April 2024!
Ready to Get Started ? Here's What you Need to Know!
Supplies You Will Need
White card stock or cover stock. Regular printer paper makes for flimsy tags that do not scan well. Please use card or cover stock when printing your tags.
Safety Pins. It is good to have a variety of sizes. NO straight pins please! Use these to attach your tags to your garment. (a tagging gun works too!)
Tagging Gun. Super helpful if you want to use one but not required. PLEASE NOTE: If you choose to use a tagging gun you MUST tag your items in a seam (we recommend under the arm) or in the manufacturer's tag in the back of the item. We will not accept items tagged with a tagging gun through the fabric of the garment.
Hangers. Shirt and pant hangers in appropriate sizes. (we STRONGLY prefer that you do not use wire hangers!) Please do not place items under size 8 on adult hangers, they sell better o kid size hangers. Likewise, items size 8 and above sell better on adult hangers. Many retailers throw away their plastic hangers. Save them from the landfill! Call Old Navy, Carter’s or Osh Kosh and ask if they have any hangers you can pick up. Check Freecycle.com. Ask your dry cleaner. These are just a few sources of free hangers. Most dollar stores have kid size hangers and Wal-Mart sells them Cheap!
Packaging Tape. Little fingers will be in attendance at the sail and they love to take things apart! Packing tape works wonders for securing toys, sealing DVD and game cases, and of course, attaching your tags to toys. Scotch tape doesn’t stand a chance against a 3 year old!
Painter's Tape If you are bringing books, this is the preferred tape! Avoid damaging the cover.
Rubber Bands. When selling sets and outfits you’ll want to rubber band hangers together. I
Zipper Bags. Essential for toys with loose pieces, and easy to seal with packing tape.
Yarn. strong ribbon or zip ties. Great for tying shoes together and attaching some tags.
Preparing Your Items
Make sure your clothing, shoes and toys and equipment are clean! Dirty items do not sell and will not pass inspection.
Test out items that require batteries. All sales are final, and shoppers rarely buy toys or equipment that they cannot test out. Include batteries with your items. Items without working batteries will be pulled from the floor and returned to you.
Clothing
Hang your clothing so the hook of the hanger is facing left, just like a (?) question mark. When hanging pants on a shirt hanger be sure to pin the pants to the TOP of the hanger. Snap, button, zip: make sure all fasteners are closed.
If you have a shirt with a wide neck, or other item that is having trouble staying on a hanger, safety pin it to the top of the hanger on each side.
When selling outfits or sets, rubber band the hangers together at the bottom of the hook. Use two rubber bands just in case one breaks!
Shoes
Use yarn or strong ribbon to tie shoes together. (zip ties also work but leave enough "give" for trying on) Many shoes have straps, loops or laces that can be strung together. Avoid placing shoes in bags. Shoppers like to try on shoes. If they have to take them out of a bag chances are they will not put them back in.
Accessories
Hats, belts, scarves, purses & bags, mittens & gloves, socks & tights: attach sets together with safety pins. Avoid using bags if at all possible unless you are selling a group of the same items (ex. multiple pairs of socks.) These items do not need to be on hangers.
Bedding
Individual blankets, sleeping bags, etc. do not need to be on hangers.
We no longer accept Bedding Sets in any size! Baby blankets, burp cloths and bibs MUST be marked to donate unless they are NEW WITH TAGS!
Pricing
Price your items to sell! You finally got it out of your house, you don’t want to bring it back home! A good rule of thumb is to price items at 25 to 40% of retail. (60-75% off!) Keep in mind what you would pay for that item at a consignment sale.
CLICK HERE for all the details on why you absolutely positively should mark your items to discount AND to donate!!! Something is better than nothing: Mark your items to discount to 50% off on the last day of the sale. You will see this option when entering your tag information. Please also consider marking your items to donate. (We often offer a special 75% off FLASH SALE for your items marked with the D so you can still make a bit of $ before they are donated!) We help so many great organizations with your donated items! (IF YOU DONATE ALL YOUR ITEMS AND WILL NOT BE PICKING UP ANY OF THEM AFTER SORT, YOU ALSO QUALIFY FOR DROP-AND-GO CHECK IN--this is HUGE y'all, HUGE!)
Enter, Print & Place Tags
In My Consignment Manager (our online tagging system) enter all information, including size, price and a good description. This may seem intimidating the first time but it should NOT. You just need to get started. Pro tip: Grab eight items (1 page worth of tags!) and spend just 15 minutes giving it a try! Log in to your home screen through the Sail site. Choose Manage Items and then select Add. Now select your Category and Size and next either type or voice your Description, Price and Discount/Donate status into the template. Done! On average, this takes about 34 seconds per item if your items are organized by size and gender even if you are a slow typist. It's even faster when you master the voice to text!
A note- Inevitably, with thousands of shoppers in the building, some tags will get separated from their items. A good description will help us reunite them! We can sell an item without a tag, but we can not give you credit so please describe and attach well with that in mind.
When you are done entering your items into the system, you will need to print, cut and attach your tags. Print your tags using black ink, with your printer on NORMAL quality. Best quality is NOT recommended as it uses too much ink and the barcodes often bleed together, making scanning difficult. Our tags print 8 to a page (If you are trying to print and the system is asking you for a "print code" please log out and log back in from the link on OUR website.) Special Note: Any "copy shop" will do most of this work for you!! Once you click the "generate tags" button in the system, you will have created a PDF with all your tag info in it. You can email this file to any place with a printer (Staples, Office Depot etc) and ask them to print (and cut!) them for you. Be sure to tell them to print on white card stock.
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For clothing, attach the tag to the garment on the top right side. Please do this in a seam (under the arm is a good place) in the item's original tag if no other place is available on the right or somewhere that you are not damaging the item with a hole!! This is particularly important if you are using tagging gun! Consider where tags are placed when you buy an item new from the store. Tags attached with a tagging gun often catch on each other and pull small holes into larger ones. Don't do all that work and then have the items not sell because of a hole that could have been avoided.
For shoes punch a hole in the tag and tie it on, or use a safety pin to pin the tag on. Do not use packing tape on shoes, it comes off.
For toys and equipment, attach tags with packaging tape, safety pins or ribbon. Don’t be shy with the tape. We cannot sell an item without a tag. If your toy comes with small pieces, you must secure them as if you expect them to be shopped for during a hurricane. (In our experience, this is a similar scenario to dozens of small children trying to "just look" at your items during sail week)
For books, puzzles, games & dvds use painter's tape (masking tape!) to attach the tag to the back cover. Do NOT use stickers or packaging tape
***Special Note: Unless there are are small pieces that need to be attached to something, please resist the urge to use plastic bags for your items!!! Don't put shoes in them. Use twine or a rubber band for books instead of them, hang 3 or 4 onesies on a hanger instead of putting them in a bag.
Please see the tabs for "items we specifically do not accept" and "what to consign" for more detailed information.