Just Between Friends Consigning 101

I first fell in love with Just Between Friends when I was pregnant with Jemma. I've always been a thrifter, but welcoming a new baby was exactly the event I needed to let my shopping passion fly. 

You see, Just Between Friends is the ultimate baby sale. It's a cross between a garage sale and a brick and mortar baby store - you'll find anything and everything you're looking for with a huge discount. The JBF consignment sales happen twice a year all across the country ... in some locations, three times a year! I'm always a shopper at the sales, but last year, I finally took the plunge into consigning. I was super nervous in the beginning, but JBF makes it easy as pie.

Today, I'm going to share a little step by step of my consigning experience. I hope you'll plan to attend JBF as a shopper and join the consigning fun too!

Before I get started on the actual step by step, let's talk about what to sell at JBF. Take a clean sweep of your home and gather everything baby or kid related that you are ready to part with. This includes maternity clothes, nursery furniture, toys and all the other normal baby things like clothes, feeding accessories, diaper bags and movies. I keep a large plastic tub in the corner of our spare room and gather things throughout the year to make this process easy.

When you have your lot of items to sell. Create a JBF profile here. This will allow you to register for the sale you want to attend and consign at, get a consignor number and create your tags.

Next, gather your supplies. This is what I keep on hand so I'm always ready to tag:

• Computer with internet access
• Printer
• White cardstock
• Tagging gun and barbs (You can purchase a tagging gun kit from JBF - details are on the right side of this page under "Need Tagging Supplies?")
• Zip ties
• Hole punch
• Quart size plastic bags
• Gallon size plastic bags
• Safety pins
• A mix of adult, child and baby hangars
• Baby wipes
• Magic Eraser

I usually do my sale preparation in a number of afternoons or evenings. This allows me to eat the elephant one bite at a time and take care of my kiddos instead of disappearing for a whole day :) These next few steps are broken up into what I do with each segment of time.

DAY ONE

• Prepare all clothes - launder, iron, hang on hangars, sort by boy/girl/maternity and then sort by size
• Wipe down all furniture, toys and shoes with baby wipe or Magic Eraser if needed
• Zip tie shoe pairs together
• Put all items that will be sold in plastic bags into bags - things like puzzles, bundles of onesies and small accessory sets like hats and socks

DAY TWO

• Enter all tags - having done the prep on another day makes this go super fast. I've even found it helpful to have an assistant dictate what the tag should say so I can just type into each field.

DAY THREE

• Print and cut tags - If you don't have a decent printer that accepts cardstock well I highly recommend printing the tags to PDF, saving the PDF document to a flash drive and taking it to Kinkos/Fedex. They'll print the tags with perfect bar codes and you can use their mega paper cutter before you leave.
• Match all tags to items - This is where a spare room really helps the process. Having a designated place to leave everything out allows you to come and go from the tagging process.

DAY FOUR

• Secure tags to items - You'll be able to use the tagging gun for most things. Use a hole punch and zip ties for toys and shoes. Blue painters tape for anything like that could rip or has paint - furniture, books and puzzles.
• Stack all items in plastic totes so they are ready for transportation on drop-off day!

When it comes time for the sale, you'll follow the schedule for consignment drop-off - plan for an hour or two depending on how many things you have. JBF volunteers will inspect your items to make sure they are in good repair and the correct season. Then you'll be able to place all your items in the correct section of the sale. If you choose to donate your unsold items after the sale - you're done! If you choose to pick up what doesn't sell, all you need to do is return to the sale for consignment pick-up - everything will be sorted for you and you'll be in and out super quick. Then, you're check arrives in the mail a few weeks after the sale ends - my last one was $300!

Other TIPS & TRICKS

• Questions about tagging? Watch a mix of Q & A videos about tagging here.
• Aim to sell 3-10 larger items and you'll reap a much bigger check - think furniture, play kitchen, cloth diapers, diaper bag, bouncer, etc.
• Unless it's something you really want to haul home, allow your items to go 50% off on the final day of the sale. You know what they say, a bird in hand is better than two in the bush.
• Consignors earn 60% less $10 fee per sale event.  Consignors who volunteer at least 4 hours earn 70%. The $10 fee is waived for consignors who volunteer 8 or more hours. (Different sales can have different percentage and fee structures so be sure to confirm this detail with your specific sale.)

The first sale you consign at will feel a little jumbled, but just like all new things, it will get easier every time you participate! Before you know it, you'll be addicted like me! Last summer, I completed my consignor drop off the evening of August 8th. Remember what happened at 4:41 am on August 9th? MAX WAS BORN! Yep, I was at JBF just hours before my little man arrived! Now that's JBF dedication!

Stay tuned for a few other JBF posts and a giveaway!

This post was sponsored by Just Between Friends Olympia. I hope you are able to attend and consign at the sale on April 26-28, 2013. Register here and like JBF Olympia on Facebook. If you aren't in the area, but still want to participate in JBF, search for the closest sale to you here.