Step 1: Selection

The SFPOM Consignment Sale is aimed at providing clean, good-quality items for expecting parents and children from infant to 8 years of age. If items are priced fairly and are in good condition, they tend to sell. All items go through a strict quality control process when checked in. During this time, your items will be rejected if they are on the Unacceptable Items List.

Reminder: Please refrain from selling items through the SFPOM ListServ between
August 15th to September 27th. A lot of people work very hard to make our Sale a success and selling items on our ListServ during this time undermines the success of our Sale. Thanks for understanding!

Step 2: Preparation

After sorting through your items, prepare and package them.

• Socks. Group socks and place into Ziplock bags.
• Shoes. Use plastic ties or string the tag through the shoes to keep together. Or, put them into a Ziplock bag.
• Clothes. Because clothing is hung on racks for display, all clothing must be brought to the Sale on hangers. Be sure to safety pin pants to hangers so they don't slip off.
• Equipment. Strollers, car seats, cribs, mobiles, etc., sell better if their original packaging and instructions are included. Plan on spending a little extra time during check-in to assemble bouncy seats, swings, and other small gear items. All battery-operated items should have fresh batteries.
• Toys. Bundle items in a plastic bag. Be sure that all parts are securely attached. Shoppers like to examine the goods, and if your items are not securely attached, they will probably get scattered-decreasing the likelihood that they will sell.
  
  

• Equipment. (Strollers, exersaucers, baby carriers, cribs, port-a-cribs, etc.) Start with 50% of the original price. Increase slightly if the item is in excellent condition and in high demand. Decrease to 25% if the item is not in excellent condition or a popular brand.
• Toys. Remember, when it comes to clothes and toys, people are looking for real bargains. Small toys, such as rattles, books, and shape sorters, are very competitive in pricing because there are so many of them available. Small baby items are often priced at $1. Only great toys can command a price of $10.
• Clothing. Bargain. Bargain. Bargain. People don't pay designer prices at our Consignment Sale. It is the rare onesie that commands more than a $2, and it's the rare outfit-no matter how cute-that commands more than $8. If you have a lot of items over $6, you may need to rethink your pricing. Of course, designer brands do sell better, as do new items that still have the original tag, so they can be priced a little higher.
  

All checked-in items should have a completely filled out tag attached to them. These tags are very important because they determine your proceeds from the Consignment Sale. And, shoppers can be very hard on your items-taking contents out of plastic bags and not putting them back in, or shoving your item back on the table however it might fit. So please, attach your tags accordingly. When it comes time to determine how much the shopper owes, we detach the bottom portion of the tag and keep it for determining how much you have sold.

Tagging Supplies

Tagging supplies include the actual tags that go on your items, the tagging fasteners that hold your tags to the items, and the tagging gun used to attach tags to your items. See more information on the Tagging Page.

Tagging Directions Number. Your seller initials should appear on the mailing label of this Diaper Rag. You can also log on to www.sfpomexpress.com and click on "profile." On the top of that page will be your member number. This is the same as your seller initials. If you still can't find your seller initials or have questions, please contact assign_initials@sfpom.org. Your seller initials need to appear on both sections of the tag. Style. This line is optional. Sometimes tags fall off, and this helps us match tags up with tag-less items-ensuring you get revenue credit for the sold item. If you choose to fill it out, please write a brief description of the item, including color, such as "red sweatshirt" or "green leggings." Be sure to include it on both the upper and lower portions of the tag. Again, this line is optional. If you don't mind running the risk of not getting credited for an item that has lost its tag, leave it blank. This will speed up the tagging process. Size. Items must have a size. If a size is not indicated, guess. Your item will be difficult to sell without a size, and it might be put in the wrong section of the Sale. If your item has a European size, convert it to a US size. Be sure to include it both on the upper and lower portions of the tag. Price. You set your own prices. The only restriction is that we ask you to price everything in 50-cent increments. If they are not, the cashier at the Sale will round the price down. Somewhere on the upper tag you can indicate the original price or any other marketing information. However, ONLY place the selling price on the lower portion of the tag. Red Dots. At 1 pm on Saturday, everything WITHOUT a red dot goes on sale for 50% of its listed price. So, if you do NOT want your item discounted, place a red dot on both the upper and lower portion of the tag. This will ensure that your item is NOT sold at 50% off its listed price. White Tags. By using a white tag, you are letting us know that you are planning to pick up your unsold items at the end of the Sale between 3:00 and 4:00 pm. If you do NOT pick up your unsold items with a white tag, we will automatically donate them AND you will be assessed a $20 fee. Of course, by coming to the Sale between 3:00 and 4:00 pm to retrieve your unsold white-tagged items, you can avoid their being donated to charity and avoid being charged $20. The tagging representatives can provide you with a limited number of white tags at no charge. Green/Yellow Tags. These tags let us know that you would like to automatically donate those items that do not sell. Therefore, you do NOT need to come back to the Sale on Saturday afternoon to pick up those items. The tagging representatives can provide you with green/yellow tags at no charge. Please use these tags rather than a white tag with a green slash through it or a dot on it. Please note that we cannot accept your pre-donation of cribs. These are increasingly difficult to give to charitable organizations.

Affixing Your Tags

Clothing. Please attach the Consignment Sale tag to the clothing label or close to a seam. If the Consignment Sale tag is affixed to the fabric of clothing, it often creates a hole, making it an unpleasant surprise when the buyer takes it home.

Pants and Shoes. You may want to affix your pants to a hanger or related items together with fabric fasteners and tagging gun, rather than safety pins. Loop the fabric fasteners through belt loops and the hanger, or through shoe holes to keep pairs of shoes together.

Cribs, Strollers, High Chairs and other Gear. If there is a place for you to tie your Consignment Sale tag to the item, do that over taping it. You can use twine or your fabric fasteners to tie tags to cribs, strollers, etc.

Books, Tapes, and Movies. Go ahead and use tape on the top portion of the tag, but put the tag where it doesn't cover important information. Back cover of books is a great place. Please leave the bottom portion tape free so we can detach it and use it to calculate your earnings.

Tagging Tip: If you've sold at the Sale before, you know how much time it can take filling out the tags. If you choose, you can leave the "Style" section blank. The reason we suggest that you fill it out (on top and bottom) is that tags sometimes fall off. Filling out the "Style" section helps us match tags that have fallen off with items that have that lost their tags. By doing this, we can make sure that you get all credit for your sold items. If you don't mind running the risk of not getting credited for an item that has lost its tag, go ahead and leave it blank. This will speed up the tagging process.

Step 5: Drop Off Your Items

Drop off your items on Thursday, September 11th, between 4:30 pm and 8:30 pm and on Friday, September 12th, between 10:00 am and 3:30 pm. Remember, drop-off will end promptly at 3:30 PM on Friday.

Paperwork
At the Seller's Check-In, you will be asked to complete the following: (1) waiver form; and (2) self-addressed envelope. These items will be available for you. We do not accept pre-stamped, self-addressed envelopes, as the majority do not have sufficient postage and are returned.

*New Policy this time for Drop & Run: We are now automatically donating ALL tagged items (including white-tagged items) that do not pass Quality Control when members "drop & run." This is a different policy than before, when we would set aside nonaccepted white-tagged items for you to pick up. We have had to change this policy because we do not have enough volunteers to guarantee that we will be able to return your items to you. We apologize for any inconvenience. Again, if you do NOT want any white-tagged items that do not pass QC to be donated, please wait for the full check-in service. We appreciate your understanding.

*New incentive for volunteers this Sale!
If you volunteer to work during each shift of the Sale, you can keep 100% of the proceeds from your sold items. Please see Volunteering Information for how to help.

If you have at least one item that was tagged with a white tag, you must come back to the Sale on Saturday between 3:00 and 4:00 pm to retrieve it. Please do not come earlier on Saturday and assume that because you don't see the item, it has been sold. Things get moved around, and you may have missed it. If you do not pick up your unsold items by 4:00 pm, you will be assessed a $20 fee AND your items will be automatically donated to charity.

REMINDER: Please remember that pre-donated items should have a green or yellow tag on them. This is the only way we can efficiently pull out pre-donated items in time to give them to the charities that come at the end of the day.

* The $20 Fee for Unsold White-Tagged Items: We experimented with not charging fees before. This resulted in very few members returning to pick up their unsold items, and the volunteers working the last shift had a really difficult time dealing with all the leftover items. There were far more unsold items than the charities could take, and we've since spent months sorting and donating it all. We therefore are returning to the $20 fee policy for unsold, unretrieved, white-tagged items. Your $20 fee, however, will be allocated to our Philanthropy Fund and used to support families with multiples in need.