Our free guide on getting kids clothes is packed with tips and tricks on how to save money on kids clothing. When I first had my daughter I was so excited to dress her up. It was great buying clothes and accessories for my daughter and taking pictures. I soon realized that I was spending a fortune and needed to be a bit more frugal. I didn’t really know where to start but I’ve now realized how to get free clothing. In this blog, I’ll be sharing my guide to getting free kids clothes.
Save when you can
The most frustrating thing that I noticed when cutting back was that there are many costs and fees that are out of my control. Costs such as doctors costs and day care cost cannot be negotiated and can be quite expensive. However there are another costs you can cut back on. I started cutting back on groceries, Cable TV and even restaurant meal although since having my daughter I haven’t had much time to go out being a single mum.
Read: 16 Smart Ways To Save Money On Groceries and Cheap Alternatives To Cable TV.
One day when I was thinking of buying new clothes for my daughter I soon realized that many of the clothes I buy only fit her for a month or two and there was no point in buying these tiny clothes for full price. Since this day I started to visit garage sales. At any garage sale, you visit you’re bound to find a kids clothing stall. You can even bag yourself some designer brands for under $10 which is astonishing. If you think about it these kids have probably only warn the clothes for a month making them practically new.
I loved the fact that I was getting quality clothing for less than half the price, that over the next few months I even started browsing on eBay and craigslist. I’ve soon come to realize that buying and selling clothing can get me an entire wardrobe full of clothes for free.
Ways to get kids clothes for free
When thinking of new clothes we all associate this with dumpster diving and begging but this is not the case. The best way I think about it is when your buying clothes for your kids you should buy them for the price you believe you can sell them for when they grow out of them. Once you’ve sold these clothes you should use the money you’ve made to buy more in a bigger size and stick to the budget you have making the item free.
Firstly you must think about the buying part, yes this will cost money but when you start to sell you can recoup this back and even make a profit. There are many places in which you can buy used clothing for reasonable prices. Here are a few places I’ve purchased from.
Craigslist.org
Craigslist is a great place to buy used clothing as they tend to be the cheapest. If you look at the right time and place there are many bargains available on Craigslist. The only downside to buying from this site is that many sellers will sell clothing in a “lot” this means that they sell a number of items as part of a box load. In order to get a few items you like you may have to purchase the whole box. You’ll typically pay anywhere between $1-$3 per item when you purchase a “lot” of clothing.
Pros: Cheaper items
Cons: You may need to meet someone in a car park to collect your items
Consignment Shops
There are many ways in which you can get some discounts at consignment shops. Many consignment shops tend to have the most expensive but nicest used clothing items as they are businesses that need to make a profit. However, you can look into discounted consignment shops and online consignment shops such as ThredUp. If you purchase from a high-end consignment shop you’ll be looking to pay anything between $5-$10 per item.
Pros: Professional atmosphere, genuine businesses
Cons: More expensive
Garage Sale
Garage sales are a great way to get bargains on used clothing. Most of the sellers at garage sales are looking to declutter and get rid of stuff making the items cheaper.
There may be a time where you visit a garage sale and some sellers are asking way more for their clothing than you should expect to pay. However, at many garage sales will offer a selected range or cost-effective prices. You may expect to pay anywhere between 50 cents to $3 per item at most garage sales.
Pros: You can buy one item at a time
Cons: You may need to search through tables full of clothing to find what you need
Try and organize your clothing
Now that your familiar with purchasing it’s time to get selling. One of my friends has two daughters and it’s so easy for her to find clothing for her older daughter when the clothing is organized. In my case, as I have only one daughter and well not planning to have nay more kids soon I organize my clothing mainly to sell.
There are many ways in which you can keep your clothing organized making it easy to search for the items you need to sell when the time is right. here are some tips on how you can organize your clothing:
- Keep a Tote in each child’s closet: Depending on the number of children you have it’s best to keep a tote in each closet. I’ve noticed my daughter grows out of her clothes at the end of each season and it’s easy to throw these outgrown clothes into a tote bag and get selling.
- Try not to get lazy: You may sometimes think it’s easy to throw clothing into any tote bag and organize them later. However, this can cause more work in the long run. The best way to benefit from finding used clothing to sell is to keep them organized. The last thing you want is to sell an item you were planning to use again.
- Label each tote with size and season: When the time comes to sell you didn’t want to spend hours looking for items of a certain size or the season in which they belong. Label each tote with the size and season to make things easier. Such as “4TWinter”.
Selling used kids clothes
As I only have one daughter I’m constantly selling her clothes. However, if you have more than one daughter or Son you may want to hang on items for when your younger child needs them. I tend to sell my items mainly at garage sales and on Craigslist. Here are tips on how you can sell items:
Have a garage sale
this in my opinion is one of the best ways to sell items on our guide to getting free kids clothes. Sometimes I tend to gather a lot of unwanted items and love to have a garage sale at least once a year. This gives me a great opportunity to sell my daughters unwanted clothing as well as other bits and bobs.
During my garage sales depending on the items I have, I tend to set individual prices especially if the items are of good quality. In the past, I’ve had a number of smaller items such as newborn baby grows and I’ve priced them at one set price of $1. I’ve then put them on a table and labeled it “baby clothing” allowing customers to sift through the clothing and choose what they wish. Here are some more tips on how to maximize sales at your garage sale:
- Wash the clothing beforehand: Buyers don’t want to buy clothing that smells funny or has stains on it. Make sure you wash the clothing before selling.
- Advertise your garage sale: There are many ways in which you can advertise your garage sale such as social media like Facebook or Instagram. I find sticking posters up in the neighborhood is also a good idea as you attract locals. Craigslist allows you to advertise your garage sale for free which is also a good way to get customers.
- Mention kids items are for sale in your ad: As I frequently visit garage sales I’ve noticed that many shoppers will visit garage sales if they have kids clothing. It’s important you mention this in your ad to attract specific buyers. You may also want to mention if you sell other kids items such as kids toys or books in your ad.
Sell your premium items on Craigslist
When it comes to selling my daughters clothing “I tend to go through the tote bags and look for the nicer items. This is because customers on Craigslist are normally willing to pay a bit more for kids clothing and its best to capitalize on this. Here are more tips on how to maximize sales on Craigslist:
- List your named band items: Many shoppers will be looking for or like buying named brands. It’s important that you list the brands of each item to maximize sales. This will also help you list higher prices for items as shoppers will know they are paying for branded items and may be willing to may more. If you have non-branded items simply enter a description of each item the brand is not needed.
- Be able to compromise: Craigslist is normally where shoppers come to haggle for prices. The best way to overcome this is by setting the price of each item higher than you wish and then lower the price if needed.
- Post a lot of pictures: It’s important you post a number of pictures online as many customers will be traveling to your home to collect items. You’ll need a description of the item and its quality in order for shoppers to travel. Craigslist is free so it’s best you use it to the max and upload as many pictures as you can.
More ways to get kids clothes for free
Looking at the above ways in which you can make money on kids clothing it does look like a lot of work. This is true it can be a lot of work but if you get into the swing of things and continue regularly you can sell a lot of dollars over time of kids’ clothing and it can be very rewarding.
There are many ways in which you can make a profit from kids clothing. The key to selling and buying kids clothing is to buy for less and to sell for more. It’s also important to take good care of the clothing while it’s in your possession in order to sell for a premium. Here are other ways in which you can make a profit from used kids clothing:
Don’t pay premium prices
When looking for free clothing you don’t want to pay more for items than your willing to or what they are worth. It’s best to stick to the cheap stuff and avoid high priced re-sale places. If you do want to buy high-priced items make sure it’s an item you know you’ll sell for the same price or even more. Sometimes it’s best to avoid designer brands as many sellers overprice these items.
Spot bargain deals
There have been times where I’ve purchased some boys clothing even though I don;t have a son. You may think I’m mad but some deals are so good and at bargain prices you can sell them on for more.
There are some people that just want to get rid of clothing and will practically give away designer clothing. Gap Kids, for instance, is still a well-known expensive brand of clothing, and I’ve managed to grab some items for 50cents to $1. I’ve then managed to sell these items on Craigslist for $4-$8 dollars making a profit. This way I can buy more clothing for my daughter and still have money left over.
Take free stuff
You’ll occasionally find some people who don’t have the time or are not willing to go through the hassle of selling their kids clothes and will just give them away. Some of the reasons why I’ve managed to get free clothing is because people are aware that I’m happy to take them. I’ve also managed to make a profit on free clothing as I take what I need or like and sell the rest.
Ask friends and family to help
There are many occasions when friends or family members have given me free clothing or even sold me some items for cheap. All my friends and family members are aware that I’m always looking for bargain deals and are normally willing to offer me items first. The more you let people know that you’re on the lookout for clothing the more you’ll receive.
In Conclusion
According to our guide to getting free kids clothes if you’re willing to out the work, you’ll receive more free stuff. There are many studies that show the average spending of families in the US on children’s clothing. With a little hard work and organization, these costs can be skipped. An extension study from the University of Menisoda showed that low-income families spend between $28-$52 dollars a month on children’s clothing whereas Higher-income families spend $44-$78 dollars a month. This is a huge saving if you buy used.
If you cut down on the amount you spend on children’s clothing there are many other uses you can have for the money you save. Many of us forget that our kids go to college, need a new car, and even wedding costs. It seems pointless to spend a lot of money on clothing that your child would wear for less than a month. A family that spends $50 on average a month could end up spending $600 a year and even $10,800 by the time the child is 18 which is a lot of money.
Although it would be nice to have someone knock on your door and offer you, free kids, clothes, or clothing of a good price this will hardly ever happen. You will need to put in some hard work when it comes to getting free kid’s clothes, however the amount you’ll save can help you in the long run and really be life-changing especially if you stick to our guide to getting free kids clothes.
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