I hate to sound like a broken record, but I keep seeing and hearing comments about quality at consignment sales (not just Wee-cycle Mart). So I thought I would address what is appropriate to sell and what is not. If you are a shopper, this should also help you set up your expectations when you come to shop with us! We are by no way perfect, but we are always improving the shopping experience!
If you've consigned with us at our past sales, then you know we do attempt to check your items at drop-off. Of course, how thorough we can be is up to how many volunteers we have at the time you drop-off and how many item you have to drop-off. Even though we have everyone sign up for a drop-off time so we don't have 150 people showing up at the sale time, it's natural for some to be early, some late, some not show up at all, some show up at a totally different time than they signed up for! So that adds to the complication! We are accepting about 20,000 items in a 24 hour period, we do the best we can to reject items that do not meet our standards, It is not a perfect system, but it can be better if the CONSIGNOR doesn't bring items in the first place that don't meet our standards.
Here are items that we DO NOT ACCEPT:
- items with stains, not clean
- items with over-wear/washing/out-of-shape
- items that are too old looking or out-of-date styles
- items with holes, tears, broken zippers
- items with missing pieces/parts
- items without batteries if batteries required
- items out of season (save it for next sale)
- stuffed animals unless they do something like Tickle-Me Elmo
- clothing with advertising/websites/free shirts from non-profits/library etc
- car seats that over over 5 years old (date must be imprinted on bottom of seat)
- fast food toys, grab bags of misc toys
- underwear unless new in package
- videos/cds/dvds not in original packaging (no copies allowed)
- of course, anything that is recalled
Before you tag, check this list. Have someone look over your items in DAYLIGHT. Why waste time tagging something, you will never get paid on....we do go over the racks each day and pull additional items that don't meet our criteria above. We place them on a rack in the HOLD AREA that says (not-acceptable items). So just because it you made it through drop-off, you may still have items that were pulled from the floor. When you pick up on Sunday, be sure to check that rack for your items!
As a shopper, if you see something that should not be on the floor, feel free to give it to a volunteer in a blue apron. We appreciate it!
Lastly, please don't be offended if we reject some of your items at drop-off. We want to make sure what we have on the floor sells. We want shoppers to know that what they are buying is in good condition. We also only have limited racks and we want to make sure that we have it filled with only the best selection for our shoppers! We are NOT a Yard Sale! Our lowest price is $2. So ask yourself.....is this worth $2, would I pay $2 or more for this item??
More blogging to come on Pricing Your Items, check back soon!
