Before my daughter was born, my mother-in-law was very familiar with the boys’ clothing section. She raised two sons and was blessed with three grandsons. For years she was relegated to blues, greens, browns and purchased more T-shirts than Simon Cowell. Finally, in 2004, she was able to cross the aisle and shop in the land of pink and frilly. And when she shopped, wow, did she make up for lost time. For Christmas, birthday and really whenever the season changes, we get a nice package from Grandma Stone containing girlie skirts, dresses, etc. Unfortunately, as most parents know, I barely get things off the hanger before my daughter has outgrown them. Thankfully, Wichita has a variety of children’s resale and consignment shops where I can sell and trade these almost-new clothes.

We often hear the words resale and consignment used interchangeably when referring to secondhand stores, but there is a distinction. Curious about the true difference in the two, I called Kid To Kid, a west side resale store.  Whitney Pulen explained that a consignment shop accepts clothing and merchandise and the seller gets a percentage of the profit. With a resale store, the customer sells the clothing and merchandise to the shop outright, receiving cash or check immediately.

Did I mention resale and consignment shops buy and sell more than just clothing? Well, they do. If you need to furnish a room for the new baby, you can find an ever-changing variety of cribs, car seats, playpens and other baby accoutrement all in one place. However, if you’ve decided the kid factory is closed for business and you’re ready to unload all that baby gear, this is a quick and often lucrative way to do it.

Another great tip I learned from Whitney at Kid To Kid: if you accept store credit rather than cash or check, you can often net up to 20% more.

Local resale shops include:

• Kid To Kid – 2243 N. Tyler
• Trendy Tots – 3101 N. Rock Road
• From Me To You – 9121 W. Central.

Stores offering consignment opportunities:

• Twice Is Nice 2 – 783 N. West St.
• Hannah Banana – 2828 E. Douglas

Each store has different “buy days,” policies and hours of operation, so contact them directly for more details. If you’ve already discovered the secret of the kids resale shop and I didn’t list your favorite, let me know in the comments!

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