Encores Rocks! Blog
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Thursday February 9th Can you believe two days of drop off have already been completed? The location is AWESOME and easily accessed off I-65! Don't forget Open drop off times for consignors starts tomorrow: Thursday, February 9 10am-4pm So, are you ready for Drop Off?? Here are tips/reminders to make sure your drop-off is quick and painless! When you arrive - go to the check-in desk first and they will give you directions on how to proceed!
Helpful Hint: Do not wait until Sunday at 5pm to check-in! Sunday after church is incredibly busy and you will have a MUCH longer wait! try to come in on Thursday or Friday if you need to get in and out quickly! Please be patient - remember all of our workers are volunteers! Remember: After this sale your number is also good for any of the other Encores Sales. Go to http://www.encoresconsignment.com/ and sign up to be on the email list for any of the other sales in which you are interested!
Sunday February 5th OK consignor fans - you have the basic stuff all ready to go ... but you are looking to make some cash, right? Time to do some spring cleaning (especially in that it is 60 degrees outside, right?)! So, let's discuss what really sells well at Encores and More in Franklin! Let's start with the Kids sale! What sells best at the Kids Sale? Furniture! Cribs (remember we do NOT take drop-sided cribs), changing tables, rocking chairs, dressers, beds, bunk-beds, toy boxes, book shelves, etc. We sell 90% of the kids furniture on opening weekend! Baby Equipment: strollers, highchairs, walkers, swings, etc. These items fly out of the sale on opening weekend. The cleaner and nicer it looks with a good fair price, the better. Baby supplies: changing pads, baby monitors, diaper genies, wipe warmers, safety equipment, etc. Toys in excellent condition - everything from Legos to Barbies! (hint: toys packaged neatly and visibly clean will sell fastest at a higher price!) Electronics: DS and Wii games in original cases, game equipment, educational games/systems (ie Leapfrog), iPods, electronic books, portable DVD players, radios, etc. Outdoor play equipment: Slides, play structures, sand boxes, wagons, bicycles, tricycles, etc. Clothing: Brand name clothing lines, sets (ie top/skirt/bloomers for a girl or shorts/shirt/hat for a boy) Room decor: lamps, bedding sets, shelves, mirrors, toy chests, etc. What about the adult sale? Furniture! We sell over 90% of all furniture on opening weekends - we need you clean couches, ottomans, chairs, end tables, dressers, beds ... Want to update? Sell your furniture with us and in a few weeks you will have a check to buy something new! Outdoor equipment - lawn mowers, patio furniture, grills ... clean and in excellent condition! Appliances in great working condition (remember you must show us it works!) - refrigerators, washing machines, dryers, washing machines. etc. Small appliances in excellent working condition - microwaves, coffee makers, bread machines, mixers, toaster ovens, roasters, floor and table lamps, etc. Electronics - computers, TVs, DVD players, etc. Brand name clothing (remember that's all we sell - no store brand lines) especially high end lines always dash out quickly. Everybody is looking for a good deal - Adidas, BCBG, Coldwater Creek, Calloway, Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, Lily Pulitzer, Levis, LL Bean, Lucky Brand, Michael Kors, Nike, Polo Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, True Religion, etc. Holiday items (remember it is the spring/summer sale) so St. Patricks Day, Easter, Fourth of July will all sell well! Handbags and Suitcases - nice clean well-maintained with no odors. Office equipment (with manual and all cords), office chairs, desks Bedding sets that are complete with ALL pieces (hint - put a picture of the set on the clear plastic packaging!)
Wednesday February 1st You have everything listed and tags are created ... now to put it all together! Truly, one of the most important things about selling your item is how it appears! Items that LOOK awesome sell faster and at higher prices! Not only do the items need to look nice, but the buyer must be able to find the card and price easily! This is why we have specific requirements on how you display your items for sale! When getting your items ready and tagged, remember that most people looking at your item will take 3-5seconds to make a decision about purchasing it or not! First impressions are vitally important to selling your things! Here are the basics: 1. Clothing All clothing must be hung on wire hangers with the hangar hook pointing to the left!. (see picture), place tag vertically on the right shoulder. Clothes that are pressed and neat on the hangar sell much faster than those that are rumpled or crooked on the hangars. You can ensure your clothes are straight and need by pinning them well on the hangar. The more secure, the more your item will remain neat on your hangar! I pin mine and shake the whole thing violently. My clothes should remain firmly se on the hangar if I have pinned it properly. This also ensures my items will not fall off the hangar and get dirty on the floor! It also keeps little hands from grabbing them and separating pieces (remember that there are hundreds of consignors, workers and general public buyers that will be going through all the items! If you just toss your clothing items on a hangar, do not assume it will be beautiful through the whole sale! What if I have a set of clothes that I want to sell as one item? Pin sets securely together by hanging the shirt first, then turn the hanger over and pin the Pants or shorts sold alone should be hung as the picture shows on the right, pinned at the waist. A great way to keep pants from sliding all over the hanger is to use paper-covered dry cleaner's hangers. They don't slide and stay neat-looking, which in turn makes them sell better. You MUST use our online tag form. We no longer accept hand-written cards. At drop off ALL items will be inspected and approved for the sale. Any inconsistencies or problems with tagging, hanging or packaging your items will have to be re-done on your time. Please use our facebook page to ask any questions before investing your time! This may also help other consignors with your same situation! Use one inch or larger safety pins to pin on the tags. We do not accept tags pinned on with the tiny gold pins - they are not strong enough to ensure the cards are secure! Place the pin horizontally and catching the garment and the card twice. To ensure the security of your tags (especially on higher priced items) doubly secure the pin to your tag by placing clear mailing tape over the pin and adhere it to the card, making it hard to unpin the card. 2. Small Items: Secure small toy/decor/etc items together in a ziploc bag (freezer type zippies are stronger) with the card easily visible on the OUTSIDE. ALL cards MUST be secured to the OUTSIDE of the item! We recommend sealing the top closed with clear packaging tape to keep out small hands. DO NOT use scotch or masking tape! These do not work well aand you may loose your items!
Please try to group no more than 2 per set (unless a complete collection). Please do not bag them, they are often separated from the set and the tag, making it impossible for you to be paid for your sale. Tie book sets with string in a 4-square as seen in the picture on the right. Secure your card to the string with a safety pin then cover the safety pin with clear packing tape and adhere it to your tag. 4. Shoes: Pin shoes together with a large pin or zipt tie. Pin your tag to the connecting pin/tie. Be sure to securely pin your tag to your shoes - not the shoe box. Do not use plastic bags for your shoes - items often get lost and tags come off them easily. 5. Breast Pumps: We keep all the parts to the pump at check out to stop shoppers from mixing up or losing the pieces. You will need two tags for your pump. Attach one tag to the box/bag itself in the normal way. ALL the pieces including the pump shoulf be put in a large ziploc bag sealed securely with packing tape and safety pins. On a separate piece of paper, make 2 copies of a detail listing of all the parts. Be sure to put your consignor number and the price of the pump on each copy. You may want to list the retail price and any other information that would help it sell. Attach one copy to the pump bag and securely tape the second copy to the ziploc bag. We will have a special display for the bags informing shoppers to get the rest of it at check out. Later this week - morw tips on making your items to sell better!
Tuesday January 31st A few more tips about creating your tags: Make sure you choose the specific section in which you want that item to be hung. Choose whether it is a girl's item or boys, jrs, maternity, etc. This is especially important for Juniors and Maternity, These can be easily put in thr wrong section of the sale and the items will not sell if they are displayed in the wrong area. It will also ensure that the item will be on the correct rack for pick up, should it remain unsold, PLUS it helps our workers put your items back on the correct rack if a shopper misplaces it. Please be very specific when describing your items - If the tag becomes separated from your item, the description is the only way we can identify it. Our new software makes it easy to search for a lost item IF a detailed description was entered when creating the tag. Again, this is is very important!! Use the description area to focus the buyer on things like the brand name and any positive selling points, such as "Washes Well!" or "Only Worn Once." Be careful to avoid negatives such as "Never Worn." Use "Like New!" instead. On large ticket items such as equipment, fine clothing, etc. It is a good idea to put the retail price off to the side so buyers will know what a good deal they are getting. Don’t make any changes or corrections once tags are printed. This is for your own protection. Make a new tag if a change or additional information is necessary!
Sunday January 29th My oh my - it's getting close! Less than 2 weeks til drop-off begins for the February sale in Franklin. Remember, with your permanent consignor number you can also sell at the other Encores and More Sales! Here are the dates of our upcoming March sales! Murfreesboro March 3 - 11 Columbia March 13 - 23 North - Rivergate Area March 24 -31 As promised last week, how to print your tags! So you have listed all your items into the system - now is the time to print your tags! Remember - we no longer accept hand-written cards.
Here are a few hints to remember when you are printing: * you MUST use cardstock! You can buy a whole ream of cardstock for less than $5 at WalMart or Krogers! * Blurred, Thick lines will not scan: Be sure your printer is set to Draft printing - less ink is used and scans better! * Try one sheet first, check to make sure the barcode is not fuzzy or running together - if so, adjust. if not - print away! So here is how to print your tags! After you have entered your items, Log-onto the web site (remember you must list/print adult items from the adult site ... then log into the kids website to list/print your kids sale item tags)!
1. Once you are on the website, click on the tab at the top marked "Print Tags." You will be directed to a page to "Generate/Print Tags" for all your listed items. 2. Click the box by all items you need a tag. If you want to print them all, click the "check all" box!
3. Next, click the Generate tag(s) button. A small window will appear and ask "You have selected to print # tag(s) Do you want to continue?" 4. Click OK to proceed or Cancel if you are not ready to print.
The system will create (generate) your tags. There will be a hot pink window pop up that says: "You have generated # tag(s). Your generated printout contains # page(s). The link below will open a PDF document, which contains your tags." 5. Click the link that says "Click Here to Open Your Tags Document." A new window will open that will be a pdf document of your tags.
6. Click on the printer icon and you can print your tags!
* Please make sure to change your printed settings to "Fast Draft" or "Draft" printing! * Please be sure you are in the correct tagging page by looking at the top banner. It should say South for children's or Adult/Home Decor in the Pink box. Once you are entering your tags, the categories should have children's sizes if you are in the children's sale registration or adult sizes if you are in the adult sale registration. If you are in the wrong registration page and print incorrect tags, you will have to retag your items!! * Set scaling "Fit to Page." * Don't close the PDF (print view) window until your cards have completed printing 7. Now you are ready to cut your tags apart and secure to your items!
One more thing: *** You may notice your tags have a new set of letters, A3 for example. This is a code that will help us with sorting after the sale is over, so don't worry, just ignore it.****
Sunday January 22nd - #2 The time to start listing your items to sell - we no longer accept hand-written cards. Once you have registered for the sale, you are ready to go! To register for the kids sale - check out details in the Jan. 16th blog entry below! If you signed up for the kids sale, consider signing up for the adult sale as well. To register for the adult sale - use the Register Here button (http://www.seller3.myconsignmentmanager.com/encoresconsignment/) If you are a returning adult sale consignor: log in with your previous user id and password. Your previous consignor number will show up in your account page. If you can’t remember your log-in information, there is a link on the Register Here page with which you can retrieve your information. If you are a new consignor: simply choose the same number you were assigned from the Encores South Children's site. Replace the first zero with an A and you're set! All numbers must have 6 digits in them. Example: children's number = 001015, then you choose A01015 as your corresponding adult sale #. HINT: You will find several tutorials listed under the "Manage Inventory" tab. Please browse through those to refresh your memory! Once you are registered, it is time to list your items on the website: first, log-in as directed above. Adult items and Kids items must be listed separately on the respective sites! Log-onto the adult site and list/print your tags there ... then log into the kids website to list/print your kids sale item tags. If you do not do this, you will have a lot of extra work on drop-off day! 1. After you are on the website, click on the tab at the top marked "Enter Items." You will be directed to a page to "Add/Remove/Edit" your items. To get a tag for your items - you need to list them here! You have 3 lines to describe your item - use the first line for the important stuff (i.e. Ralph Lauren Polo shirt) and use the other two lines for details ("like new!" "with matching shorts" "red/blue plaid" etc.) PLEASE do NOT just put "shirt" or "toy" or "dress" in the description! WHY? As a volunteer - we find a lot of things which have become separated from their tags. IF we can match a lost tag with an item, we will match it, spruce it up and get it back n the rack to sell. If a tag just says "toy" or "dress" how can we know it is your toy or dress? That means a LOT less opportunity for you to sell your item! Take time to fill out your descriptions FULLY - it is for YOUR benefit (especially to your pocketbook). 2. After you have listed your description, choose a size and category for your item! 3. Next, you need to choose a price. 4. Check the box if your item can be sold at a discount on discount days! We really suggest choosing YES to discount - there are a TON of items that are sold on our discount days. So consider, would be better to sell your item at a discount or not at all? 5. Check the box if you want your item to be donated to a local charity if it does not sell. If you choose to donate, your item will be sold at discount on discount days. Consider - do I need this item to come home with me if it does not sell? Could someone else use it more than I? Option: You can choose to print more than one tag with this description/price ... use this option to print multiple tags if you have many of the same item instead of listing them each separately. 6. Click on the blue Add Item(s) box to save this to your inventory list! Continue this process listing all your items! We will tell you how to print in the next blog! See you soon!
Sunday January 22nd You've heard the news - it's official! The dates and times and location has been set! Time to get working on tagging! Check out our next blog for details!
Consignor’s Presale: to register as a consignor, please see the details in the blog below! www.encoresandmore.com Public Sale Dates: Location: the former Big Lots Store in Alexander Plaza on Hwy 96; 1203 Murfreesboro Road, Franklin (behind the McDonalds and Zaxbys) Food and Shopping all in one location - yay! Monday January 16th All right, it's time to get serious now! Time to get rid of the old and get some new at Encores and More. So - you've decided to consign with us ... GREAT! First thing you need to do is decide WHERE you are going to consign! Encores and More has multiple locations/sales across the Middle TN area this year - and you don't have to limit yourself just to one sale - isn't that great! Each sale is not only unique to it's location - but remember most of the shoppers from the location will shop there - so their are items that will sell really well in Franklin and items that will sell better in Columbia or Murfreesboro. So, when deciding to sell your items, remember to think of your customers! No matter where you sell, remember that clean, quality, name brand clothing, home decor, baby items are the most important thing - people will not buy excessively worn, generic brands, stained or damaged items no matter what price is on it - AND it will not be accepted at our sales! Here is how to register to consign: 1. go to http://www.se;;er3.myconsignmentmanager.com/encoresconsignment/ 2. if you are a new consignor, you must create an account 3. once you have created an account, you will sign-in and begin the fun! At this website you can list all your items, print your tags, choose volunteer shifts (so you can shop at the presale!) and choose a time for drop-off so that you miss the crowds at the general drop-off times! If you are a busy person - go ahead and check your calendar now for a good drop off time for you and make your reservation! Make sure you make note of your drop-off time and now you are ready to start listing your items! We will walk you through that step by step later this week! The Encores and More Team Saturday December 30 Can you believe it? 2011 is almost over! Time to start fresh and anew and get ready for 2012. The kids are enjoying all their new toys and presents, you are putting away all the decorations and now is a most EXCELLENT time to clean out the old (and get ready to earn some cash for it!) Encores and More is not just for kids anymore - it's THE place for smart shopping for clothes and items for all ages and all sizes! Why pay full retail when you can get great looking stuff at excellent prices at Encores and More! This is a GREAT time to start putting items aside for the February and July sales! Remember in February we take spring and summer clothing (0 months - adult XXL); kids toys, baby equipment, etc. also we take upscale home decor, electronics, sports equipment, etc. Focus on spring and summer holidays for your holiday decor = Valentines, St. Patricks, Easter. In July we take fall and winter clothing and all the above plus focusing on fall/winter holiday decor = Memorial Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanakah. Do you have too many DVDs in your collection and now you are using Netflix? DVDs are a big seller at all the sales. Label them now for the February sale! Did you get new kitchen equipment for Christmas? Clean up your old equipment that is in great condition and put it aside for the February sale! Appliances and kitchen equipment are always great sellers! The kids get new outdoor equipment for Christmas? Clean and pack up the old and get it ready for the February sale! Outdoor play equipment sells at great prices and always goes fast at the February sale! Did you open up your Christmas decorations and realize you have just too many ornaments? Then put them away for July sale! Do you have a big artificial wreath or tree you don't use anymore? This is the time to put a tag on it and store it for the July sale! Have any holiday sweaters, socks, pjs the kids are going to grow out before next Christmas? This is the time to tag them and store them for the July sale! Tenative dates are up on the home page! We are looking forward to seeing you in February with all your GREAT items! Happy New Year from the Encores and More Team!
Wednesday July 27, 2011
The week has flown by! Have you seen all the fabulous stuff that arrived at the 2nd drop-off? There are still plenty of really great items on the shelves and racks at really great prices! Don't forget Discount Days are upon us! Thursday (25% off day) July 28, 10am-7pm As an early reminder for consignors - Don't forget pick-up is Sunday between 11am and 2pm. The doors will be locked at 2pm as we MUST clear the building Sunday. Please make sure you have all your items and are out by 2pm! All items not picked up will be donated to a great charity!
Sunday July 24, 2011 They new mom's sale and the Public sale hit Encores yesterday with tons of happy shoppers! The line went fast and so did lots of fabulous items the consignors brought to fill the shelves and racks. But the racks and shelves are still filled with tons of fabulous items for the whole family! Here are the shopping times for the remainder of the week: Sunday July 24, Noon-6pm We accept cash, Master Card, Visa, and Discover Consignors - we want your furniture and baby equipment! Second drop-off is happening today through Tuesday! We have sold almost every pack n' play and car seat that was brought into the sale! There are less than 20 strollers remaining. I believe all the highchairs and excersaucers have sold. If you have a stroller/car seat/travel system that you are not using, it will sell ... there are only 2 remaining. We sold TONS of games and toys! All the outdoors toys have sold - so we need your Step 3 and Little Tikes equipment to sell! Most of the adult furniture has sold! So, clean it up and get it to us by Tuesday so we can sell it for you! Look at the blog entry below for all the details!
Friday July 22, 2011 I have just returned from working the consignor pre-sale. What a day it has been! A lot of things have sold, but there are TONS of great buys still available! The sale opens to the public tomorrow (Saturday the 23rd) at 1pm! The best thing about today - the line went SUPER fast due to the new inventory system and computer program. No one waited in line more than 10-15 minutes! So for those that didn't get to shop early, we look forward to seeing you tomorrow! It is going to be an awesome sale day! Don't forget - THIS Sunday and Monday you have another opportunity to drop off your great things! Sunday, July 24 1pm - 6pm All Adult items must follow guidelines listed on the Adult/Home Decor Sale web site. Items we will accept for Second Check-in of children's items:
Thursday July 21, 2011 Consignor Pre-Sale is Friday! New to the consignor pre-sale day? Long-time pre-sale veteran? Read about this year's pre-sale below - lots of great stuff to help you have a great shopping experience! Pre-sale is a fabulous event! There are lots of excited shoppers coming to get first dibs on the great Encores stuff! It can be a bit crazy, so we wanted to remind you of a few things to make your shopping experience the best it can be! Pre-sale reminders - ONE SHOPPER PER PASS - NO CHILDREN UNDER 10 (ABSOLUTELY NO EXCEPTIONS)! ALL strollers, carts, etc ... will be marked for security. Do not use strollers, chairs, etc. that are for sale to hold your stuff or rest your bottom - it's not fair to those that want to sell the items! OK - so what is special about the pre-sale this time? First - don't want to stand out in the 100+ degree temps for hours so that you can get in the doors first? Consignors can come as early as 12noon WITH THEIR CONSIGNOR PASS and sign the wait list to get in the sale at 5pm - yay! So, what does that mean? Come at 12noon (or later) and show your pass to the lovely volunteer at the door. The volunteer will add your name to the list. At 4:30-4:45pm you just show up and go to the front of the line and get in line according to your spot on the list! No waiting for 2 hours out in the hot sun! Those not on the list will get in the general entrance line and be let in after the folks that came by and put their name on the list. You can only put ONE NAME on the list PER PASS. You can bring all your friend's passes and put you all down together, but only ONE NAME PER PASS. Second - parking is limited in the lot. BEST thing to do - it CARPOOL with all your fabulous Encores friends! Please do NOT park at Steak & Shake! Park along the side of the road to the left and right of the building (Quail Hollow Road)! There will be a shuttle of sorts to bring you back to the store ... just let the volunteers near the front know and they will send the shuttle your way. There is limited space and availability on the shuttle, so please be patient and just enjoy a short walk if it is not there immediately. We do our best to find a space to have our sale with plenty of room for your stuff and plenty of parking. It is only on consignor day when we have so many early shoppers that we are really limited to space, so please be patient and understanding. Third - Shopping etiquette - when shopping, please remember to think of how you would like others to treat YOUR items for sale! Please come prepared! Bring a plastic tub, rolling cart, something in which to carry your stuff ... it gets tiring holding all those goodies! I have seen folks with rolling trash cans - amazing! But make sure you really want it before you stuff it away as it wouldn't be fair to the consignor for an item to get all wrinkled and then returned to the shelf. Bring snacks and a drink for yourself if you have a lot of shopping to do! There will be snacks and drinks available for sale - young Landon will be around to make sure you are well hydrated and will have you covered if you get the munchies. Bring some cash just in case you need a snack. The floor of the store is not 100% clean - do not lay clothes on the floor unless you are planning to buy them ... again, you wouldn't want someone putting your stuff on the floor then returning it to the rack dirty! Please put the items you don't want back in the correct size. We will have some folks helping with discards, but that takes away from volunteers checking you out faster ... so put the clothes you don't care for back in their proper location so that some other shopper can find them! Please be kind and patient. There are going to be plenty of check-out lines to get you out of there fast, but there will be a lot of people in a small space shopping away ... a little kindness goes a long way and makes the shopping day lots more fun! Looking forward to seeing all the goodies you find! Say hello if you see me at the check-out line! - Meredith
Wednesday July 20, 2011 It's not really a huge secret, but the way I get to find the really great deals and tell you about it ... I am a volunteer worker - have you done it? It's the best deal around! And they still need more workers? Join us for some fun and some great benefits! I have been volunteering with Encores for 9 years now and look forward to it every sale! "Why?" you ask? "Working for someone else?" On the Encores website http://www.encoresandmore.com/workers/become-a-volunteer-worker they list what you can expect and the benefits of working, (which are all fabulous and true) but here are my reasons for working every sale: 1st - it's fun! Yeah, it is work, but the people that volunteer tend to have a great attitude, love the sale as much as I do and are hard workers (not just acting like they are working to get the fringe benefits - PS those volunteers don't last long). 2nd - If I work before the sale I can browse through all the stuff. If I am putting out toys, arranging clothes on the racks, sorting shoes, sorting books into genres - I get to see it all! There is SO much stuff there is no-way you can see it all on Consignor Pre-Sale day or on the Public Shopping Day ... this way I get to see the stuff early and tell all my friends and buddies good deals that they can get if they shop! 3rd - I get to shop early. I have two boys that go through clothes faster than lightening. I don't like to be swarmed in massive crowds. On Consignor pre-sale day you are shopping with 50 or so folks instead of hundreds. You can take your time and really evaluate everything you are buying and be sure of your items before you purchase. It is a MUCH more relaxed fun pace of shopping! And I get to find some really great stuff BEFORE the sale is open to the Consignors and the Public. 4th - I get to meet some fabulous folks when I work the line at Consignor and Public sale and tell them more about how wonderful the sale is and check out their great deals (and sometimes see them going to purchase your goodies!). We still need workers on Friday the 29th! There are two shifts available: one from 10am-4pm or 2pm-8pm. They need 6 more people per each shift. Please go to the Facebook page to respond or email Russie at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and let them which shift you choose and if you want $50.00 cash or shop early THIS Friday at 10am! Go ahead, volunteer to be a worker, you won't regret it!
Tuesday July 19, 2011 The place is packed! Drop-off finished yesterday and every shelf in rack is filled with goodies! I went the store and browsed through one more time to find a few goodies for you and this is what I found: A US Navy Pea Coat - real US Navy issued wool pea coat - for $25 ... excellent condition for that shaped dressed man out there. Wish it was in my hubby's size! A 48" tv ... not a flat panel - but quite thin and priced to sell - great big option for the play room, huh? A nice white washing machine - only 2 years old, owners upgraded. Top loading - looks to be in perfect working condition. A glider chair for those new mommies out there - chair $50, ottoman $25 ... light blue really cute and really great price! The cutest ever white bassinet fully decorated in a white/blue/green decor with embroidered frogs - looks brand new for $25! A Kelty infant carrier backpack - these retail in the hundreds of dollars - your for only $25! Wow! Looks brand new! This is great for hiking or day-tripping with your infant or toddler ... we loved ours! Someone is going to get a great deal! And last but not least, in that there is still a lot of time for outdoor play in Tennessee - there are 4 large playhouses by Step 2 ranging from $50-150 all look to be in great condition! It's going to be a great sale! Look forward to seeing you all there!
Sunday July 17, 2011 What a fun day it was on the last day of open drop-off! There were TONS of things brought in for everyone and any pocketbook! Tomorrow is the last day for drop-offs and it is for those with appointments ... BUT if you do not have an appointment time, you may come in and wait for an opening between 10am and 3pm. You may have a long time to wait, so do not try this if you are on a tight schedule tomorrow. My favorite items I saw come in today = 5. pink UGG boots for $20 4. a size 7 and size 8 pair of KEEN all-season sandals for $6 (retails $75) 3. 3 or 4 really cute dance skirts (the ones that cost $25+ retail made out of tulle) for $4-8/each ... my niece LOVES the one I got for her at Encores last year! 2. New In Box Star Wars game 1. FurReal Friends Butterscotch Pony - a ride on horse with carrot and comb, makes real horse sounds $80 - retails for $299 on Amazon. Excellent condition. Some little girl is going to LOVE this for Christmas! Don't forget on Sunday the 24th from 1-6pm and Monday the 25th/Tuesday the 26th from 11-6pm you have another opportunity to fill the racks and shelves with your goodies! This is an especially awesome opportunity to get that furniture and baby equipment dropped off as most of these items sell the first 2 days the sale is open. There are still a lot of eager buyers to shop during the week and we want your goodies! What will they accept at the second drop-off? For the Kids Sale:
To keep our standards high, we must be even more selective about items we accept. Unacceptable Items:
Friday July 15, 2011 Kimberly was volunteering today - yay Kimberly!
Here are a few of her favorites that came in at drop off today: 5. Homedics neck massager with heat - excellent conditions $8 4. COACH boots in fantastic condition and VERY cute! $20 3. IKEA egg chair that swivels 360 degrees - one in orange, one in blue for $40/each! Retails $80 2. Brand new white house black market trench coat and matching pants - white - very nice! 1. Pottery Barn style coffee table with 2 wicker storage baskets. Thank you Kimberly! Tomorrow and Sunday are going to be REALLY busy, so please be patient! Here are a few drop-off tips for our fabulous consignors: Park your car first and go directly to the check-in table. Please do not park in the fire lane in front of the store! After check-in, grab a buggy and get it loaded with all your goodies. No rolling racks allowed outside - buggies only! Once inside, hang your clothes on an available clothing rack (please be patient if there are none available ... someone will let you have the rack when they are finished! Sort your clothes by size/gender and wait for your number to be called so that your items can be inspected. If it is busy, go ahead and drop your non-hanging items at either the kids sale Toy Station (which is not just for toys, but for ALL non-hanging items) or the Adult Sale table. Once your items have been inspected, hang approved items on the appropriate size/gender rack. Take your rack back to the front and check in at the Toy Station to make sure all your items were approved! Go get ready for the presale!
Thursday July 13, 2011 Drop off is going so well and the racks are getting packed with goodies! Here are a few of my favorites today: 5. lots of really cool costumes from baby size to adult! 4. Baby Gap long-sleeved t-shirt with matching corduroy/fleece vest = $5 3. a BUNCH of 2T New with Tags Gymboree outfits! 2. Lego sets - the perennial boyhood favorite ... lots with really great prices! 1. Baby Trend Double jogging stroller - great condition $40
Tuesday July 12, 2011 Drop off began today and there is already some really great stuff! Here is my top 5: 5. bunches of brand new in package Melissa & Doug wooden puzzles for only $5/each! 4. a 4 foot tall painted wood doll house with working elevator and tons of accessories/furniture = $65 3. Pottery Barn animal themed crib bedding set - excellent condition = $45 2. Graco Pack n' Play with changing table, bassinet and mobile = $65 1. Combi double stroller in excellent condition = $35 (these retail for $200+) And in the Adult Sale - a like new BowFlex machine for $100! These can run in excess of $1000 depending on the accessories - what a deal! This one is walking out of the sale early - guaranteed!
Looking forward to what tomorrow may bring! Sunday July 10, 2011 So, you have your kids items ready for drop-off ... but what about the Adult Sale?
OK folks, I KNOW you have 20 or more items put away that are awesome! Items that you are not using anymore that someone would absolutely love to have in their house! Think UPSCALE not Garage Sale! Brand name clothing only! Furniture sells lightening fast! Christmas Decor, electronics, home furnishings, appliances and sports equipment also sell really well! Last year I saw a massage table, a washing machine and a pair of premium car tires go flying off the shelves! For more details about what to sell in the Adult Sale, go to http://encoresadultsale.wordpress.com/ and to see a list of acceptable items, click on "What Do We Accept?" on the far right side of the page. Don't get confused about how to tag for both the Adult and the Kids sale! For the Adult sale their are a few different rules ... when tagging, you must be on the Adult registration site to get the "A" behind your number. So, how does that happen? Go to the Adult Sale website and look for the "Consignor Corner" link on the right or use this link http://encoresadultsale.wordpress.com/consignor-corner/ Now look at point #2, click "Please click here for new site" and log-in with your same username and password as the Kids Sale site. By using this portal, the computer will put an "A" at the end of your number - making your tags ready for the Adult Sale. You can not enter tags for the Adult Sale and the Kids Sale on the same page ... you must enter through the different log-in areas! So now that you know all about it and you have a few extra days, go get that furniture out of the garage, dust off those awesome cowboy boots, and tag those cool framed prints you never put on the wall ... extra cash for you! Yay!
Saturday July 9, 2011
3 days until drop-off begins! I wanted to remind folks of what sells really well at Encores: 1. Furniture - we sell over 75% off all furniture brought into the sale. If it is nice, cute, clean and reasonably priced, it will sell. Cribs, changing tables, toddler beds, dressers, bookshelves, toy bins, etc. We want your furniture! 2. Equipment - baby equipment sells extremely well! Unless it is extremely overpriced or overly worn and dirty, it will sell. Car seats, strollers, high chairs, walkers, bouncey seats, excersaucers, potty seats, bath tubs, portable cribs, ride-on toys, bikes, tricycles, etc. We rarely have more than one or two of these left over for pick-up day ... clean yours up today and bring it to drop off! 3. Toys - we sell a lot of toys at the summer sale, because people like me are planning ahead for Christmas! Really, I do over 50% of my Christmas shopping for my kids at the July sale! Puzzles and games (with all pieces), board games, Lego sets, American Girl dolls and accessories, Barbie dolls and accessories, action figures and their vehicles, toddler toys (especially Little Tykes), building sets (KNex, Lincoln Logs and Erector) plus items such as Lego, Playmobil and Mega Blocks all sell very quickly! ***Remember if your items are battery operated, they must work at drop-off. The volunteers will ask you to make your item sing, dance, play music, light brightly, etc ... before accepting it for the sale! *** 4. Nice clothes - brand names that look nice on the hangar. Sets sell extremely well - match a shirt and pants and sell them together - it will sell faster than separately in sizes 10 or smaller! Brand names such as GAP, Children's Place, Polo, Strausburg, etc. literally fly off the racks unless they are dingy or way over-priced. Halloween costumes, fall and winter themed clothing, Christmas clothes sell very well. 5. Electronics - portable DVD players, game systems (Wii, GameBoy, Nintendo DS, XBox), game cartridges, educational games (LeapFrog, Leap Pad, etc), toddler computers, DVDs ... 6. Infant items - Breast pumps, wipe warmers, humidifiers, feeding equipment, mobiles (remember they must be in their original box!), safety equipment, etc. 7. Other things that sell really well: Arts/Crafts and Educational supplies/kits; Room Decor; Bedding Sets (especially from places like Pottery Barn); holiday decor and sports equipment. So, run through your house.garage/attic again ... get out your really great stuff, clean it all and bring it with you to drop off next week! Want to shop early? It's not to late to volunteer! Go to this link to sign in and volunteer 6 or more hours of your time and you get to shop BEFORE the consignors! It is oh so nice! http://www.seller3.myconsignmentmanager.com/encoresconsignment/
Tuesday July 5, 2011 Can you believe drop-off starts in a week? There is still time to get all your goodies ready for the sale! We want your fabulous gently-used items to sell! I have worked as a volunteer at Encores for almost 10 years. I have seen it all - the good, the bad, and the ugly. So, I wanted to share some tips to make sure all your things are accepted at drop off. The GOOD - fall and winter clothing (boys infant - 20) girls (infant - junior) and maternity ... in excellent used condition. (All adult clothes should be sold in the adult sale which runs simultaneously) plus furniture, toys, equipment, games, dvds, books, kids room decor ... pretty much any kids item in really great condition. Clothes that are pressed or matched as a set sell incredibly well! Things that are labeled well sell better (and are easily matched with the card if they become separated!) Clean items that have all the parts included sell extremely well. Sort your clothes BEFORE you arrive by gender and size. This will make it so, so SO much easier for you to hang on the rack, get them approved and easiest to put on the racks and get you out of there! The BAD - items labeled generically such as "toy" or "book" will often be the ones found in the "lost and found" area on the first few days. It is hard to know which toy or book to match it with if it is not fully labeled! Take 5 seconds to fill in the info on the tagging site and if the tag does separate, it will be easily matched with your item and put right back on the shelf to attract a happy new owner! Items that have loose parts ... secure EVERYTHING! In that your items will be moved 4 or 5 times at minimum before the sale opens - you want to make all the parts stay together or no one will buy it! If your items are not secured, you will be delayed at check-in ... inspectors will send you to fix it before it is accepted. Save time and fix it before you go to drop off! At home, when I am tagging, I pick up the item every-which-way possible and shake it HARD ... if it does not move at all, it's good to go! If it wiggles and parts loosen, I secure it better! Remember there are a lot of a little hands that may be taking a look at your item and you don't want to loose any parts! Grab bags - they are not acceptable. You may not sell a bag of miscellaneous baby toys and label it "toys" - this will guarantee you an unaccepted item. We will take bags of similar items such as plastic play animals, rattles, barbie accessories, hair accessories, Winnie-the-pooh figures, etc ... but a bag filled with McDonalds toys, a pacifier, a rattle and a ball will not be accepted! Bags that are not sealed and secured properly ... see the note above about loosing your items! Items without working batteries - if the check-in folks can not make it sing, dance, etc ... it will be rejected. Make sure you put fresh batteries in your electronic items! Items that you received for free (Happy Meal Toys, Chick-fil-A books, etc) rarely sell. Items that are old or dated. The UGLY - We have seen it ALL ... really, but some of the worse things that you should avoid: Items that are not clean - they do not sell and we will not accept them! Items that smell of smoke - they will not sell! If your items have lived in a home that has cigarette or cigar smoke, clean them outside the home and make sure you apply Febreeze or similar product on them and let them air out for a few days. Broken items - you don't want them, so we will not accept them - send them to a happy resting place (the garbage)!
When in doubt, ask a friend, "would you buy this item?" Remember to think upscale NOT garage sale! Don't forget to check us out on Facebook!
Wednesday June 29, 2011 Can you believe it is that time of year again? It's time to make some money and get some great deals at Encore & More! With the south sale drop-off just a few weeks away, I decided I really needed to get my stuff together and begin getting it ready for the sale! I started by checking all my fall/winter clothes that I put away earlier this year - and made sure they were all clean. My dear hubby and I had a pressing and hanging party while we caught a movie on Netflix - time flew by and we had all the clothes hung and ready to go. Now for the exciting part: the new tagging system! Wow - this really rocks! It was so, so, SO easy to input all my items. The program saves each item for you after you input (no more having to print out sheets every 6 cards!). And you can add some and come back later to finish it up - yay! No more markers and highlighters or handwriting tags! It took me a few days to get all the info put in for my clothes - it's nice that it saves it for you as I had many delays and distractions thanks to my sweet kids (including a trip to the doctor's office due to injuries sustained by those sweet boys hitting on each other). But I did get it finished and what a breeze it was with this new inventory system! Now the best part - printing the tags! Just one word for this new system - wow! I just added a stack of cardstock and followed the step by step instructions there on website (and there is a really cool video there that walked me through the whole process as well) and Voila! beautifully printed tags that now I can pin on my hanging items. So incredibly easy AND do you see how clear the barcodes print? This is really going to eleminate any problems at checkout because the scanners will easily be able to catch your barcodes. This will also speed up check out, lessen frustration, increasing shoppers enjoyment = more sales and a big check you are going to receive for all your work I have been asked by many friends if it is worth my time and effort to consign at Encores and More. It does take time and planning to get it all done, but with this new system it is easier than ever and YES it is so worth it! Where else can I clothe two active boys for less than $200 for the whole cool/cold weather season and get rid of all my nice clothes they can't wear anymore? It is SO worth doing all the tagging and prep work so I can shop early at the consignors sale getting even better deals than the general public! I can guarantee hundreds of people are going to look at my items while at Encores! I can barely sell items for $1 at a garage sale and I do all the set up and break down for very little return. This sale is worth the prep-time and getting your stuff on the racks. And with this new system it is easier than ever! Get to tagging now folks - it is going to be a great sale! |
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