Any NNS NCT Sale Seller Veterans out there? Advice please!

[wadadlis]

Hi

I have a place to sell at the Colchester NNS in October. I have been starting to get our stuff together - mainly toys, children's clothes, maternity clothes.

Am waiting for sellers pack to arrive.

Does anybody have any advice about what to sell/what not to sell, what to do/not to do, please?

Particularly what sells well, and what doesn't...Not sure if it's worth selling my maternity gear, for example, though it is good nick - sadly I have only been able to have the one DC. Also have lots and lots of very good condition sleep suits/vests etc but realise that people may want to buy new for their precious newborns (I did!) - should I just hand them over to charity?

Whilst I have bought tonnes at this sale before, I have never sold...

Thanks

I'm doing a sale for the first time in a couple of weeks. Never been to one so I don't know how much to price things for. Can anyone suggest how much they would expect to sell/ pay for:

Buggysnuggle, furry (new price £46)
Muddy Puddles all-in-one waterproofs
Boden pinafore age 3-4 (new price £26)
girls coat aged 2-3, fully lined with hood (new price £26)
Monsoon party dress age 3-4
Cot sheets, new, still in packet

I don't want to price everything too high and not sell it, but OTOH we desperately need money and I'd rather not price something at much less than I could have got for it.

Where do you buy safety pins, now that Woolworths has gone?

Buggysnuggle, furry (new price £46) £10
Muddy Puddles all-in-one waterproofs £5
Boden pinafore age 3-4 (new price £26) £4-5
girls coat aged 2-3, fully lined with hood (new price £26) £3-4
Monsoon party dress age 3-4 £4-5
Cot sheets, new, still in packet £1-2

Sadly the buyers do better than the sellers at these sales ime. Especially as they will be chock full of girls clothes, boys clothes tend to be guaranteed to shift. Anything big I'm putting on Gumtree first to see if it shifts that way, then taking it to the sale knowing I'll get less for it but at least it'll be gone.
Try Poundland or Wilkinson for pins.

At our sale buggy snuggles (fleecy type) go for between £5 and £8. I guess furry ones might get more. Waterproofs about £3-5. Boden dress about £3/4. Coats about £3-5. Party dresses £4. At our sale you get charged 25% (plus your registration fee).

I know some sales reduce/waive the registration fees for volunteers. Might be worth asking? Or seeing if there is a table top sale near you - you'd keep more of the takings but pay more for the table, if you see what I mean.

Do you really only get charged 25%? We get charged 35% and I've been told this was set by head office as it were. I think ours is one of the more profitable ones in the country from what I understand, maybe that's why. It's quite a cut they take I think when you're selling things so cheaply anyway. And yes, I do know what good work the money goes towards and it's my choice yadda yadda. But I know people who have been put off sellign there because of the cut taken which is a shame.

Thanks, that's really helpful

Ours is 25% regardless of volunteering, and set by head office. We are a Gold Standard sale too.

Our volunteers get the benefit of (limited) early shopping - the hour before we open is vol only which is ideal for the rarer items like proper bikes.

A little more advice on pricing please everyone. All these things have only been used by one child so in pretty good nick:

2 x Lindam stair gates RRP £25
Lindam bounce about plus (bouncer which hangs from doorway) RRP £24.99
Mamas and Papas Lotty Ladybird light and sound playmat RRP £59.95
Zoggs Bobin jacket (one of those lifevest things which you can take the floats out of gradually as they learn to swim) RRP £26.99 Age 2/3 yrs
Skiphop pronto changing mat (travel change bag basically, used for 1 month only, child potty trained earlier than expected so it looks brand new) RRP £28.99
Babybjorn RRP £51.99

Thanks

2 x Lindam stair gates RRP £25 £10
Lindam bounce about plus (bouncer which hangs from doorway) RRP £24.99 (You might want to check these are allowed- some sales won't sell them. If yu can, then about £5)
Mamas and Papas Lotty Ladybird light and sound playmat RRP £59.95 £8-10
Zoggs Bobin jacket (one of those lifevest things which you can take the floats out of gradually as they learn to swim) RRP £26.99 Age 2/3 yrs £4
Skiphop pronto changing mat (travel change bag basically, used for 1 month only, child potty trained earlier than expected so it looks brand new) RRP £28.99 £3-4
Babybjorn RRP £51.99 £8-10

Thanks FFFF, will check about the bouncer, I know they won't let you sell a whole host of things at NCT sales - have just done a bag for charity which includes various electrical equipment plus nearly new cycle helmet - sigh.

Babybjorns are ten a penny at NNSs so it depends - if it's basically brand new in box and it's £10 like all the others, or slightly less, then it will be the first to go.

But in all my stints at a till I've never sold a single one.

A good ballpark is 20-30% of new price. If it is a large item and you have space for an info label, put the rrp (eg "currently £135 in John Lewis"). But bear in mind that people don't necessarily know what it cost new - so even if the lovely smocked dress was £95 new, you won't get £25 for it.

Right, well no box for BB but we do have an instruction manual!!

Will price down if that's your experience
Really helpful, thanks

Our guidelines say 1/3rd to 1/2 of RRP, but I always price lower as I want it gone. One exception actually was a babybjorn, one of the ones that cost nearly £100 new, in good nick, sold it for £35.

Thanks, had thought about some appropriate sales blurb on the price tickets, will attempt to brush up on my marketing skills!

Final question on this - how much would you pay for a 2nd hand Grobag, and a John Lewis equivalent?
I have hundreds to sell.
Was thinking of £5 each?

I have helped at the Colchester sale and will be in Oct it's a huge sale and the baby equipment and toys often sell.

When you receive your sellers pack you will receive a really good guide on how to price your pieces and how to fasten your labels.

If you are selling sleep suits and vests I would only bother if they are interesting/quirky/bright colours and on hangers. The are so many bagged up bundles of sleepsuits and vests and they don't tend to sell because they are so hard to display (ie they are just in a big bundle).

Maternity wear doesn't tend to sell well, I would suggest EBay.

Genuine grobags are often between £6-£9.

Thanks guys, really helpful