Tagged consignors
Tips for Good Labels!
It’s important that you have good labels. Scanned labels are accurate labels!
Here are some random thoughts on how to make good labels:
- Make sure that you aren’t printing to “Fit”. You want to print “Actual Size”. If you print to “Fit”, the labels will print off of the labels.
- If your labels end up off, what is most important is that the full width of the barcode, the price, and the consignor number
- It’s important that you are not printing in color. When several colors overlap to make black, the barcode doesn’t scan well. Print in black.
- Laser print! If you have an inkjet printer, you may want to consider finding a place where you can laser print. Inkjet printers are much more likely to not print a quality barcode.
- If you look at your printed label, and it looks at all fuzzy, it will not scan. Please reprint.
- Barcodes must be white! You may not use colored labels.
- You cannot copy your barcodes more than once. So for example:
- Print your barcodes directly on labels, and put the labels on tag templates, which you then copy to use as your tags.
- Print your barcodes on paper, and then copy the paper barcodes onto labels, which you then put directly on your tags.
What are your tips?
Half-Pint by the Numbers: Spring 2014
45,000 – Number of (estimated) available items for sale
1,886 – Total sales of our top Consignor this sale
292 – Number of shoppers waiting to get in on Friday when the doors opened at Noon (not including littles in carriers, of course!)
14 – Number of Consignors who sold over $900 worth of items
615– Total Number of consignors who registered for the Spring 2014 sale
183 – Number of these people who were new to Half-Pint
198 – Number of consignors who donated items to our Charitable Partners
5 – Fee, in dollars, that Consignors are charged for being in the sale
99+ – Percent of items that were half-price on Sunday (Only 4 items on the whole sales floor were not eligible for the half-price discount!)
62+ – Number of bags of spring/summer items and gear donated
60 – Number of Cities in Wisconsin where Consignors live (33% more than last sale!)
3 – Number of States were Consignors live
400 – Miles away the furthest Consignor lives
(Top 4, in order: Madison, Sun Prairie, McFarland, and Verona & Fitchburg (tied for fourth!)
52 – Percentage of consignors that live in Madison
1,403 – Total Number of Volunteer Hours
18 – Number of Community Businesses and Organizations partnering with Half-Pint
535 – Number of Places and Organizations where Volunteers posted information about the sale
170 – Number of hours Lisa and Ellen spent at the Madison Curling Club over the five days
15 – Pounds of Candy consumed by Volunteers
66 – Number of days until the Fall 2014 Half-Pint Resale
0 – Cost to Enter or Park at the Sale (always free!)
What is Half-Pint Resale? [Answered with Pictures]
What is Half-Pint Resale? 
Half-Pint Resale is a twice per year consignment sale, with awesome stuff for kids aged 0-12, for new mommas, new parents, grandparents, and everyone who loves a little!
Consignors and Volunteers shop a day early at presales –
And then the sale opens to the public for an entire day, and good quality affordable items – tens of thousands of them! – fly off the shelves!
And then it’s Sunday! And the Half-Price sale begins. While the tables and racks are looking comparably empty, there are still so many good deals to be found!
And what is left at the end of the sale?
Hard to believe, isn’t it?
You are going to come to the upcoming sale, right? Check out our shopping tips!
Spread the word!
Half-Pint Resale is
[550+ consignors] selling,
[45,000+ items], at ONE BIG WEEKEND LONG SALE
twice per year in spring and fall
for kiddos (ages 0-12) and expecting families
run by 2 local moms and 350+ volunteers
Thanks to First Moments Photography, Half-Pint’s photographer, for these amazing pics!
Join the fun at the 11th Annual Half-Pint Resale
It’s the 11th Annual Half-Pint Resale! 
This coming weekend is the 11th annual Half-Pint Resale, the area’s largest children’s consignment sale. With only a few days left before the sale, we hope you’ve got your resuable bags ready and your cheat sheets complete. Despite the unusually cool weather, we promise that spring is around the corner– and my guess is that there are littles (and school-aged bigs) who could use some new-to-you clothing, some gear, some toys, and how about a few holiday or birthday gifts stashed away – all on a budget?!
Did you join us for the Fall sale? Remember how you felt when you dragged that big bag to the counter and wrote that budget-friendly check?
Here are a couple of things that might help you prepare for the season’s biggest shopping extravaganza:
1) Volunteers will be wearing black and will be wearing nametags. They are here to help you! There are a couple of volunteers with special duties that will really help you out: Volunteers in the GEAR AREA will help you purchase large items so you can easily purchase them without hindering the rest of your shopping experience (look for the signs on the wall). Volunteers with a ASK ME ABOUT BABY CARRIERS sign on their backs are ladies who know a TON about baby carriers and will be hanging around in that area during a few hours of the sale to help you try carriers on and learn about what will be best for you and your baby. We hope that these folks will help make your shopping experience better.
2) There are two main areas at the Madison Curling Club. In the lobby area, there are tables, seats, and places to just take a load off! Feel free to come in and take a seat, nurse your baby, dig into some food from this sale’s Food Carts. You are more than welcome to come and hang out – we only ask that you leave all unpurchased items on the sales floor. Thanks!
The sale area is in the arena part of the building. We will have hold tables where you could bag your items, if you say, need to go sit and nurse your babe or use the restroom (or get a sugar fix!). NOTE: The temperature in the arena area is similar in temperature to the temperature outside, due to the nature of the space. It may be warm, it may be cool, it all depends!
3) Spend some time reading through our Shopping Tips. There are a few things to highlight…
4) Strollers are NOT allowed during peak shopping times (anytime before Noon on Saturday). It gets so crowded and it would be unsafe for everyone. We also highly recommend you not bring children. We know – sometimes you have no choice! But we’ve had several kids get lost (think kids shorter than the racks and at some peak shopping times, several hundred people packing the space). Finally, Children of any size that are WORN in a carrier are ALWAYS welcome, anytime! If you do bring kids, please make sure that they do not play with the toys or sit in the gear. We’ve had kids break things (and then the item is unsellable) or have had people pass over things they want to buy because they think that they are accounted for, only to find out later that the person using the item wasn’t intending to buy it, and then a consignor lost the sale. THANKS for understanding!!
5) Check out all of our tips about holding items on our shopping tips page. Remember that items can stay on the Hold table for one hour maximum. PLEASE! Don’t abandon items on this table! Shoppers and consignors alike miss out!
6) Don’t forget to come on Sunday during the Half-Price sale for the Fun Booth thanks to First Moments Photography!!! Come have fun with us!
And last, but not least, We only take cash and check! Keeping consignor checks as high as possible and keeping as much money in the community as possible.
Looking forward to seeing you:
Saturday, April 20, 2013- 8am-6pm, and Sunday, April 21, 2013- 8am-1pm when everything is half off!
-Ellen and Lisa
PS – Half-Pint is only possible because of the tremendous community we are a part of. Say thank to these folks next time you see them –
PPS – Save a couple of bucks for some super awesome Half-Pint goods (tees, stainless steel sippy’s, glass insulated travel mugs, and flip and tumbles!) You can carry the Half-Pint love with you year round.
Consignors who Donate eligible to Win an Overnight at Hyatt Place Madison!
All consignors who decide to DONATE their items (and therefore do not ask for any items back post sale) will be entered into a drawing to win an overnight stay at the Hyatt Place Madison/Downtown! To qualify, consignors must mark on their check-in form that they do not want items back and are not leaving a bin. The two local charities that we are working with are Kindred Kids, which is an organizations that supports families with a child with special needs, and the Mother and Child Resource Ministry at Blackhawk Church which works with expecting families with limited resources.
Thanks to Hyatt Place Madison/Downtown for their support of area families!
Half-Pint Supports Kindred Kids
We really love Kindred Kids. Yep, we love it because one of our fabulous volunteers started the non-profit after she saw a need in the community. And we love it because it helps families of children with differing needs. We love that it involves kids in helping kids, and that they find creative ways to involve the community. We love it for all of those things – and we love it because it’s the thrifty thing to do.
You should check out Kindred Kids new website (some students from MATC designed it – not too shabby, eh?!) and read all about their mission. But you should also check out Kindred Kids because they have a toy lending library for all kids. And it’s only $5 a month. WHAT you say? I was surprised the first time I heard about it, too. But it’s such an awesome idea. Your kids love new toys, but your budget doesn’t. For only $5 you can go to Kindred Kids and borrow toys. Just return them a month later, and get some new ones! New toys every month for a total of $60 a year, the price of two toys at Toys’R Us. That certainly is thrifty! The toy lending library is free for any children of differing abilities.
All toys and clothing not purchased that is donated at the end of the sale goes to this great non-profit. They sell the clothing cheap (not only as a resource for families, but to help them raise funds for the services they offer), and they add the toys into the lending library. Kindred Kids even purchases items at Half-Pint to add to their resource area for families with children of different abilities to use (for example, chairs like bumbos are great for kids who have a hard time sitting up).
When I asked Wendy, their director, what Kindred Kids was up to since we last visited, she had a lot to say!
“So much has changed! We’ve moved down the street – now we are much bigger (5400+ sq feet compared to 1700 at the old location!) We have a retail area with a snack bar in case the little ones get hungry for a healthy snack. We even have carts to push and cars for the kiddos to ride around in!!!
The building has several different areas, which is great because we used to have to drive from storage unit to storage unit to pick up the specialized equipment that families needed. Now one area in the building stores all of those items. We also now we have one area that is the toy library, another area that is a play room that has a party room attached to it. There is a nice sized community resource room and library, and another whole room devoted to just kids gear.
Starting the first saturday in April we are expanding our ours and will be open 12-5 tues-fri and 10-1 on saturdays. Thursday nights we have a ladies volunteer group. It’s always drop in and project focused so that mamma’s can stop in after 6pm for munchies and conversation while we work together on a variety of volunteer projects. Nursing babies are welcome, too! We are also gearing up for a Tuesday morning playgroup to start sometime in the next few months.
Our new addy is 951 W. James street,which is right next to Dollar General… a Columbus landmark on the main drag that is easy to find. We also have tons of parking in our lot that is not next to a major highway so it is convenient and safe for moms and kiddos.”
Lots of folks really love to get their items back post sale (no problem, happy to do it) but if you are considering donating unsold items, Kindred Kids will be thrilled to accept the donation. “Half-Pint Resale is such a blessing for our organization,” says Wendy.
No, Wendy, Kindred Kids is such a blessing for our community! We – and the Half-Pint Community – are happy to help.
-EC and LS
They make Half-Pint Resale Happen
When Half-Pint set out to find community sponsors, we did so with One main rule in mind. We wanted our fabulous sponsors (who honestly make Half-Pint possible, and if you think I’m kidding… well…. I’m not) to be RESOURCES for you, our Super Shoppers and Consignors. We didn’t want to overwhelm you with stuff you don’t need. Instead we wanted to share with you parenting and life resources that have made Us better parents, better moms, better community members; that in short have made life better in some way.
So here we are, at our seventh sale. With well over 250 consignors expected to register (we’re already cruising quicly past 100, and consignor registration has only been open a week!), with thousands of shoppers expected to attend and purchase the over 15,000 items we’ll have for sale, I sometimes can’t believe how much we’ve grown. We’re thankful to have all of your continued support in spreading the news about the parenting, budgeting and (hopefully) sanity-saving resource that has become Half-Pint Resale. And we want to invite you to become a sponsor or to help us get the word out by offering up a partnership trade.
What are all of these options, you ask? It’s no secret! Just click here, and send us a note (we’re not hard to find) or give us a call if you’re interested!
And while you are at it, take a gander at the fabulous FABULOUS folks we had for our last sale. We still love them all as much as we did then, and maybe even more!!!
-Ellen and Lisa
PS And has someone sent you are way, but you’re still a little confused on how this all works? See for yourself, or check out some insider info here.
Consignment is Open!
We’re kicking things back into gear and hope that you’re planning to join us in April for the SEVENTH semi-annual Half-Pint Resale!
First, get the sale on your calendar! Click here for all of the ins and outs and times and details. The sale will be held again at the Goodman Center – We’re thrilled that they continue to work with us to make it possible for us to take over their busy center for so many days. If you see the staff while you are there, please make sure to say Thanks! There aren’t a lot of space options in town and we feel very lucky to have scored the best.
The main thing you’ll notice is that we slightly anded the times for the Volunteer and Consignor sales due to high demand. We highly recommend taking a second look at the sale post these presales because there are things you’ll never see until they are unearthed! But we also understand the need for a few more minutes for one more rack, one more pass through the toy section, one more looksie at the linens… (It’s so hard to stop shopping!)
We’ll continue to offer our Loot Valet service which allows shoppers to leave their purchased items with a volunteer attendant to later drive-up and load their great finds into the car with ease. No more fretting over a distant parking spot and the idea of carrying everything you want to buy – so Shop Away! Consignors, we’ll have similar service for consignor drop-off as well.
Of course, the HIGH QUALITY of the goods being sold and the incredibly affordable prices won’t change a bit! As veteran thrift shoppers, we know how important this aspect is to the success of the sale. We take great pride in making sure that the items being put on the sale floor are in gently used condition. The AFFORDABLE prices, well we certainly can’t take any credit for that. We have been so impressed with the fair and affordable prices consignors pass onto shoppers and believe this is cornerstone to Half-Pint’s continued success. Half-Pint Resale is only as good as its consignors and we think the world of the folks who Consign with us.
Consignor Registration is now Open and will remain open until April 1. Check out the Consigning page on our website to learn about all of the fabulous perks of consigning. You can also check out our new list that more clearly identifies what we take for each sale – worth a quick perusal, even if you are a veteran consignor!
Registering Early has it’s perks!
(for new consignors) – Win a Half-Pint T-Shirt and have your Consignor Fee waived (2 winners!)
(for returning consignors) – Win a pass for you and one friend to enter a 15 minutes early into the Volunteer Sale – (1 winner!)
Registration is easy! Don’t delay!
And for those of you who STUCK OUT the Consignor check-in last year, we are on top of it and hope that this year’s system will make things quicker for everyone.
There isn’t any reason to wait- Register now, and start purging and tagging!
Lots more to come in the upcoming days – an updated Crib Checklist, volunteer registration, Printable Posters, a play by play of the ins and outs of consigning, fun contests and ways to get your pre-Half-Pint fix!
We’re excited to see y’all again!
Ellen and Lisa
Um, can you help us – just for a minute?
We created a survey. We just want to learn a bit more about you, our super fantabulous LOVELY consignors, volunteers, shoppers and overall supporters. Would you mind taking a few minutes to fill it out?
If you leave us your name and email address, we’ll enter you into a drawing to win a Half-Pint Tee of your choice. Oh yeah, baby. Free clothes.
Thanks muchos!
EC
Cloth Diapers: Is it too stained for Half-Pint?
I give giant kuddos to everyone who cloth diapers. We did great with our first kid, but by second kid, we fell off the wagon. We had Great excuses (some of them totally valid), and maybe could have continued if we switched to a different cloth diapering system, but my brain couldn’t handle a toddler, new kid, AND new diapering system. Plus, we aren’t big laundry fans at the Carlson household. I have guilt over the matter, really; the environment, the money, my kids butt… Sigh.
That being said, I remember VIVIDLY trying to get those dang diapers clean. And then I also remember trying to get those dang diapers NOT-STAINED. Two totally separate issues that those of you who know cloth diapers know well.
The thing with diapering is – well, it’s not a pleasant thing happening in there. And it’s messy. And even when it’s clean, sometimes, well, you can still SEE what happened in there. And you can’t always get that stain out without using harsh chemicals.
Half-Pint Resale prides itself on having quality stain-free items. Sure, there might be a time when you get something and you discover a little something somewhere on something you bought. But over-all, hands down, things you buy at Half-Pint are in good condition. So that is why this whole diaper thing sent us into a quandry.
After discussing the issue with many different cloth diapering parents, we’ve made the following decisions:
1. If you are selling Cloth Diapers, we ask that you either tie them together (you know, like a gift box ribbon) or you put them in a ziploc bag, not taped shut. This is so people can look at the diapers if they want, and so that we can easily check them in.
2. If some of your diapers have light stains on them, LABEL THE TAG accordingly.
3. If you’ve taken care to wash your cloth diapers in a specific way, please also note this. A lightly stained diaper that’s been handled like the Queen of Sheba could sell for just as much as one that is perfectly stain-free but is absent in the care department.
4. Please, despite the fact that they are perfectly useful, no Heavily stained diapers. If you think it might be too much, err on the side of not bringing them.
During check-in, all consignors bringing in diapers with light stains will have to have them approved by a Half-Pint organizer. We appreciate your understanding!
Here are three pics that might help you identify the differences (many thanks to consignor VK for sharing them with us!)
Too Stained to Sell at Half-Pint
These would be accepted, but labeled Lightly Stained
Stain Free! Fantabulous, these are Great!
-Ellen