How to Prepare Items

Supplies Needed

• Wire Hangers or Heavy Duty Plastic Hangers work best (Dollar Tree, Walmart, Target, Dry Cleaner)
• Safety pins (at least 1 inch pins)
• Yarn or Ribbon
• Clear Packing Tape
• Ziploc Bags (If needed for multi piece items)
• 3 x 5 index cards
• Black or Red Pen
• Zip Ties are nice to have

Hangers

Infant hangers only work well for Newborn to size 2. Sizes 3 and up tend to fall off of Infant hangers, causing your items to fall to the floor during the sale. Use larger hangers for sizes 3 and up. You will not get your hangers back, so purchasing hangers from Rolling Hills Thrift Store, the Dollar Tree, or even at your local Dry Cleaners (sometimes) will be most cost effective. Wire Adult size hangers are easiest to pin through.

Safety Pins

Use 1 inch or bigger safety pins. Hint: Pin the card to your item by placing the pin HORIZONTALLY through the index card. Horizontal pinning helps keep the card from being separated from their item during the sale.

Yarn or Ribbon

Hard to tag items can be secured with Yarn or Ribbon. Punch a hole or cut a slit in the index card and tie with the ribbon. (To secure the hole or slit, you can place clear packing tape over the top of the index card before punching the hole or cutting the slit. This keeps the card from ripping.) Tie the yarn or ribbon with the tag to the item. If tying is not an option, you can use clear packing tape to tape the ribbon to the item. Be careful that the tape will not tear off any part of the item you are trying to sell.

Clear Packing Tape

Clear packing tape will allow you to secure all parts to toys and tags to non-clothing items. Please do not tape tags on soft items like stuffed animals or bedding – they will not stay on. Do not tape over the lower part of the tag – tape the top part of the tag only. Be careful that the tape will not tear off any part of the item you are trying to sell.

Ziploc Bags

Use Ziploc bags for items with lots of parts. Tape the bags shut with clear packing tap. Place the tag on the outside. Do NOT put the tag inside the bag. We cannot get the tag out when the shopper is purchasing the item.

3 x 5 Index Cards

Buy your Index Cards early! Ruston area stores run out of Index Cards around Kool Kids sale time.

Black Pen or Red Pen

Black pens are for items you do not want to go ½ off on the Saturday 1/2 price sale. Red pens are for items you DO want to go ½ price on Saturday. We highly recommend RED!!! Your items will probably sell on Saturday if the item is still available on Saturday.

Zip Ties

Zip ties are nice to have if you have an item you need to keep together. They especially work well with shoes!

How to Prepare Your Items to Sell

The better your items look, the more likely they are to sell and the more money you will get for them. Take the time to prepare your items! Thoroughly inspect the items you are including in the sale. Make sure they are in Gently Used condition free from damage and excessive wear.

Rule of thumb: If You Wouldn't Buy it, Don't Sell it.

When preparing your items, keep a donation box close by. If you find an item is not something you would purchase or buy it is probably not suitable for the sale.

***Any item recalled by the Consumer Product Safety Commission and not in compliance of the CPSA.

Clothing

• Inspect your clothing carefully. Accepted clothing cannot be stained, soiled, faded, pilled, torn, have holes, missing buttons or snaps, broken zippers or clothing that has unpleasant odors.
• Washing your clothing before selling helps remove stains.
• Clothing must be hung on wire or heavy duty plastic hangers. Infant hangers only work well for Newborn to size 2. Sizes 3 and up tend to fall off Infant hangers, causing your items to fall to the floor during the sale. Use larger hangers for sizes 3 and up.
• The hanger hook should FACE THE LEFT like a question mark to ensure that the shoppers flipping through the racks can see the front of your clothes.
• Items that are clean, ironed, and starched sell much better! Present them at their best for the most $$$ for you!
• When hanging your clothes, zip all zippers and snap all snaps. Replace missing buttons and button all items.
• Attach your tags using a Horizontal safety pin to the upper right front of the garment as you are facing it. See the Tagging Guide to help assist you in tag placement and proper pinning techniques.
• Pants/Skirts/Jeans - Pin the waistband of the pants or skirt to the shoulders of the hangers. Use Wire Hangers only! Use big safety pins! DO NOT fold pants over the hangers.
• Clothing tends to sell best as an outfit or set. Pin the waist of the pants, shorts, or skirt to the back of the shirt with a large safety pin going through the top of the hanger. Refer to the Tagging Guide for more assistance.
• Place all small accessories to be sold with the outfit (hair accessory, belts, socks and tights) in a ziploc bag and secure with clear packaging tape. Including these items with the outfit will allow you to increase the selling price.

Shoes

• Shoes must be in excellent condition. They must be clean and have shoelaces, etc.
• Scuffs can be removed from shoes with Mr. Clean Magic Eraser
• Shoes need to be attached to each other. The most secure way to do this is with small zip ties. Ribbon works well too.
• Shoes that can't be zip tied can easily be placed in Ziploc bags. Use clear packging tape to securely close the bag. Do not put the tag inside the Ziploc. Tape the tag to the outside of the bag.
• No shoeboxes please.
• You are limited to 5 pairs of girls' shoes and 5 pairs of boys' shoes.
• All shoes must be sold for 1/2 price on Saturday, so the card must be written in RED INK.

Toys

Toys Sell! Clean out your toys!

• Must be clean, have all the parts, and be in working order.
• Put batteries in your toys if batteries are required. The items will sell faster and for more money if the seller can see exactly how the item works.
• All toys must be sold for 1/2 price on Saturday, so the card must be written in RED INK. Larger toys such as push toys, riding toys, kitchens, etc. do not have to have tags written in red.
• Use Ziploc bags for toys with lots of parts. Tape the bags shut with clear packing tap. Place the tag on the outside. Do NOT put the tag inside the bag. We cannot get the tag out when the shopper is purchasing the item.
• DVD's, Video Games, and CD's. Must be in working condition free of scratches. Please include the original cases if possible so the buyer can examine what they are buying and look at the content of the item. Tape all tags to the back side of the DVD/Games/CD’s so the front is visible.

Books

Books and Book Sets Sell!

• Must be in gently used and excellent condition. Tags are best taped on the back of the books. Be careful because tape can tear books covers so keep that in mind before you tag.
• If you think the book might be damaged by a tag, place the book in a Ziploc bag with the tag taped to the outside.
• Book sets should also be securely packaged in a Ziploc bag or wrapped in Ribbon carefully so they are sold all together.

Large Items

• Please do not send your large items in boxes. Large items need to be assembled. They sell quickly at top dollar if the shoppers can see what the item looks like fully assembled.
• Must be clean and free from wear and tear. No extensive sun damage or fading.
• Items must be in compliance with all safety guidelines and not recalled. Review recalls by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. You can also Google to find out if an item has been recalled or has safety issues.
• Large ticket items like furniture, strollers, car seats, high chairs, swings, bouncers, excersaucers, pack ‘n plays, outdoor play structures, bikes, playhouses etc. usually sell within the first few hours of the sale.
• Make sure that all parts, pieces and/or manuals are included. If you do not have the manual we will still accept the item, though manuals give added value and benefit.

All Other Items

• Clean and inspect all other items you sell.
• Make sure batteries are included if required.
• If a tag falls off or gets lost, we cannot sell the item unless the tag is found with the matching description. Attach all tags securely. See our Tagging Guide.

Remember, the more care you put into cleaning and tagging your items, the more money you will get for the items and the faster they will sell!