A Guide to Consignment Sales in Huntsville and Madison

The big, twice-yearly consignment sales in the Huntsville/Madison area are getting more popular each season, judging by the amount of sales items and the amount of people who are talking about them. This is a guide to the Big Three, all seasonal sales held in fall and spring, and all are geared toward babies and children.

Kids Market- http://www.kidsmkt.net/
This is the mother of all consignment sales- held in a huge store, extremely popular, and two weeks long. This one has the most sales items, the most customers and lasts the longest of any of the three largest sales. The store it is held in is an old grocery store, and is so large I never thought they would fill it all up- until this year's fall sale. The amount of items and customers has grow every season, but this season they had so many items that they were stacked in boxes until some of the items displayed were sold to make more room. This one has a very high potential for selling your items, and most items, unless they are not well priced, will sell. I have made much more each time I have consigned there than the last. The owners keep 1/3 of your sales, you keep a full 2/3. This sale does accept maternity items.

Buying at Kid's Market is long and difficult, but is well worth it in the amount of bargains you can find. They are fairly shoosey about their items, so you will not find broken things or things with missing pieces. There are some stained clothing items that always sneak by, though, so you should check clothing thoroughly. The sales days are incredibly crowded, and the store is hot at any time of year. The crowds also mean long lines at the checkout, so make sure you plan to spend at least two hours to buy and checkout. You could spend three or four hours and not look at the same things twice, but I have found two hours enough to look at two or three sections of interest and get the heck out of there.

Kid's Kloset- http://www.mykidskloset.com/index.html
This sale has really been growing- every season they surprise me with their growth, though they are nowhere near as large as Kids Market yet. This one is held in Huntsville near the old airport, and they take 30 percent plus $5 of your sales. They do NOT accept any maternity items, car seats or stuffed animals. They do not sell as many items as Kids Market, but they do a respectable job every season. One down side is that the sale is only three days, so if you miss it, it's gone.

This sale has a lot of very nice items, but are not as picky as Kid's Market, so you need to inspect things carefully, especially clothing. They do very well with large items- strollers, Pack-N-Plays, etc., and always have plenty of those to choose from

Klassy Kids Exchange- http://www.klassykidsexchange.com/
This is the smallest of the three, and I am hoping that it will grow into a more viable candidate next year. The last two years have been disappointing, sales wise, but there has been room for improvement and growth. They do accept maternity items and other motherhood items. I have consigned there twice, and both times did not sell much, dispite having price things the same as the other two sales and having done well at those. This sale keeps 30 percent plus $5.

This one had been located in a strip mall in Madison, on Highway 53, but this season has relocated into a side street behind 53. I was unable to find it to drop off items, thinking that it was in the same pace as the last three seasons, so I would recommend printing a map from their website. Since this year it is even harder to find, I don't anticipate this year being the year that they grow significantly. Another problem has been the lack of discernment when accepting items. The clothing is very often stained, and the books are often mildewed. I have had a lot of bad luck buying at this sale, but I know several people who have found good items.

All of these sales are manned mostly by volunteers who work in exchange for early sales dates that are exclusive to the workers. Having known people who did this, they all have done well by doing this, getting the best bargains and the best selection of all the items. All of the sales also have a mailing list to alert you to the new sales dates. You can sign up for the lists on each sale's website.