Mom2Mom Sale Tips

Mom2Mom Sale Tips {Sellers and Shoppers}

I've helped my mom set up and sell at several of these this past fall, so I have a lot of good tips for both sellers and shoppers. I will add more pictures to this post as soon as we do our next sale :) But for now, I hope this is useful!

In case you don’t know what a Mom2Mom sale is, let me explain. Usually an organization (such as a school PTO, etc.) organizes a sale to raise some money. They do this by renting tables to moms in the community to sell their stuff. The organization may have other money making options at the sale, such as a bake sale.

Sellers rent tables and set up their stuff, like clothes, toys, books, games, baby gear, and maternity clothes… virtually anything related to raising kids! Usually there is a big item room, where larger items such as strollers, outdoor toys, large baby gear, etc. are sold. Prices on tables vary anywhere between $10- $20 each, depending on size. Large items are usually charged $1 each to reserve space in the large item room.

Sellers are in charge of their own tables, making change, and all that fun stuff! There is event staff in charge of the large item room, so you don’t have to worry about that during the sale. The way the big item room works is you will get a sheet where you will list all your items (name, description) and the price you want for it, and the lowest you will take for it. The staff will then organize the room, and keep track of which item belongs to whom, and how much money it sold for. At the end of the sale… either you sold your items and get your money in an envelope, or you get to take your unsold items home with you.

So in a nutshell, that is a Mom2Mom sale!

Now let’s move on to tips for SHOPPERS.

- Bring a reusable shopping bag, or two, or three. It’s always nice to have your own bags as some sellers do not provide them. On the other hand, it is nice to shove all your purchases into one bag rather than hauling along a million crinkly shopping bags!

- If possible, leave the kids at home. 99% of the time, Mom2Mom sales are very cramped. It is hard maneuvering a stroller in and out of people, and they take up space when someone is trying to look at a table. More often than not, you won’t be able to try clothes or shoes on your child then and there. Lastly, it’s nice to be able to focus your attention on your shopping and not your child for a few hours!

- Shop with a mission. Bring a list of what you are going to look for, and try to stick to it. If you don’t you WILL end up spending more than you intended to, or buying things you don’t really need. The amount of stuff at Mom2Mom sales can be overwhelming!

- Make offers. During the last hour of the sale, many sellers just want their items gone and are willing to lower their prices! Don’t be afraid to make an offer.

- Shop with a friend. Talk to each other about what you are going to look for, and you will get through more tables a lot faster! Have cell phones on you so that if you need to call your friend over to a table for a potential sale, you can do so.

Now let’s move on to a lot of tips for SELLERS. I divided the tips into three categories: Pre Sale, During the Sale, and Post Sale.

PRE SALE TIPS:

- Do your research and find local sales. The site we use is Mom2MomList. It lists many of the sales in southeastern Michigan.

- We like to sell at the larger sales. Usually, sales with 100+ tables attract more buyers, and you have a better chance of selling your things. Also, keep an eye on the area of town that the sale is located. In a wealthier part of town, shoppers will be more likely to buy at your asking price as opposed to shopping for dirt cheap items.

- Gather up EVERYTHING you want to sell, such as clothes, toys, books, large items, etc.

- Split clothes up by gender, size, and season. For us, we had boy clothes and girl clothes in sizes NB to teens! So we had girls 2T and boy’s 2T pile for both summer AND winter. We did this by using Rubbermaid tubs for each pile.

- Make sure everything is in good condition. Clothes should be free of stains, rips and tears, and missing buttons and broken zippers. Toys should be in working condition and not be missing pieces, etc.

- Next, work on pricing your items. We made a general pricing chart (which you can see below) and tried to stick to it. Buyers will often make bargains with you, so it is up to you if you want to bargain with them. (You WILL sell more if you do!)

 

- A price tagging gun works really well for tagging each thing individually. We used this to tag all of our clothes. For things you can’t tag, you can write on masking tape or a sticker and that works just as well. (One tip if you do that: Write the item NAME on the tape too, just in case someone tried to swap price tags!)

- Do some research for fair pricing. Look on Amazon to see how much your item is in NEW condition, and price it accordingly. You can also look on Craigslist for a general idea of what to price toys and baby gear at.

- Look and see how much stuff you have and that will help you determine how much table and rack space you need to rent at a sale. Tables can cost anywhere between $15 to $25 each, and rack space is about $5, so you don’t want to go overboard and buy too much (this will eat away at your profits). At the same time, you don’t want to rent too little space… or you won’t have anywhere to put all your items.

- A general rule is about 4-5 tubs will fit on top of a 6 foot table, and about 5 to 6 tubs fit on an 8 foot table. Plus keep in mind you have space under the table too.

- Pack tablecloths for the tables during the sale. I've been to a sale or two where the tables were grimy and I didn't want my clothes to touch that!

- If you’re renting more than one table, I definitely recommend having a second person there with you. It is very hard keeping track of two tables when people are looking AND you are trying to make change for someone else. Plus you don’t want to risk having anything stolen. If you have to leave for the bathroom or to get food or look around, a second person manning the table is always nice!

- If you have more than one person at your table, request an extra chair, or bring your own. Many sales only provide one chair and it sucks having to stand for hours!

- Bring a LOT of change, especially ones and fives. Most people shop at the beginning of the sale with larger bills, so you will need to make change.

- Find out before you attend the sale if there is going to be concessions or not. If not, pack plenty of things to drink and snack on, especially if you are going to be by yourself. If you have another person, one of you can drive to get food.

- Sales are usually pretty long, around 4 hours! They tend to get slow and boring at times, so bring something to keep you occupied in the meantime such as a tablet or book.

- If you have a lot of dresses or coats and other things that need hung up, invest in a rack. They are pretty cheap, around $20 at Target, and they work great for Mom2Mom sales!

- Set up the night before, if offered by your sale! Most sales offer several hours the night before or about an hour the morning of the sale for setting up. Usually, the time allotted the morning of the sale is NOT enough time.

- Bring the following things with you to the sale: pens, paper, lots of change, something to store your change in, markers, tape, scissors, tagging gun, and plastic shopping bags to put purchases in.

DURING THE SALE:

- If your sale offers a “pre-shopping” time for sellers before the actual sale opens to the public, TAKE ADVANTAGE! You’ll never know what you will find regardless if you have kids or not. I like looking for movies, and those are often sold by the end of the sale.

- Keep your table organized!! People don’t like shopping at cluttered tables. Often, people will dig through your nice, folded piles and not leave your table in a nice, orderly condition. You will want to constantly refold and organize your table to attract more shoppers.

- Make signs for the front of your table indicating the sizes of clothing in certain piles. It makes it much easier for shoppers to target exactly what they are looking for, and they are more likely to stop at your table. (Below you can see the size signs that I made. I printed them out on bright cardstock, and them laminated them so they we can reuse them!)

- Be friendly and always greet shoppers stopping by your table. Ask how they are doing, what they are looking for, and if you can help them find anything.

- Make sure everything is clearly labeled, or people will constantly be asking you how much this and that is. If you don’t label everything individually, then make general signs saying “All clothes $1 each, Outfits $3, unless marked” or something along those lines.

- Keep the main things you want to sell near the top. If you have brand name or nicer clothes, keep them at the tops of the piles. If you have bigger items, but they are not large enough to go in the large item room, you can store them under your table to save table top space. Some people don’t really look under the tables, so just be wary about what you put down there.

- If an article of clothing doesn’t have a size on it, you can always tell the shopper how old your child was when s/he wore it.

- During the last hour of the sale, expect people to make bargains with you. This is a great time to sell things in bulk, especially if you don’t want to take it home again! A little money is better than no money after all.

POST SALE:

- Pack your stuff up nicely at the end of the sale so that it is easier to set up during your next sale.

I hope you find these tips helpful! Feel free to post any comments or other tips and suggestions below. Good luck to both shoppers and sellers!