What do you do with clothes your children have outgrown?

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This. When my kids were really young, I had a ton of ridiculously expensive outfits people gifted us where it was worth taking to a consignment shop - but you need to find actual boutiques that only deal with high end brands. Now the tax deduction is worth more than the hassle and tiny bit of cash.

I sold some in bulk to other moms via FB groups. There was one summer where my youngest had to get all new shorts because last year's didn't fit. I took the bunch we had and sold them cheap.

I've also done mom to mom sales a couple times. Not anymore as they're now wearing adult sizes mostly.

You have to remember that while some people are at the consignment sale/store to score brand names for less, many shoppers just want clothes for less. They need 5 polo shirts per kid, for 4 kids. Your Polo shirt may be worth $12.00, but they don't care if their kids wear Polo or Target to school. They just need 20 polo shirts. Now Target will put polo shirts on sale for what, $5 or $6 at some point before school, so they will only buy at the consignment store if they can find shirts that cost even less.


A for Gymboree type clothing, if you work the sales & Gymbucks you can get their clothing for low prices as well. I just bought my son several new outfits from Gymboree last month and I paid about $5.00 or less for most of the shirts. So if I go to a sale or store and see a second-hand Gymboree outfit marked for $10, I think "I get a new outfit for about that much" and I am not impressed by the savings. (Also, there is a huge amount of Gymboree being sold on ebay, typically listed by the name of the line so that people can find the exact current or prior lines that they like best.)


Lastly, around here, consignment shops/sales have to compete with yard sales and rummage sales during the warm weather months and people sell their clothing for even less in those venues. At local sales, second hand clothing goes for nothing. No matter the brand. No matter the condition. So for people willing to hit the sales each weekend, they may only go to the consignment sale/shop at all as a last resort to fill in any gaps from their yard-sailing.



So to answer the OP---if I have outfits/items that are brand names, excellent condition, and bonus points if they are holiday outfits or some other popular theme or line then I put them on ebay. (But remember that ever-increasing postal fees & ebay/paypal fees will take a bite out of your final line there, too.) If we're planning a yard sale that year, I'll toss the rest there for $1.00 each. If not I just donate them.

i'd agree

it might also be the style that affects whether it sells or not

no matter the brand or the perceived affluence that goes with a RL Polo shirt in your area

(in mine - RL Polo means nothing - but other brands are highly sought after)

i'd have never bought one for my sons - they didn't like collared polo type shirts

gina

I donate a lot of stuff and sell a handful of things on my local FB yardsale group. The brands that are hot and go for more money in my FB group are Hanna, Boden, Tea, and Matilda Jane. (also all the smocked dresses - I don't know those brands but they are snatched up in minutes) There is a group in my area for upscale brands, but I'm not on it.

Hand them down to friends or donate them.

I co-chair a very large rummage sale at my church (we raise over $100k per year for charity).  Our guideline for prices is between 10-20% of retail, with the price dropping as the day goes on.  In all honesty 20% is only used with truly extraordinary items.  Brands like Polo we generally only get 10% and even then by the end of the day the price has been cut even further.