When most people think of resale, they think "consignment".
Consignment is when the an owner of an item enlists the services of a store to sell it for them, based on a commission. In the Frederick/Hagerstown area for children's items that commission rate is usually 40% to the owner and 60% to the store. Some stores offer 50/50 if you're willing to do some work, too, such as putting the clothing on hangers or if agree to use the proceeds in the store as store credit. They also generally add a "buyer's fee" to their prices that goes to the store off the top, before the commission is split. This is to offset the cost of prepping the clothes and can be anywhere from $.25 to $1.00 per item.
Additionally, some consignment stores charge an annual fee for the privilege of consigning with them. For those that charge them in this area, it can range from $5-$20 annually and is usually deducted from your proceeds. The store has sole discretion in pricing your items and if you opt to drop off your items for them to look at (rather than wait while they sort them), you may find that many of your items were donated rather than sold because they didn't meet the store's standards.
Most traditional consignment stores in the area pay out 3-4 times a year, though some will pay on demand after your account has accumulated a minimum amount. Some will mail you a check for an additional handling fee. Also, if your items are lost, stolen, or damaged (or tags pulled off and the store is unable to match the tag with the item), the typical consignment store is not responsible.
Their insurance simply won't allow them to be: In a consignment situation, the consignor that brought in the items is still the owner and any loss incurred would be claimed through the consignor's home owner's insurance rather than the store's business insurance. Of course most of us have deductibles too high to bother with an insurance claim for a few Gymboree outfits.
Many area consignment stores have their consignment agreements available for viewing on-line, just do a Google search for them.
So while you can see consignment is a great way to recycle your children's unneeded items, there are a lot of unknowns for you, the consignor. It certainly is a way to get a little something out of your investment to put towards the next things your children need, but is there a better way?
Enter Enkore Kids:
We're not your traditional "consignment" store: We buy your items directly from you at the time of your appointment in either cash or twice the amount in store credit! The benefits are:
- You know exactly what you're getting and can make an informed decision as to whether you wish to sell your items to us or not. (No hard feelings if you pass on our offer, really, it's ok!)
- As we look through your items while you wait, you're also able to collect back any items we're not able to accept. And you get your bins or boxes back!
- You have money or store credit available to you immediately to buy things your kids need now, not 4 months from now.
Generally, we pay about 50% of what we think an equipment or larger toy item will resell for in store credit. We use the internet to determine an item's worth for things we aren't already familiar with. For clothing, books, and smaller toys, we need to be a bit more conservative. In clothing, only a certain percentage will sell at our original asking price and end of season clearance sales come all too soon. Books and smaller toys also have regular sales to clear out older stock. We promise to offer you a fair offer based on market demands.
Another great thing about selling to Enkore Kids is that you know your child's no-longer-needed items will be passed on for another family to use and enjoy and not end up in a landfill.
Ever stop by Goodwill? They have a HUGE dumpster right next to their donation receiving dock. Why? To trash the items they can't accept. Many Goodwill stores no longer sell toys because of the added hassle of having to check for recalls, so perfectly good toys get chucked along with the few hazardous ones.
So, checkout what our current needs are here.
Additional information in a handy printable pdf is available here.
Then call us at 301-668-0837 to make an appointment. You can compare your availability to yours by viewing our calendar!
Please let your friends know about us and become a FAN of Enkore Kids on Facebook to find out the latest news.
Jennifer Guenther
CEO/Mommy
http://www.enkorekids.com/
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