My second time participating in the consignment sale was a far better experience. I knew what to expect and that makes a world of difference compared to going in blind. Last time I had to dump a ton of cash into supplies, this time I had plenty leftover that my expenses were minimal.

Supplies Cost
$5.00 – Safety Pins (4 Pks)
$5.00 – Kids Hangers (4 Pks)
$4.98 – Cardstock (100 Sheets)
$2.27 – Zip Ties $2.27
$17.25 TOTAL (Spring costs were $63.10.)
$40.00 – Pedal Car
$57.25 REAL TOTAL

During our drop off appointment I noticed a lady unloading a metal pedal car from her truck. She was going to put it in the sale. The husband jumped at the chance to get it! She was asking $65.00, but said she would do $40 right then and there. We only had $30 cash on us, but she graciously accepted a personal check. That was back in October and my $40 check still has not been cashed. I’m not sure what happened, perhaps she lost it? Unfortunately I don’t remember her last name or have a way to get hold of her now. I’m still counting that $40 as an expense from the sale though. That lovely pink will be painted over, just another project to throw on our to-do list.  The kid could care less about the pink, he loves that car!

When the sale ended, my total sales came to $734.50 I had about $1250 in inventory this time, with very few big ticket items, mostly clothing. I completely forgot to write down, or screen cap, my inventory totals before the system was closed down for the season, so $1250 is the number that comes to mind, not exact. Unlike before I did opt to mark items down for discount day. That means every thing marked with a star is 50% off that last two days of the sale. That helped boost my sales significantly!! I will absolutely do that in future sales.

The husband volunteered 16 hours in order for us to get back 80% of our sales. He ended up missing a volunteer shift when our well pump blew up, left us without running water, and kept him up all night and day repairing. The owners of the sale were very understanding (the owner’s mother even sent me a personal email about her well experience!) and rescheduled him without issues. (Normally they will take a fee for no-shows or refuse to reschedule, but we emailed and called to make sure they were aware of the situation.) The reschedule worked in his favor too. He went from set up to security, and he was allowed to open carry (gun permit). He thoroughly enjoyed that! I think in the future we may choose not to volunteer and just keep 70%. Although he gets along so well with the owner’s, they’d probably consider hiring him on. Networking is important!!

The final breakdown is…
$734.50 – My Final Sales
-$146.90 – 20% of Sales
-$9.50 – Registration Fee
-$57.25 – Supplies Costs
$520.85 FINAL TOTAL

I met my goal of $500 after fee’s!  Of course I would have loved more, but I’m pleased with the outcome.  I don’t think I’ll participate in the spring 2013 sale if they are accepting 1000 consignors again.  Too crowded.  Too many clothing items, the racks were too full.  That lowers the sales for us sellers too.  We’ll see what happens when the time comes.