Resale shops often also sell affordable new items, such as these butterfly dress-up wings.
I have written quite a bit on this blog and in my book EcoFrugal Baby about how to get baby clothes for free, but when baby girl started getting into 4T at 2 and a half years old, suddenly all our hand-me-downs, Freecycle freebies, and so on just dried up. What’s a mama to do? Well, I made the mistake of completely ignoring resale shops in my book because I figured most budget-minded moms would know how to shop for used kids stuff, often at better prices than resale shops offer these days. Imagine my happy surprise when I discovered the resale shop fill a bag sale!
Have you heard about these sales? Children’s resale shops clear out old stock by hosting these crazy sales where crazy mamas like me line up outside for a chance to fill a bag with any clearance tagged items in the store for just $2-12 per bag. Now that’s my kind of price. Here’s how to shop a fill a bag sale, if you have a resale shop near you.
- Sign up for your local resale shops’ moms clubs and newsletters so you know when these sales take place. They are often only advertised to members, and this will put you in the know about other specials and sales as well. Chains in my area include Moms Orchard, Once Upon a Child, and Grow With Me.
- Show up 15-20 minutes early! I showed up just 10 minutes early feeling silly at my eagerness, only to find myself 50th in line out of 80 women. Wth? You can imagine the craziness that ensued when the doors opened. An alternative type of fill a bag sale offers $10 per bag for the first 2 hours of the sale, down to $2 per bag at the end. Plan according to your pickiness.
- Shop for a variety of sizes. Because I was a ways back in line, a lot of stuff was gone by the time I got inside and figured out there was a bargain bin room and that only white-tagged items were eligible. However, there seemed to be a frenzy for 24-month-sized stuff while I quietly picked off every decent item I found 4T-8. In the end I got 32 items for $24, which I could improve on with my ninja packing skills if there were more items to choose from.
What are your best tips for shopping a fill a bag sale? Do you know of similar sales that offer even better deals? Please share your tips in comments. These kinds of sales make a great foundation for building a wardrobe, which you can fill out with nicer stuff to meet your budget. Happy un-shopping!
