Your Kids: Save Money on Back to School with Consignment

with Mindy Spradlin

School is starting back, and for most parents, this means potentially spending hundreds and hundreds of dollars on clothes, shoes, school supplies, and so much more. The cost of these items can add up quickly, and if you have multiple kids...holy cow! Going back to school can be expensive!

But what if there was a way to save BIG on kids’ clothing and shoes? Those are the items that kids need the most, and they are also the items that are generally the most expensive. What if you could cut the cost of those in a MASSIVE way? I’m not talking about a coupon code that will save you 10% or a friends and family event that might save you 20%. I’m talking about saving 50-90% off of an entire new wardrobe for your child!

Allow me to introduce you to the fascinating world of children’s consignment sales. Local consignment sales in Williamson County are simply THE best way to reduce spending on the necessities for kids.

In case you aren’t familiar with what a consignment sale is, it’s basically a way to shop the closets (and playrooms) of hundreds of other local families at one time. Families sign up to sell, gather the items their children no longer need, prepare, price and tag them, drop them off at the sale location, and have them inspected. The items then get put out on the floor in an organized fashion, and the community gets to shop… and save! Most of the sales in our area have between 200-500 families who sell with them, so there is a HUGE selection.

Clothing and shoes are separated by gender and organized by size. You’ll also find an abundance of toys,

Halloween costumes, books, games, and just about anything a baby or child could need: Tens of thousands of items, all in one place!

Every sale is unique, and while they all generally follow a similar format, they do have differences, so check out their websites, social media pages and ask around to see which ones might be the best fit for you and your family. Some differences have to do with the types and quality of accepted items, the various ways to shop before the sale opens to the public, the amount of money the sellers (consignors) take home from their sales, and connections to a local charity.

Kids’ consignment sales happen twice a year, generally in early spring and early fall.