This week I had the pleasure of attending the Western Mainline Just Between Friends Consignment Sale in Oaks, PA,
Just Between Friends is a franchise of mega consignment sales that you can find happening twice a year across the country. Check the Just Between Friends site to see if there is a sale running near you.
I have only been to one consignment sale before. It was a couple of years ago and I made the mistake of going the last day and not even early in the day. Do NOT do that if you really *need* to stock up on clothes or are looking for something in particular. All the great deals will be gone. The only good thing about going at the end of the sale is that many things will likely be half off. Consigners have the option of offering their items half-off if their item didn’t sell earlier in the sale. What doesn’t sell is either returned to the consigner or donated to charity.
This year my kid was in dire need of Fall and Winter clothes so I sprung at the chance to preview the Main Line Just Between Friends sale.
I went with my mental list of wants and needs: Jeans, pants, long-sleeve shirts, boots, a coat, Lego Duplos, Thomas trains and/or Chugginton Trains, and maybe some games.
Between the crowds and the sheer amount of stuff, when you first walk into one of these mega sales it can be a little overwhelming so you really need a list.
Having a budget in mind even is a good thing too, even if it might be hard to keep. I spent almost twice my budget. Oops!
Big bags and maybe a shopping cart, or a big basket to lug around your finds is a good idea too, if allowed. I didn’t think of this ahead of time but noticed a number of power shoppers who did. Luckily the JBF sale had holding area were I was able to drop off bigger items as I continued to shop.
What kind of deals can you expect? This will vary from sale-to-sale and from region-to-region. The sale I went to was in a somewhat affluent area.
But I’ll let you be the judge on how well I did. Here’s what I scored and for how much:
Coat with detachable and reversible hood. Outer jacket with removable and reversible inner jacket. So 2 jackets with 3 looks. The consigner helpfully put the original tag back on so I was able to see all the features at a glance. $8.
Three pairs of trendy GAP Jeans. $5 each.
2 Piece NIKE athlete outfit and 3 piece Thomas outfit. $5 for each outfit.
3 long sleeve shirts and a pair of athletic pants. Brands = Carters, Jumping Bean, & Garanimals. $2.50 each.
Circo pants = $2.50, Sonoma brown jeans = $4, Osh Kosh jeans = $4, Jumping Beans pants = $2.50
3 Garanimals turtle necks, $1 each.
Calvin Klein long sleeve shirt = $3.
Button down plaid shirt with vest and corduroy jacket by Good Lad of Philadelphia. $5 for the 3 piece set.
Wasn’t sure about this one, but thought it might make for cute holiday pics.
Dinosaur costume = $10
(Saw this at Target for $30+)
Thomas & Friends Rescue from Misty Island take n play set. Came complete with a bag of bonus trains: Talking Henry (minus tender), Bertie the Bus, Percy’s Sweet Special, and 2 random cargo cars. $20 for everything
Box of extra tracks = $2.
Big box of Mega Bloks. Consigner had a note saying there were less than 250 pieces but definitely more than 200. $5
Lego Duplo Race Action set. The box was taped shut but at $3.50 I took the gamble. The set turned out to be missing one guy and the paper number track. No big deal!
(Mega Bloks and Duplo sized Legos are compatible!)
And here are a bunch of pics of things I DID NOT bring home to give you an idea of what else is available:
disclosure: I was not financially compensated to write this post. The opinions expressed are my own and are based on my observations. I was provided a small shop credit to facilitate my experience.