course, I love wooden puzzles; but I especially love that the peekaboo for O is an octopus.  I am always on the lookout for items featuring octopuses since they are her father's favorite.

Osh Kosh and Hanna Anderson tops for $2 for the bundle.

Ralph Lauren dress for $2.50.

Collection of Bear Board Books including I Love You Through and Through, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, and We're going on a Bear Hunt for $2.

Two Spring outfits for $3.

My First Words Book from the Your Baby Can Read Series for $2.50.

Brown size 5 shoes for $2.