Still Recovering From My First Children's Resale

[LeeAndra]

So I go to garage sales, Once Upon A Time, etc. for kids' stuff all the time. I heard abt a resale being held at a nearby church from 8 - 12 this morning so I got the kids in the van, picked up my mom on the way, and we were there by 8 am.

I figured there'd be a line but we'd be one of the first, say, 100 people in the door. I was particularly looking for a used plastic picnic table for the kids to use in the backyard this spring & summer.

ZOMG.

We had to park three blocks down and then wait in line for 30 minutes (in the cold & snow -- brr!) before we got in. There were easily 300+ people in line before we got to the end. By the time we got in the door, every single large piece had been sold and was being held in a different section of the church. They had like things together but divided up into different rooms in the church... and even though the Facebook page and all the other marketing materials asked shoppers to not bring their strollers, everyone did so we had to wait in line in between rooms and try to squeeze around strollers in narrow church hallways.

My mom bought a few pieces of clothing for the kids but I was so irritated (& sweaty -- no need for 80 degree heat when there are 500 people in a church!) that I left empty-handed.

NEVER AGAIN. I'd rather stab myself in the eye with a fork.

I recuperated at my parents' house with a chocolate-iced cake donut.

[KingsQueen82]

Aww that's the pits! I cannot stand crowds like that! No deal is worth it for me so I leave resale events, Black Friday events, etc for people who are much braver, and more patient, than myself!

[icindi]

I went to a twins club sale once and it was like that, too. Awful! My motto is always get there early for garage sales and such. If you're there when they open it's too late. Sounds miserable. Hugs! You might have a wait a little but you could probably find a plastic picnic table at a garage sale this summer. Good luck! I love garage sales!

[AZK]

I've bought and sold things at Moms-to-Moms resales many times! I learned early on to leave the kids at home, and I must say, that if it said "no strollers allowed" but there were strollers there, then that is the fault of the organizers not being on the ball and enforcing their own rules. These things tend to run in batches in the spring and fall, so you may find others that are a little better run. Try Craig's list for that plastic table! That's how I sold a game table when my kids outgrew it.

[fifilur]

I went to something similar a couple of years ago and never again! People charged too much for their old stuff and anything good was gone within minutes. And so so crowded!!!

[carrie1977]

That stinks! Sounds like they need to find a bigger venue.

[MamaBee]

Oh that sounds insane!! I even hate going to large neighborhood sales for the same reason - and those are outside!

[Nikki Epperson]

Darn! I love going to big sales like that, but I don't like being thrown into a crowd.

[meagan43]

In our area, we have something called "Just Between Friends". It is a consignment sale. I have participated for years. I both sell my kids old items as well as pick up new sizes/season items. They started much smaller, but have gotten bigger and bigger. Now, there are 4 in the area 2 times a year - 8 total sales going on for about 4 days. You get the best deals and best chance of items by volunteering and then you get in early on the pre-sale day. On the last day is 1/2 priced. It is awesome

[Valgal]

Eww. Yuck.

[nietis]

Ugh... that sucks!

[Tronesia]

Yeah, I don't do long lines. I like shopping online and avoiding all the people.

Originally Posted by meagan43

In our area, we have something called "Just Between Friends". It is a consignment sale. I have participated for years. I both sell my kids old items as well as pick up new sizes/season items. They started much smaller, but have gotten bigger and bigger. Now, there are 4 in the area 2 times a year - 8 total sales going on for about 4 days. You get the best deals and best chance of items by volunteering and then you get in early on the pre-sale day. On the last day is 1/2 priced. It is awesome

There is one of these going in here. I am still trying to decide if it's worth it to take my things up there. I have a brand new playard suite that I only used for a couple of weeks.

[rach3975]

My school does a sale like that 2x a year, and it can get crazy! This won't help you if you only wanted to make a one time purchase, but at our sale volunteers get to shop a day early. Some of the jobs are things like tagging clothes or setting up clothing racks, so you don't need to be there during the craziness . I don't know if all the sales work like that, but it might be worth looking into if it's only the crowds that turned you off.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

[lovely1m]

I've had great luck with the Facebook buy/sell groups.