So you want to join the Half-Pint community but aren’t sure how? Or maybe you’ve already made the leap but need help figuring something out? Look no further! We are in the middle of developing tutorials and videos to help explain the A to Zs of Half-Pint – check out what we have below and reach out if you have tutorials you’d like to see us make!
Table of Contents
HOW TO REGISTER AS A NEW CONSIGNOR
Ready to consign for your first time? Don’t panic, we’ve got you – you’ll be registered and ready to start consigning in no time!
Okay, step one; open your browser and go to the Half-Pint website, halfpintresale.com, and click on the consign link on the menu. Now scroll down just a little to the section under the login to the new consignor registration link. Quick heads up, when you click the ‘new consigner registration link,’ it will transfer you to a page that points to a website outside the Half-Pint domain. This clever system tracks and manages consignor and volunteer registrations and creates the barcodes you’ll use to tag your clothing.
Step two: This is where you’ll need to provide your information and set a password. If you are consigning because of a recommendation from a friend, include them in the “other referral” box, and we’ll send them a coupon to use at the next sale! Now, prove you are not a bot and hit submit. From here, you’ll be redirected to our seller agreement. This agreement lays out a few things specific to the sale, such as how and when payments are made and liabilities for various things. Nothing should surprise you here, but I’d encourage you to read it. Once you are happy, type YES in the box and press continue.
Step three: You’ll now see a screen that highlights you’re about to be sent to PayPal to process the consignment fee. This non-transferable and non-refundable fee helps us cover some of our facility rental costs and keeps the sale free for our customers to shop. Simply click the yellow button to be redirected to PayPal. You can sign into your PayPal account to process the payment or click the Pay with Debit or Credit Card button on the bottom.
And that’s it; you’re registered! It wasn’t too painful, was it! You should see a message confirming your successful registration and receive an automatically generated email from the system.
How to Create and Print Barcodes
Hey there, Angie here! If you’re watching this video, you have likely done something brilliant – consigned! So, congratulations, a decluttered home is in your future!
Here at Half-Pint, we want to make things as stress-free and straightforward as possible, so welcome to another how-to video!
This video will take you through how to create and print barcodes. The barcodes are the key to you getting paid! A barcode should be attached to every tag on each item you’re selling. Then, when someone chooses to purchase your item, the barcode gets scanned and relays the all-important sales information to your account.
Okay, we’ll start at the Half-Pint website, halfpintresale.com, and click the consign link on the menu. From there, click on consignor login, which will bring you to a website outside the Half-Pint domain. This clever system tracks and manages consignor and volunteer registrations and creates barcodes!
Use your consigner log-in information to access the system. If you can’t remember your login information, follow the link on this screen for forgotten information. Then, using the email address you signed up with, the system can send you your consignor number or password.
Once you’ve logged in, scroll down to Barcode Label/Tag Orders: and click!
Here you can enter the prices you need for your items and how many of each price you need, and the system will automatically generate a PDF of barcodes for you to print.
Here’s a pro tip: there are 30 labels on a page, so if you know you are going to go through a lot of a specific price, get a whole sheet of them that you can print whenever you need them. For example, let’s say you need a bunch of two and three-dollar barcodes; type 2 for the price, 30 for the number of labels, and hit Submit Barcode. Then, repeat with 3 for the price and 30 for the number of labels, and hit Submit Barcode. No dollar signs or cents are necessary, and if you make a mistake, you can quickly correct it before clicking “Submit Barcode Order.”
Once you have generated the barcodes you want, go ahead and click “Submit Barcode Order.” And there’s no need to worry about getting all the amounts right the first time; You can always come back and get more!
Now you will see a page stating that your PDF is ready. You can either click the middle paragraph, where it says Click HERE to open your PDF, or you can press continue to go back to the consignor homepage. Up until after the sale, you can come back to the consignor homepage and click the link to all the barcode PDFs you’ve created. So, if you finish that sheet of two-dollar barcodes, log back in, scroll down to barcode label/tag orders, and click on the appropriate PDF. You will have to do a little searching to locate the PDF you need.
Once you have your PDF open, it’s time to print your barcodes. Get your Avery 5160 labels ready and loaded in the printer. Now print as many copies of the PDF as you need.
Important tips:
Please print in black and white, and make sure the printout is nice and clear. Blurry barcodes do not scan well and slow us down at checkout. A fast checkout means shorter lines and more repeat customers for your sale items in the future!
If you don’t have access to labels, you can print on paper, cut the barcodes out, tape them to a printout of the tags, and copy this to make your tags without any labels. But please be extra careful when doing this. Copied barcodes are not as crisp and don’t scan as well. So, never copy a copy; always copy the original!
For more helpful hints and tips, follow us on Facebook and check out the consigner section at halfpintresale.com. Happy consigning, and we’ll see you at the sale!
How to Tag and Hang Shirts and Dresses
Hey there, Angie here! This video will show you how to tag and hang shirts or dresses.
Before we start, if you need help creating your barcodes and tags, watch our other how-to videos and visit our website to download the printable tag template. You will also find step-by-step-instructions for writing your tags and much more helpful information!
Also, hangers! You will need lots of hangers when getting your items prepped for consignment. And no, we don’t supply them. The best places to find them are thrift stores, dry cleaners, posting on social media and asking family and friends. The good news is, after your first consignment, you can come and pick up your hangers, so they are ready for next time.
Okay! You have created your beautiful tags with barcodes and now need to attach those tags to a shirt or dress. For this, you need either a tagging gun or a safety pin. My husband always worries about paper ripping where the tagging gun barbs or the safety pin is attached, so he usually puts a small amount of tape on the tag. This is optional. Some tags get separated from their items at each sale, but typically this is a minimal number.
If you plan on using a tagging gun, be super careful, as it is easy to create holes in the clothing. Find a seam, or go through a thicker area of the clothing to avoid damaging your items.
If you’re using safety pins, they are less likely to damage the clothing but can still create holes, so again, attach them with care.
Now that you have the tag attached, find a hanger and put the shirt on it. Make sure to use an appropriately sized hanger – the adult-sized plastic hangers will work for your 12-year-old, but not for the newborn stuff! We walk around as often as we can during the sale looking for clothes that fall off their hangers, but during the busy times, there’s always stuff on the floor – and stuff on the floor doesn’t sell! If the shirt is not secure on the hanger, use some safety pins to hold it there. Make sure your hanger looks like a question mark after you’ve put the clothes on it. All clothing needs to face the same direction for our customers.
If you’re doing maternity shirts or dresses, it’s the same thing, but don’t make it hard for someone to remove the clothing from the hanger. Most pregnant mammas want to try on clothes before buying.
For more helpful hints and tips, follow us on Facebook and check out the consignor section at halfpintresale.com
The Dos and Don'ts of Consigning
So, you’ve decided to consign – great decision! But you are unsure how to move forward. When people are sorting through their items for consigning with Half-Pint, we get asked many good questions: What can I consign? Is this good enough to consign? How much should I charge? Does every item need a tag? Can I get my unsold items back? This almost works – can I still sell it?
So, to help you with your consignment preparation, this video will cover the dos and don’ts of consigning!
First up, the Dos!
- Make sure everything is clean! This means washing all clothing, shoes, toys, and other items you want to consign. If it’s dirty, it cannot be part of the sale.
- Install working batteries in all electronics and check that they are working.
- Send your best stuff! Our buyers are looking for quality items.
- Tag all items at the seam to avoid damaging them with the tagging gun. If the tagging gun creates a hole in any items, we will have to reject them.
- Use whatever method of filling out the item tags that works for you. For example, handwritten, typed, or mail merged. – are all completely fine.
- Price your items low if you want them to sell quickly! Also, keeping items in the region of 30% of the retail cost is a great guide when pricing.
- Do use tags and barcodes from previous sales, even if there is a new tag template. The barcode and cost are unique to you, and that is all that really matters!
- Please leave a labeled storage bin at check-in if you want any unsold items returned after the sale. And remember, we are happy to donate them for you if they don’t sell.
- Make sure your hanger looks like a question mark after you’ve put the clothes on it. All clothing needs to face the same direction so our customers can see all the fantastic things for sale!
- Please help us grow our Half-Pint community by posting a picture or video of your pile of consigned stuff explaining #WhyIConsign!
Now the Don’ts!
- Don’t put shoes in bags unless they are completely dry. Otherwise, they will mold!
- Don’t use blurry barcodes! A clear, crisp barcode is needed for successful scanning.
- Do not send your worn-out stuff. Pants with thread-worn knees and barbies with cut hair will not make the cut! Our buyers are on their game when they shop, and we want to keep our standards up!
- Don’t do anything to the donation D on the tag except a clearly written X or slash over it if you do NOT want to donate. Any other markings make things confusing.
- Do not send location or event-specific shirts. Professional sporting teams for this area or Badger gear is acceptable.
- Don’t try to sell anything that’s been recalled.
- Do not send broken electronics, and hope we won’t check! We take great pride in ensuring that all the items on sale work and that our buyers will be delighted with their purchases.
Now there are a few specific items we “DON’T SELL.” These are breast pumps, stuffies, Car seats, bike Helmets, and cribs.
Now for the ‘DO SELL” list. I would be here a looonngg time if I tried to list everything we do sell! Imagine pretty much anything you needed or wanted when raising kiddos (that isn’t on the do not sell list)! All clothing, bedding, sporting equipment, pack-and-plays, strollers, high chairs, safety gates, books, baby carriers, shoes, hot wheel garages, drones! I think you get what I mean!
I’ll leave you with one more hot tip – Hangers! You will need lots of hangers when getting your items prepped for consignment. And no, we don’t supply them. The best places to find them are thrift stores, dry cleaners, posting on social media and asking family and friends. The good news is, after your first consignment, you can come and pick up your hangers, so they are ready for next time.
Wow! We have covered many things here! If you have any questions, please feel free to drop us an email at halfpintresale@gmail.com
Happy Consigning, and we’ll see you at the sale!