Michigan - ALL CITIES
Finding the sweet spot between pricing your items to sell and selling them to be profitable can be tricky. But here’s the deal: pricing is EVERYTHING in consignment sale world and you’ll want to be on your A-game! Great pricing is often the difference between a 90% sell-through or in picking up a huge stack of items at the sale’s end.
Here are two KEY things to ask yourself when pricing:
- What would I be willing to pay for this item?
- Am I pricing too high because I have “emotional taggage” and personal attachment to this item?
We like to keep things simple! So, below is our Ultimate Pricing Guide. It’s a quick reference tool for pricing bargain, basic, better and boutique brands. You’ll also find list of popular brands and their retail price ranges to help you at this link.
Bargain brands may include outfits from stores like Wal-Mart, Target and discount outlets. Consider bundling, discounting and pricing low for bargain brands.
Basic brands, including Old Navy, The Children’s Place and Carter’s, may have prices a little higher than discount stores, but there’s almost always a good sale. Most moms know about true retail value for these brands. They’ll skip any overpriced pieces. There’s usually a good variety of gently-worn outfits from these brands. Price competitively.
Consignment Mommies love to find bargains on Better Brands like Gymboree, Gap and Lands End. They have a reputation for holding up well and typically retain their resale value. You can price these popular brands for a little more and discount them. If you aren’t interested in discounting, stick to the lower end of our pricing suggestions. The majority of reasonably-priced items sell at full price. If they last until the half-price sale, these brands will be snatched up quickly.
Shopping online has opened a new world for boutique-lovin’ mamas. They keep up with trends and often shop a size or two up if gently-worn bargains can be found at a sale. If you’re not sure how to price them, ask your sale owner. In my particular market (Alabama), $15 – $22 seems to be the pricing cap on boutique dresses. Other areas and boutique-themed consignment sales have great success with higher prices on boutique brands.
No matter the brand or price range, here are 3 simple ways to be a tagging rock star:
- Make sure your items are hanging securely and look neat on the hanger. Check carefully for stains and iron anything that needs it. Button the buttons, zip the zippers and trim any loose threads. (You’ve heard this before, right? There’s a reason. It works!)
- Leave your emotions out of it completely. You can get wrapped up in memories while you’re tagging baby clothes. It’s normal, but don’t let those memories affect your prices.
- Attach tags securely and use great descriptions. If a tag is lost, the description is the best way to match it up with the item. When something loses its tag, most sales won’t sell it. Great descriptions can be your best tagging tool!
In the image created for the ultimate pricing guide, you have Carter’s as a bargain brand, but in the text below it’s listed under basic brands. Can the image be redone to put Carter’s in the basic brand? Yes, they have amazing sales, but their stuff still costs well more than Wal-Mart brands and such. I know many mommies who refer to this site and that image could hurt the resale value of Carter’s…
I would agree with all of those brands EXCEPT Carter’s. Carter’s makes very good quality clothes and should fall into 2nd column. “Divisions” of Carter’s sold at Walmart etc.. yes but not the Carter’s brand itself.
I totally agree with this statement. It is much better quality than those bargain brands it is listed with, or even Old Navy.
Yes! I just posted the same review before reading yours! Carter’s clothing is excellent quality! Especially for boys who tear through cheap clothing haha!!