Once Upon A Child Central

I went in here to sell clothes. I wasn’t interested in looking around, and I wasn’t tempted. The store is slightly messy, lit with fluorescent lights and filled with irritating, entitled customers. The deals did look good — for example, the huge rack behind me was filled with onesies, all $ ¹⁰⁄₁₀. But as I didn’t want to buy, I stayed in one place. The woman who helped me was pleasant enough, I guess. She wasn’t particularly nice, but it was clear that she was a fairly nice person who has just been beaten down by awful customers and an awful job. (I used to work retail, so I’m extremely forgiving of a lot of things, and quite unforgiving about others.)
I read so many bad things about this store from the perspective of other sellers. Still, I assumed the complaints came from those who have no idea what «designer» or «brand name» means, people who brought in boxes of dirty, unfolded things from thrift stores, or people who were just generally unrealistic about what they had to sell. I thought I’d do ok because I really did bring good things. I had a bag filled with seasonally-​appropriate Janie and Jack clothes, all of which had been washed, ironed, inspected and folded by me earlier in the day. I didn’t bring the best stuff I have, but it was all, as far as I could tell, as good as new, most of it washed but never worn. I didn’t bring a ton, but it would have been a nice amount if I’d sold on any of the many used clothing apps that are around now. Or even on eBay.
I can’t fault the store for the items that were rejected. I missed a few tiny (and I mean TINY, almost invisible) stains on 5 or 6 shirts. They have powerful lighting to make sure they don’t let anything by, and that was good, because I wouldn’t want stained clothing if I was a customer. The employee told me even she, with her familiarity with store policy, misses stains on the «buys» she brings from home until she comes in and takes a look at the items under the store lights. That’s really reassuring as a customer, as it’s so common to miss stains on clothes at thrift stores. The lights make this store miserable to be in, but at least they work to reveal flawed clothing.
Ultimately, they kept a pile of clothes that, new, cost about $ 600. I was offered $ 11.50. I am aware that consignment and resale stores don’t offer much, and one should never base expectations off original price. But still, I’d looked up a few items online, and I knew I could get more than that for just one pair of the lakes of pants I brought in. It was disappointing, but after preparing myself online, I wasn’t surprised.
I rejected their offer, and came home to list my clothes online. I was annoyed that I couldn’t take the easy way out. But hey, a couple of those pieces already sold, just 3 hours after I was in the store this evening, and I’ve already made more than they offered me. So in sum, I definitely won’t be back as a seller. As a buyer, I’m sure it’s possible to get great deals. But the atmosphere was unpleasant enough that I’d suggest you just go to Savers, spend time in a similar environment, and spend even less money on kids clothes.
One other annoyance — I brought everything in folded like it was ready to be put on a shelf. (My retail experience taught me well.) Even with me standing there, the person who inspected my clothes made no effort to fold them or put them back neatly. It bothered me a little. They are so strict about the condition of clothes they buy, and clearly expect items to arrive washed, ironed and folded. It would be nice if we were given the same courtesy they expect from us.