Local moms become more savvy through children’s consignment events

(Gainesville, FL) The regional consignment concept is experiencing phenomenal growth and popularity as the nation’s economy impacts the bottom line of American family budgets. Just Between Friends (JBF), the nation’s largest maternity and children’s consignment sales event franchise, is experiencing record-breaking participation from moms who consign, shop and volunteer at these semi-annual events across the US. Part of that growth is the addition of a sales event in Gainesville, FL.

Gainesville’s spring 2010 JBF kid’s consignment sale will be held on Thursday, March 3rd (10am-7pm) thru Sunday, March 7th (10am-4pm), in the Alachua County Fairgrounds Exhibition Building, located at 2900 NE 39th Avenue, Gainesville, FL. This sale will include clothing and accessories for the spring and summer.

“When you invest in your family and take good care of your belongings, you want more than a quarter or fifty cents for items you originally spent $20 or more on at retail stores,” says Jennifer Pruitt, owner of JBF of Gainesville. “Garage sales are designed to benefit the shopper, when it’s the seller who has actually made a significant investment in each item. More and more moms are joining JBF because they simply cannot afford to keep giving away their quality, used kids’ items. They want a fair return on their children’s outgrown and unused clothes, toys, furniture, etc., but they also want to shop for what they need next from other area moms. Just Between Friends offers them that opportunity.”

Consignors “sellers” (who earn up to 70%) gather all of their unused and outgrown clothing, DVDs, electronics, toys, playground and baby equipment, etc. and tag each item through JBF’s free and easy online barcode system. This system allows each seller to see when items sell and for how much (if they participate in the discount sale during the last day of the event). Through this customized system, sellers can also participate in one or more of the seven JBF sales events in Florida, without re-tagging their items.

Shoppers can expect to find pretty much anything that has to do with raising happy children in North Central Florida. Brands like Gymboree are popular and sell quickly, alongside fashions from Gap, Old Navy and Okie Dokie. You’ll also find tons of Little Tikes, Fisher Price, Step Two and Playskool toys and outdoor play equipment. Disney DVDs, Scholastic books and Baby Einstein are just a few of the learning brands available to moms. JBF is like the best children’s store you wish was at the mall, at prices you can afford.

Volunteers are integral to JBF events and they help keep costs down for everyone by helping during inspection of incoming items, keeping the sales floor well-organized and assisting shoppers with checkout. The more you are able to volunteer, the earlier you get to shop the day before the sale is open to the public. Plus, consignors earn a greater percentage on their sold items.

“I’m thrilled to bring this opportunity to North Central Florida families,” says Pruitt. “When you help families earn valuable income from items they already have in their homes and provide a venue where they can find significant savings on the items they need next, you have discovered a win-win for the entire community. More money is being spent within the community, parents are better able to pay for other necessities and they are able to adequately provide the desirable items their children want and need. This is recycling at its core.”

Just Between Friends encourages the community to share this event information with area moms and welcomes everyone who might be interested in participating in future events to sign-up on the mailing list at www.gainesville.jbfsale.com so they will receive future event information. This sale also benefits, in part, our friends at Children’s Home Society of Florida.