Kid to Kid

Hey there! If you have a Kid to Kid in your area, then these tips and tricks are for you! 

If you are trying to sell your items:

1) Bring everything in exactly how it says on the signs, website, and Facebook page. Freshly washed (not fresh out of a box that sat in your attic or garage for a year, and please for the love of all things good and purse if you are a smoker keep them away from your smoking!! Especially if you smoke weed because there are people in the world allergic to it (like me) and it makes the clothes smell and bad which makes other nonsmokers not want to buy it), laying flat (not balled up) in a laundry hamper, or box. No trash bags, no Walmart bags, nothing like that. Box or laundry basket. This is to ensure that when the pre-sorter (the first person who looked at your clothes looking for things like stains, rips, tears, or anything else that you would otherwise turn your nose up to if you saw it in the racks) doesn't injure themselves. Yes, you guessed it, people have reached into bags and pulled out things that injure them such as weapons, needles, and anything else that could potentially send someone to the hospital. If you are selling anything that is a set, make sure the entire set is included. That means, that toy dollhouse you have that is missing some of the inside pieces, yeah just don't bother. All set items need to come into the store to be sold as full complete sets. Because here is an easy way to explain it, If you came in and saw it and saw that your kid can't enjoy that toy set to the extent the manufacturer had intended due to the fact that it is missing parts, then you aren't going to buy it, right? Same thing with everyone else. So why would we buy something from you that isn't complete when we know good and well it is going to sit on the shelf and eventually be taken out of the system and donated because no one will buy it?

2) Leave the car seats, cribs, and used undergarments at home. If you buy a car seat from a place like Kid to Kid, and something happens to your kid, who are you going to go to? Well you might go to the manufacturer, but then they are going to tell you "Oh wait, you didn't buy this from us, you bought it from a resale shop, you need to speak with them". And do you honestly think that the owners of that store are going to want to chance that? No. Not just because of a business standpoint it would bankrupt them, but on a personal level. I know the owners of my local Kid to Kid and I know for a fact it would just kill them if they sold something that hurt a kid. Even if it is a brand new car seat that has never had any issues and never even been out of the box, they still won't chance it because you never know what could happen. And the underpants thing, that is just ew. I don't care how many times you washed it, no. Just no. New in package? Go for it. 

3) Fill out the form in its entirety. I mean COMPLETELY! You have no idea how many times I picked up a form to pull up the customers information and come to find out they didn't put their phone number. While you're at it, make sure it is not chicken scratch. If I can't read your information, how the heck am I going to know that you are the one bringing it in and who to apply the information to? 

4) If you are doing a drop off, do the drop off and wait. Be freaking patient!!!!! In store takes priority. Meaning, if you come in and you're there from the time we would open, and you do it as a drop off, but 20 other people come in and wait in the store, come the end of the day it isn't even touched. Be freaking patient! It may take a few days, and I promise you they are doing the absolute best they can, but just be freaking patient. And if you are deciding to wait in store, keep that same advice in mind. For one standard laundry basket, it can take a pre-sorter about 10 minutes to go through and look at everything, unless they're seasoned. I timed every single employee on both pre-sorting and buying at one point on numerous occasions to see an average, and my personal best time was one box in about 5 and a half minutes. But again, that is because I got to the point where I was seasoned. But I also didn't pre-sort a lot since I was also a buyer, which also made me pre-sort faster. And just because the pre-sorter passes it over, doesn't mean the buyer will take it. Maybe there was a small stain on the collar that the pre-sorter didn't notice but the buyer did. Never know!

5) If the pre-sorter and buyer said no to your items, you can ask why! Don't be rude about it, just say you want to inquire so you know better next time. We are more than happy to explain why. 

6) Most importantly, understand what they do not take! When it comes to clothes, it is fairly simple. 

The payout process

Now, the biggest complaint I see is people getting mad because their brand new items (or the items they claim as brand new) are not getting them as high of a payout as they would like. Now here is how it works essentially. We enter the data about the article of clothing into our system, and the system uses that to determine a price factor. That is created by a simple formula that is based off what the item sells for brand new. So for example, a $30 item sold brand new, will be sold for about $10. But that isn't what we pay you for it, we will pay you probably $3 for it, and here is why. We  sell items for about 1/3 of the price of what it is brand new (half if new in package) and then we buy it from you for about 1/3 of what we are going to sell it for. Why? Because we are doing what you would be doing if you sold it yourself, but for you. You sell it online or in a garage sale, you have to put in the work and money to sell it yourself. Now, you don't have to, we do. We advertise it, we put it on display, we keep it taken care of, we get it to the new buyer, and so on and so forth. We do the dirty work, so you don't have to. We sell it for 1/3 because it is not new. Because you cannot tell me you won't be walking into there and see an item for sale and checking how much you can get it for brand new, and throwing a fit if it is more than 1/3 the price of brand new. You can't because you know it is true. If said $30 is used at our store and you see it for anything more than $10-$12, you will not buy it. Don't lie to me, you know it is true. Bigger things such as baby equipment and bigger toys will usually get priced for sale around half, because those are more items that will be purchased as the only one for a kid. You might buy 10-20 shirts for a child, but only 1 high chair. Brands are also on a star system, so things like Walmart brands are 1 star, The Children's Place are about 3 stars, and Nike or Under Armor are 4. Juicy would be a 4 or 5 depending on the area. Also, if you are bringing in things like really expensive Jordan's or something, please don't. They don't sell.

So let me explain it using a few items. I will include the links to said items. I will also try to make it common items so that it can make more sense, know what I mean? ****Note: This is just examples and is in no way any shape or form me saying that you take these exact items into a Kid to Kid and you will get these exact amounts for said items or find them on the shelves for said price!!!!**** 

Girls t-shirt from The Childrens Place sizes 4-14

https://tinyurl.com/2p8657nh 

Price Brand New $4.99

Price we will sell it for $1.99

Price you will receive for it $0.65

Encanto t-shirt (representing clothing that is based on a current popular movie or tv show) sizes S-XL

https://tinyurl.com/49ddxpx2

Melissa & Doug See and Spell (You have no idea how many times a week I saw these, but it is a good thing because M&D is an excellent brand!)

https://tinyurl.com/mrpk4h2m

Any bibs - This one is easy, most bibs unless new in package or are made of some kind of special material are sold individually for about $0.99 so you might get $0.30 for them. 

Graco Blossom High Chair (these prices I am giving are based on the idea that it is used but super clean and all pieces are there since otherwise it won't be bought).

https://tinyurl.com/2p8fp2dv

Looking at this, if you bring in 30 clothing items and they only take maybe 20, and all items are Walmart brands, do not expect to get what you paid initially. You might get $10? But that is the price you pay for not having to sell them on your own. And trust me, as someone who has done both, this is a lot easier on you! Just deal with the amount you get! When it comes to reviews, I can vouch that the ones who say "I brought in a lot of name brand items that were brand new and they didn't take any!" actually mean "I brought in a bunch of walmart clothes that my now grown adult kid grew out of before they could be used and too much time has passed since so they have been sitting in my garage and I just now brought them in and they didn't take them" or "I brought in some awesome stuff, but because I didn't wash them or I smoked a joint or cigarette on the way in with the clothes sitting 3 feet to my right so they wouldn't take them because they stunk". 

If you are buying

Keep one thing in mind, everything here is most likely used. So you will not find perfect condition items for super cheap. You can find amazing items that you kids will wear for a long time for super cheap, but don't expect to pay $10 for a $200 high chair! Be freaking reasonable and I promise you will find some amazing deals! And follow the social media of the store, because those sales they have are amazing!!  You do not want to miss out on any of them! Go in with a good attitude, and watch your kids. Some places have a play area, but that does not mean you can just throw your kids in there and let the play area play babysitter. You are responsible for the actions of not only yourself but your child too. So if your kid breaks something, shell out the cash to buy it because you obviously weren't watching your kid close enough. Also, be patient! The employees are doing the best they can with what they got and you are no more important than them or anyone else in that store. When you walk through that door, you are equal to everyone regardless of race, gender, sexuality, or anything else. I as a manager treated people the exact same until they treated me like crap, then I put on my manager voice and happy face, and killed them with kindness until they left on their own. 

So there ya have it, my little blurb about Kid to Kid and how to ensure that you are having the absolute best experience you can! I hope this helps explains everything to the best details, and if you ever want to know anything specific, please comment here and I am more than happy to answer any questions that you might have :-)