Traditionally, when you re-sale, you take your things to a consignment shop and they price your items for you. But a company called Just Between Friends holds bi-annual, open to the public sales that attracts thousands of people. They advertise for you and set up shop. Using the Internet, you decide the price.
It's all under one roof and full of clothes, toys and baby gear. Hundreds of consignors come together to re-sell their gently used items and recoup some of their money.
"You pay a lot of money sometimes for your clothes, and you want to get a return out of them," said consignor April Landes.
Landes had never consigned before but decided to sell her stuff at Just Between Friends because she likes having the power to price.
"You get to price it at what you want to price it at," said Landes. "With a consignment shop you are pricing it at what they want to price it at."
Franchise owner Jennifer Liebl says Just Between Friends is different from a typical consignment shop because at her sale, consignors make 65 percent of the sale price.
"I write countless checks that are $300, $400 [or] $500," Liebl said.
So how do you get started? First sign up at the company's Web site JBFsale.com and choose a sale.
"We have four sales now in Houston, and you can find the one closest to you to participate," Liebl explained.
I found several items that I wanted to consign including a car seat, books and clothes. The Web site has a step by step guide on how to price and tag.
Each item requires a tag. For example a dress I want to sell is for a 12-month-old. I simply choose a category, size and type out a description. Then I'm ready to set my price. Liebl suggests taking off 65 to 75 percent off the retail price. Since I paid $18 for the dress, I decide to price the item for $4.50.
Once I finish entering all my items, I am ready to print my bar coded tags and attach them to my clothes.
A day before the sale you'll have to drop off your items. In order to consign with Just Between Friends, you must have access to a computer and be able to print your tags.
We have more information on our consumer blog. There you can find out about the upcoming sales.
