As the children get older, a pile of unwanted and outgrown clothes grows also. All of a sudden Bobby has decided his favorite stuffed animal is so yesterday and he is too old for it. Sally is going through a phase where no matter what mom buys for her, Sally refuses to wear it. Johnny has grown a foot over the winter if he’s grown an inch so his pants are half way to his knees. And school is right around the corner with no extra money to figure into the tight budget for school clothes. Have you seen the prices on clothes this year?
Since mom and dad are such avid garage sale junkies, it only makes sense that mom decides to have her own yard sale. Making a few extra dollars is the prudent thing to do rather than throwing away perfectly good clothes with lots of life in them. So mom starts making a list of things to do to get ready for the sale.
1) Set a date
2) Gather everything
3) Wash, dry and fold or dusting sale items
4) Testing sale items to ensure it works and all parts are included
5) Advertising – pay for newspaper ad, post online, pay for road signs… or make them … hmmm
6) Price tags and markers – buy
7) Rent tables and some way to hang items – pay
8) Babysitter for the children – pay
9) Put signs up
10) Change box
Mom starts to bust her butt to gather gently used outgrown clothing and no longer used treasures. The pile quickly outgrows the laundry basket that mom has been using to keep everything in. Now she needs to find a place to store the future tag sale items that is out of the way. Not an easy task with three little ones running around. The designated spot to accumulate sale items is taking up valuable space needed with children running around playing. The best spot would be a little used place so there’s no worrying about something getting broke or a child getting injured. Not to mention it looks like a mess and might need to be moved or hidden if company comes over to visit.
Finally, the big day has come. The attic, garage and basement have all been hauled out. Mom has checked her list twice to be sure she has a successful sale. She has worried all week about the weather being too cold or raining causing a poor turnout in attendance. She had to ask the neighbor to come watch the sale for a few minutes while she put up the signs at the end of the road. Now she’s ready just waiting for the crowd. As she tends to last minute touches she can’t help but think about having strangers at her home and her safety. What will she do if someone needs to use the bathroom? God forbid if someone should get hurt while at the sale! As the day goes by with a few stragglers stopping in Mom wonders why her yard sale is not having better results. She thinks about all of the money she had hoped to make but instead spent. Finally, the end of the sale is in sight so Mom starts to ponder what she will do with all of stuff that didn’t sell. She is exhausted, disappointed and doesn’t have the energy to even think about it. Mom wonders why she even bothered, since it seems to be a wasted effort. Her thoughts turn towards finding an easier way for next time.
Later, after picking up the sale as Mom sits in front of the computer she again thinks there has to be a better way! In a simple search she finds Consignment Crossroads and quickly discovers how easy the website is to use. All that is needed is a picture of each item with a size and description. Since everything needs the yard sale price tags removed so it doesn’t get ruined, it only takes a moment to take a picture then upload it onto Consignment Crossroads website. Now mom can relax while waiting for a buyer then ship all of her sold items while counting the money on the way to the bank! Using Consignment Crossroads is so much easier, stress free and just think about all the money that will be saved by not have another yard sale….