The other day, I was in Once Upon a Child to cash in some clothes of my daughter's that she had outgrown. While I waited, I browsed through the new selections and nearly fell over with the increased prices! I mean, I understand that some children's clothes can be $30 for an outfit, but I actually saw a USED pair of 4T pants (albeit very gently used) for $20!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Honestly, I would have hated to see what the original price was! Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but if you can afford to buy such expensive clothes, what would you be doing buying second-hand things?? That was what went through my mind first...then I had to question the sanity of having anything as fabric that couldn't even cover up my arm be the cost of a tank of gas these days. WTH?? Thankfully, not everything was that highly priced, and I did end up finding some items that were what I would call "reasonable" prices for second-hand items. In my opinion, anything over $6 is steep for second-hand.
But my biggest surprise came when I got my offer for the 5 bags of clothes/toys/dvds I was turning in. They wanted to pay me $14 for only half a bag's worth of things. The reason?? Because some of the labels were "outdated" and some of the clothes were looking worn. Um, ok...the last time I checked, this was a consignment store, not a hip and new retail store!! I'd like to know since when does Osh Kosh stuff become obsolete? Because my daughter had a pretty nice raincoat and it was laundered, not even tattered in the least, and they didn't take it. Ooooh, I was so mad! I mean, really, what business do they have selling only the top of the line clothes, when most of the people shopping are looking for the best bargains and want lower-quality clothes because they know their kids won't be in them for long! That just really made me crazy. And in the future, I am NOT taking any more old clothes to that store. I'd rather sell my stuff on e-Bay.
