To expect that things in an NCT Nearly New Sale should be in exactly that condition?

boogiewoogie · 2008-04-20T19:51:10+00:00

because I went to one today and it was chock full of stuff and buyers but there were some items which were clearly on its last legs and some clothes were stained and not even washed and ironed. If one is going to sell stuff at the NCT sales then one should make an effort to present things in sell-able condition. I made sure I only picked the best things to sell, some were even BNWT.

ScienceTeacher · 20/04/2008 20:53

Our NCT has 'good as new' sales. I would not expect to see stained clothes, and definitely not unwashed - ewwww

SueW · 20/04/2008 20:54

I think you should contact the organisers and express your opinion.

Not all NCT sales are like this. Ours in Nottingham has strict quality control and sellers get stuff sent back with labels attached stating the reason it wasn't put out for sale. Some of them are not very happy about that.

Original poster

boogiewoogie · 20/04/2008 20:56

Exactly ST. Sue, when I phoned the co-ordinator, she had already told me that it must be in good nick and I totally agree with that. I think that it's because it was so busy that they didn't bother filtering out the unacceptable things.

OP posts:

NorthernLurker · 20/04/2008 20:58

I went to one last week and whilst the clothes etc were all fine some of the other stuff was manky! Including a playpen that the vendor wanted £40 for but hadn't even bothered to wipe! And a pram with mud still crusted over the wheels....ok so you can clean it yourself but it doesn't exactly wow you as a buyer does it?

Flibbertyjibbet · 20/04/2008 21:01

I am just sorting out some stuff for the NCT sale near me next month. The list of conditions and what they expect regarding quality of items is pretty long - both for this sale and one in another town that I did last year it states clearly 'this is a nearly new sale, items well worn/marked or damaged will not be displayed no matter how reasonably priced'.
So why would anyone even bother to SEND not nice items in the first place?
The one I'm doing next month states no more than 10 items of clothing per seller so you can bet I'll only be sending the best and most sellable!

CarGirl · 20/04/2008 21:01

All the ones I've helped out at try and vett stuff but when say only 30 people are putting out potentially 3,200 (80 sellers with a limit of 40 clothing items each??) items of clothing plus toys and equipment it's quite hard to make time to quality control etc.

onepieceoflollipop · 20/04/2008 21:02

YANBU.

Our local sale was yesterday and was very well run. The co-ordinator will not allow things put out that are not in a nearly new condition. Obviously the odd item may "slip through the net" - but not more than one or two. On occasion some sellers have deliberately put in games etc with missing pieces but as the boxes are usually taped up you don't know until it is too late.

Such a shame that the odd person abuses the system for everyone else.

UniS · 20/04/2008 21:04

buyer beware on any 2nd hand sale surely. its not like your buying sight unseen.
dirty or overpriced stuff doesn't sell coz no one wants it.
The list of things that MUST NOT be sold is long and I'm not suprised organisers arn't able to filter out things that are legally Ok to sell but not likely to sell due to coondition, given how few sellers seem to read the MUST not sell list.

misdee · 20/04/2008 21:06

went to one yesterday and a few items were a bit close to being 'yuk' IMO. i did manage to get a couple of good condition sleeping bags though, and some maternity wear in good condition. but had to sift through a lot of not so nice stuff.

onepieceoflollipop · 20/04/2008 21:08

UniS sometimes some items are packaged in such a way that it could be difficult to check quality - e.g. if a seller packages 3 t-shirts say together in a poly bag. If a buyer was buying lots of packets like this it is almost impossible to check through each package and the potential is there to find the top one fine, but other stained or whatever.

As I said earlier on the thread tis the problem of one or two people spoiling it for the others.

It is incredible what some people put in - perhaps after a disturbed night they accidentally label up the contents of their laundry bin rather than the freshly ironed items they had intended.

onepieceoflollipop · 20/04/2008 21:08

UniS sometimes some items are packaged in such a way that it could be difficult to check quality - e.g. if a seller packages 3 t-shirts say together in a poly bag. If a buyer was buying lots of packets like this it is almost impossible to check through each package and the potential is there to find the top one fine, but other stained or whatever.

As I said earlier on the thread tis the problem of one or two people spoiling it for the others.

It is incredible what some people put in - perhaps after a disturbed night they accidentally label up the contents of their laundry bin rather than the freshly ironed items they had intended.

claraquitetirednow · 20/04/2008 21:09

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

itsahardknocklife · 20/04/2008 21:25

Yes, the NCT sales where i used to live were fab. I have moved a long way away and went to one NCT sale - it was really busy, which is a good sign, but I found that it was too much of a fight and I was disappointed to see that a lot of the stuff, both clothing and toys, was in very poor condition and I left with nothing.
However, I went to a boot sale this morning and got LOADS of clothes for DS, in great condition. I guess it just depends on who is selling. And one person's idea of good condtion can be VERY different to another's, as EBay has proved to me! (and buying from another website that shall remain nameless!)

Flibbertyjibbet · 20/04/2008 21:33

can I just hi-jack at bit and ask those of you who have recently been to NCT sales, whats the going rate for travel cots? If you saw any and noticed the price?

The sellers info I got for this sale didn't supply suggested prices and I have no idea what to ask for it. The NCT will take 30% if thats relevant and said they have no option to reduce prices to clear stuff -so I want to put a reasonable price on to get rid but not too low that I don't get much after the 30% is taken.

CarGirl · 20/04/2008 21:39

What kind of travel cot, with wheels/bassinette etc??

Anywhere from £15-£35 depending on type & condition IMO.

Best thing you can offer to do is help for the duration of the sale and then reduce if need be. Often a sale depends on whether there are lots of the same type of equipment ie 1 other travel cot or 6 others.

Flibbertyjibbet · 20/04/2008 21:43

Thanks, I was thinking of offering to help as its 20 miles away and the petrol to go there to drop off stuff then back to collect anything would cut into my takings too much!
I've got two (close age gap and needed to double up just for one holiday, arghgg!) and they are just basic so I'll put them in at £15 hopefully that should shift them.

CarGirl · 20/04/2008 21:45

the best thing about helping is getting to shop in the preview, not so much because you get the bargains but because you can actually look at the stuff without being trodden on/risking your life etc.

Flibbertyjibbet · 20/04/2008 21:50

No! No! No!
I am going to GET RID of stuff, not aquire anything else!!

I have never actually been to a sale during the selling time, heard they are a bit of a stampede! Last year I dropped off stuff for me and a friend and she picked up our unsolds later on.

littlelamb · 20/04/2008 21:58

I second the idea about volunteering- I did this last month and got some fantastic bargains that would have been snapped up before I'd even got through the door otherwise. Our one was very well organised, and the quality of the stuff was impressive. However, I went to one a few weeks later in the next town that was awful. A lot of the stuff was in very poor condition, and it was all packed into a hall that was far too small and unconfortably crowded. It just seems such a waste of time for people to put in manky things- it means volunteer time is spent putting out stuff that won't sell, and then the seller has to come back to the hall to carry all the things home again. Though a lot of the sellers with the mankier stuff did just leave their things there and not come back for it

rookiemater · 20/04/2008 22:17

I think its really mean to put stuff in thats poor quality particularly toys.

We bought an inflatable bouncy castle that was in its ELC box and the reason clearly it was up for sale is because it had a slow puncture. Dh also bought a pirate ship bath time game, again boxed, involving pulling out plastic swords, one of them was missing which defeated the whole thing.

I cannot understand why people would do that, it seems a very low way to make money at other childrens expense.

Love helping out at the sales though, they are always such a scrum.

CristinaTheAstonishing · 20/04/2008 22:23

The only NCT NNS I went to a couple of months ago had vendors buying the tables for £20 apiece, so none of that checking and bagging and labelling by the NCT volunteers, so I suppose lots of things could have been more the usual jumble sale than NNS.

soopermum1 · 20/04/2008 22:45

i used to sell stuff a the NCT sale near me. i used to see the same old crap getting dragged out time after time. got very annoying when my nice, washed ironed stuff would get hidden underneath all the crap so i stopped doing it. i suggested to the organisers that some of the stuff was not 'nearly new' and they got the hump, i presume they were the 'offending' sellers

claraquitetirednow · 21/04/2008 09:27

ok, the claraquitetirednow who posted below is not me. who has stolen my identity? i am very confused.

itsahardknocklife · 21/04/2008 12:24

how strange. I can't remember what the delieted message said but I don't remember anything offensive being said.

Flibbertyjibbet · 21/04/2008 12:40

No I don't remember it being anything deletable, how strange.

How could anyone change their name to you though Clara, you can only namechange or pick a new name, if no one else is using it already.