Selecting and Preparing Your Items –
General Guidelines |
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* If you haven't
already, please
register
so you can secure a spot for us to sell your
items!
Below you’ll find detailed rules on what you can and cannot sell.
Here
are a few guidelines to get you started and thinking in the
right direction:
- Please
note that the minimum number of items you can bring to the sale
is 30 and the maximum number of infant/children clothing items
is 100. There is no limit on the number of other items you
can bring to the sale. If you have more than
150 items, you would need to register for an additional
consignor spot for each 150 items.
- We
carefully screen all sale items to ensure they are clean, in good
condition, and in working order. If you're in doubt on the quality of
one of your items, just ask yourself, “Would I give
this to my child in this condition?”
Rules/Steps for
Selecting and Preparing Your Merchandise
1.
Selecting Your Merchandise – what you can
and cannot sell
Generally, we accept most children's items as long as they are in
clean, in good condition and conform to the rules in the Accepted
Items table below.
Accepted
Items
|
Accessories |
belts, hats, purses, gloves, ties, dress-up outfits, and accessories |
|
Baby
Gear |
Swings, strollers, high chairs, bassinets, pack-n-plays/play
yards/portable cribs (see below1), baby
carriers, and backpacks, exersaucers, bouncers, jumpers,
walkers (see below2), play mats, slings |
|
Books/Media |
Children's books (except those printed before 1986),
parenting books, movies (DVD/VHS), music CDs, tapes, and educational
videos |
|
Breast
pumps |
Only if new in box |
|
Car Seats |
Your
car seat must have been manufactured within the past four
years (check date on bottom).
It must not be subject to recall or have been in an
accident. Please visit
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov
to make sure the car seat you are selling has not been
recalled. You will be asked to complete a car seat
checklist and bring it with you to drop off.
All seat covers and straps must be thoroughly
cleaned. |
Clothing
(Infant through size 14) |
Clothing for ALL seasons accepted; however, in-season
clothing sells much better, e.g. warm weather clothes
for Spring Sale, cold weather clothes for Fall Sale
Rules:
Maximum number of infant/children clothing items is 100. |
|
Baby/Kid's Furniture
|
Cribs
(except for drop-side cribs, see below3),
toddler beds, changing tables, dressers, gliders, chairs (except bean bag chairs), rockers
Rules:
-
Items should be assembled
-
All instructions or manuals should be included, if
possible
-
Furniture should be no older than 10 years
|
|
Linens
Items |
Crib sheets, bedding sets, youth beds, twin sheet sets,
comforters, and blankets |
|
Maternity
Clothes |
All sizes of maternity clothes
- current styles only, please |
|
Nursery/Baby Items/Decor |
Bedding, monitors, sippy cups, diaper bags, bathtubs, blankets,
potties, diaper pails, bath seats (see below4), guardrails, lamps,
decorations, picture frames, mobiles, toy chests (see
below5), pictures,
rugs, mobiles, pillows |
|
Outdoor
Play Equipment |
Slides, sports equipment, yard toys, sandboxes, wagons,
bicycles, playhouses, tricycles, ride-ons, and scooters |
|
Shoes |
Kids
shoes and boots in "like new" condition. Only bring
your best pairs. The others just don't sell. |
|
Sleepwear |
Pajamas, nightgown, robes, slippers - Sleepwear must be made
from flame-resistant fabrics or be snug-fitting and have a
label stating "wear snug-fitting, not flame resistant."
If
you have any children’s robes, loose fitting pajamas,
nightgowns or loungewear made from cotton or a cotton
blend fabric, they may not meet the flammability
standard.
|
|
Specialty
Wear |
Swimwear, dancewear, uniforms, costumes |
|
Sporting
Equipment |
Bats,
balls, helmets, gloves |
|
Stuffed
Animals |
Only NEW stuffed animals with the tags on and used licensed
characters (like Elmo, Dora, Pooh, etc.) |
|
Toys/Video Games |
90-95% of consigned toys sell. They are very
popular. We accept games (board, computer and video), computer game systems
(Nintendo, etc.), puzzles, electronic toys, pull
toys, trucks, action figures, Lego tables, rattles, and
activity blankets to name a few. |
1PLAY YARDS AND
PORTABLE CRIBS:
Inspect all
mesh-sided play yards and portable cribs, and play yards with wooden
side slats and portable wooden cribs for the following safety
features:
• mesh-sided play
yards and portable cribs with drop sides have warning labels that
say the sides should never be left in the down position;
• top rails of
mesh-sided play yards and cribs with a hinge in the center
automatically lock when the rails are lifted into the normal use
position;
• mesh-sided play
yards or portable cribs have no rivets protruding 1/16 inch or more
on the outside of the top rails;
• the mesh has a
small weave (the openings are less than 1/4 inch);
• the mesh has no
tears or loose threads;
• the mesh is
securely attached to the top rail and floor plate;
• the covering of
the top rails has no tears or holes;
• any staples,
rivets, or screws used in construction are not loose or missing; and
• wooden play
yards and portable wooden cribs have slats that are no more than 2
3/8 inches apart and no broken or missing parts.
2WALKERS:
Walkers
should either be at least 36 inches wide at the base or have
gripping strips under the edge to help stop it at the edge of a
step.
3CRIBS:
• make sure your
product is not the subject of a recall;
• slats spaced no
more than 2 3/8 inches apart;
• no missing or
loose slats;
• no recalled
crib with drop side (millions of cribs with drop sides have been
recalled)
• a
properly-sized mattress. The mattress is too small if you can fit
more than two fingers between the edge of the mattress and the side
of the crib. An infant can get his head or body wedged in the extra
space and suffocate.
• corner posts
are no more than 1/16 inch high. They can be catch points for
objects or clothing worn by a child and cause strangulation.
• no missing,
broken or loose hardware;
• no decorative
cutouts in the headboard or footboard. Cutouts can entrap a child’s
head; and
• no unsecured
mattress support hangers that can be easily dislodged. Children can
be entrapped and suffocate.
• Each mattress
(and accompanying box spring) must have a "Part 1633" compliance
label which is included on all mattresses manufactured on or after
July 1, 2007 to show that the mattress meets CPSC's flammability
standard.
4BATH
SEATS:
Don’t sell
bath seats that:
• attach to
the tub floor with suction cups;
• were made
before 2007 (see date code stamp on the bottom of the product);
• are broken
or damaged;
• do not have
warnings visible on the product.
5TOY
CHESTS:
Every toy
chest and other toy storage unit with a hinged lid to be sure it
meets all of the following safety criteria:
• It has a
spring-loaded lid support that will keep the lid open in any
position without adjustment;
• it has no
latch or lock that could trap a child inside the chest; and
• it has two
or more ventilation holes or openings near the top of the front
or sides.
Non-Accepted
Items
|
Baby Gear |
pack-n-plays/play yards/portable cribs/walkers that
do not meet the above requirements |
|
Bath |
Books,
squeeze toys, and other toys made from soft plastic |
|
Books |
Books
printed before 1986 and those with metal spiral bindings |
|
Breast
pumps |
Used |
|
Car
seats |
Older
than four years or that have been in an accident |
|
Chairs |
Bean
bag chairs |
|
Clothes |
-
More
than 100 items of clothing
-
Clothes with rhinestones
-
Clothes with
drawstrings (to sell this item, remove drawstrings
from the hood and neck of jackets and sweatshirts; for
waist/bottom drawstrings, trim drawstrings so that no
more than to 3 inches extends from the garment on either
side.)
-
If any snaps, pom-poms, zipper pulls or buttons can
be pulled off of a small child’s garment, it should
not be sold. So give a strong tug to these pieces
before you sell them. If something comes off that
could choke a child under the age of 3, do not sell
the garment.
|
|
Cribs |
Drop-side cribs and cribs that do not meet the above
requirements |
|
Dolls or
stuffed toys |
Any
that have buttons, eyes, noses or other small parts that are
not securely fastened; and dolls that contain soft, pliable plastic
(like Barbies) |
|
Feeding |
Open
formula, medication, baby
bottles, booster seats, plastic bibs, plastic placemats,
utensils |
|
Infant
supplies |
Pacifiers, teethers |
|
Inflatable pool toys |
All |
|
Jewelry |
Metal
children's jewelry |
|
Nursery/Baby Items/Decor |
Bath
seats and toy chests that do not meet the above requirements |
|
Stuffed
animals |
Used,
unless they are licensed characters (such as Elmo, Dora,
Pooh, etc.), beanie babies |
|
Toys |
Toys containing magnets or magnetic components, such as
construction sets, action figures, dolls, and puzzles.
Painted wooden toys, painted metal toys, toys from fast food
restaurants (like McDonalds), toys with soft plastic that
are made for infants like squeeze toys, toys lacking the
required age warnings.
Toys that have small parts or are easily breakable into
small parts that are for children age 3 and under. |
Please check
to make sure that none of the items you are selling have been
recalled for any reason
Consumer Product
Safety Commissions Recall List by Manufacturer.
If you
visit this link you can select the manufacturer from the menu then
click "Find" above the list. To find the item you are looking
from the results click on "edit" in your Internet menu bar at the
top then "find on this page" and enter the name of the item and
click "next" repeatedly until you have searched through all the
items.
Also, for CAR
SEATS, please check the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration's Child Restraint Recalls at
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov
IMPORTANT: There is a new law that has been passed called
the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). It prohibits retailers from selling children's toys, clothing, etc. that contain
high levels of lead, lead paint, and phthalates
(a group of chemicals that are used to make vinyl and other plastics
soft and pliable).
In the
future, children's products will be required to have labels
indicating their compliance with this law. Children's products
that have been manufactured prior to this labeling requirement
(2/10/2009) must be tested by a government-approved testing agency
to ensure they do not contain levels of lead paint, lead content or phthalates in excess
of the new standard. This testing requirement can be costly.
To make sure
we are compliant with this new law, certain items are no longer
accepted at the sale. They are included in the list above.
If you are
interested in reading additional information on the new CPSIA, visit
these links on the Consumer Product Safety Commission's website:
Retailers Information on CPSIA (especially Table C)
Manufacturers Information on CPSIA (especially "What products are
covered by the prohibition on the use of phthalates" section).
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2.
Preparing Your Merchandise for Sale
Parents are very
picky when buying for their kids. These rules and
tips will help your items sell, as well as, pass the careful scrutiny of our merchandise screeners
at your Drop-off.
- Cleaning your items:
ALL items must be clean. Make your items look
brand new. The more time you take to wash and iron your
clothing, the more likely it will be purchased. You want
items to look as close to new condition as possible. Toys should be washed and
disinfected to remove any dirt and odors. We will NOT accept
toys with any kind of dirt on them. All clothing and items with
cloth need to be washed. Clothing that has been stored for
awhile should be washed again to rid any musty odors or wrinkles
developed during storage.
- Books:
Books must appear in good condition without any writing or
large page tears. Clean book covers to remove any dirt.
- Clothing preparation: All clothing must be washed
and hung on hangers.
- Wired
hangers are preferred. If you need wire hangers, you can purchase hangers
inexpensively at 99 Cent Stores, Dollar Tree, Big Lots!, etc.
Dry cleaners are also a good source for wire hangers.
Please note, hangers are not returned to you.
- Be
sure to inspect the items you plan on selling carefully.
Make sure that everything you bring is clean looking and
smelling. If you would not buy it, please don't ask us
to sell it.
- Items
with stains, tears, pills, holes, missing buttons or snaps, broken zippers,
unraveled hems/seams, and items showing signs of excessive wear (e.g. faded, worn
knees or worn elbows) will not be accepted.
- Do
not use ziploc bags for clothing. People don't like to
buy things they can not look at directly.
-
Maternity
clothes must be of a current style that buyers would
like (find attractive).
- Button all the buttons, zip all the zippers, tie all the
bows, etc.
- Hang
the clothes well. If it is a two-piece set, safety pin
the pants to the back shoulder part of the top and hang the
top on the hanger. If the neck hole is large and item
keeps falling off the hanger, safety pin the shoulders to
the hanger. If things look sloppy or are constantly
falling to the floor, they will not be sold and will
probably get lost or stolen.
- Linens:
If possible, hang your linens on wire hangers and make sure set pieces
are pinned together. Larger crib sets (that cannot be easily
hung) should be packaged in sealable plastic bags (linen bags).
-
Battery-operated Toys:
Batteries must be inserted in
toys with batteries so that screeners and shoppers can
test to see if the toys are in good working condition.
People generally don't buy things that they can't try out first.
- Toys with many loose parts:
Toys with multiple pieces need to be packaged and
sealed together in Ziploc type bags. Place the tag on the
front outside, and tape the top of the bag shut (see
more detailed info here).
- Shoe preparation: All shoes must be cleaned
on the top AND bottom then zip-tied together to ensure they
don't get separated during the sale. Shoes with dirt or visual
signs of wear on them will not be accepted. They just
don't sell. Only bring your best looking pairs of shoes.
Please use
packing tape on the top part of the tags so they don’t fall off easily,
but please don't tape over the bar codes.
- Diaper
bags: Do not seal diaper bags in plastic wrap so they cannot
be opened.
- Please
do not put packing tape over the barcodes. This makes
scanning more difficult.
*Seller's
Cheat Sheet: Consolidated info/tips on
preparing, pricing,
tagging and dropping off your items properly.
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