Savings savvy moms are swarming to children’s seasonal consignment sales. With some moms making hundreds of dollars by recycling their children’s clothing and toys, it’s no wonder that consignment businesses are gaining popularity across the US.

I live near the Anoka County Fairgrounds, a popular venue for seasonal consignment sales. One morning when I was dropping my daughter off for daycare, I witnessed droves of women waiting in line for a consignment sale to open. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it!

This observation piqued my interest in learning more, so I recently interviewed Rhonda Doheny of Flip Flop Kids Swap, LLC:

MMG:  How did Flip Flop Kid Swap get started?

Rhonda:  Just over 10 years ago, we started doing a consignment style garage sale for friends, family and neighbors.  Each year the sale grew bigger and bigger.  People came from all over for our annual sale. In 2010, we began to consider opening a consignment sale business as we were growing too big for garage and yard space.  After several long discussions, we drew up a business plan and started planning our first sale.  Due to the popularity of children's items, that has become Flip Flop Kid Swap's main focus.

MMG:  Why do you think kids consignment sales are so popular?

Rhonda:  Children are expensive!  But, worth every penny we spend on them!  All the costs associated with raising children add up.  I think parents seek out opportunities to save where they can.  Flip Flop Kid Swap is a win-win concept.  Parents can sell the items their children are no longer using and put that money toward new items.  It is possible to get your child outfitted for the next season in one location without hunting down multiple stores and sales.  There is no hassle associated with having a garage sale.  They don't have to clean out a garage, set up tables, advertise, and spend three days outside hoping for people to come.  At Flip Flop Kid Swap, we take care of all of that for you!

MMG:  What is the average amount of money a consignor makes?

Rhonda:  It really depends on a couple of factors.  There are a few items that sell extremely well and some that it takes the right shopper to find.  Pricing is also a huge factor.  If an item is priced right, chances are it will sell.  The more quality items accepted into our sale, mean that more will sell.  Several of our consignors sell more than 60% of the items they bring.

MMG:  Tell me about event turnout. 

Rhonda:  Event turnout has been great!  Each sale has been getting bigger and bigger.  We do a lot of advertising and get people to come to both our business expo and our kids consignment sale.

MMG:  What are the most popular or "wanted" items?

Rhonda:  Books, DVD's, Video games, teen clothing and infant items including bouncers, high chairs, strollers and more.

MMG:  What steps would someone take to sell their items at a Flip Flop Kids Swap event?

Rhonda:  It's really quite a simple process.  1:  Register at www.FlipFlopKidSwap.com. 2. Use our simple online software to create price tags for their items.  3.  Print the tags, put them on items, hang clothing. 4. Drop off items day of sale. 

Of note is that our consignors set their own prices.  Also each individual item can be designated to be marked 50%off during the discount sale and marked to donate if it is unsold. At the end of the sale consignors can come and pickup any unsold items.  Unsold items can be brought to our next sale to sell again without being re-tagged.  Checks and donation receipts are mailed within one week of the sale!

MMG:  Tell me about Fundraiser opportunities that you offer? 

Rhonda:  We are proud to partner with many local schools, churches, daycare and community groups to help them raise money for their activities.  Groups simply register with us as a fundraiser and can do any combination of the three different programs we have.   The easiest is to hand out flyers or send out emails.  Groups earn money based on consignors’ referrals and also receive a portion of sale transactions at the sale when their group is mentioned.  These groups can also register to consign with us to help raise money!

MMG:  Why is Flip Flop Kid Swap different? 

Rhonda:  The Flip Flop Kid Swap difference ~We strive in providing a fun, hassle free, easy consigning and shopping experience.  Several of our consignors have praised us for going out of our way to make them feel like they are truly part of our sale.  We have convenient drop off times and are willing to work with our consignors if they can't drop off or pick up during the scheduled drop offs.  If a consignor can't volunteer during the sale, we also provide other opportunities to make a higher commission. We can assist in providing hangers and helping with price guidelines.  We have even offered pricing services for consignors without internet access.  We sell infant to teen items including clothing(all seasons), furniture, sporting goods and much much more!  We have a pre-sale for first time parents and offer early shopping incentives for our consignors and volunteers. We allow strollers and welcome children at our sale during all sale hours. We accept credit cards and cash.  We also give goody bags to our first 100 shoppers during our regular shopping hours on Friday morning. We welcome event feedback!  Our consignors earn more money at our sale than any other local sale.  There is an $8 consignor fee and consignors can earn up to 80% commission on the items they sell.

 Our Spring 2012 sale will be held May 10-12th at the Hastings National Guard Armory.  We are now accepting consignors and vendors.  Our business expo is a great place for independent and family business owners to get their name out there. 

MMG:  Thanks for taking the time to talk with us about Flip Flop Kids Swap Rhonda!

To learn more about Flip Flop Kids Swap, visit their website at http://www.FlipFlopKidSwap.com.  If you’d like to receive notice of their upcoming sales, be sure to sign up for their email list.