Category: product reviews/giveaways

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Five Reasons Consigning is Better Than a Garage Sale {and a Giveaway}

EDITED: This giveaway is now closed. Thanks for playing! (In this case, if you played, you won!)

I’m going to let you in on a secret- I kind of like organizing kids clothing. It’s probably because I’ve never had to do it for a living. Each season, I like to sort through the clothing for both my children, packing up what doesn’t fit and finding of a spot for things that do fit.

Do you know what I like even better than organizing their closet? I like selling their outgrown clothing at Indy Kids Consignment Sale.

It’s easy. It’s profitable.

It keeps baby/kids stuff out in the universe where it can do some good, instead of loaded in my garage, where it just gets more outdated every season that it sits.

It’s an invasion of Little People!
Toys sell fast at every sale.

I was a little hesitant when I signed up for my first sale, but it couldn’t have been easier. The IKC Sale website has answers to just about every question, and previous consignors are happy to give advice as well. Is it better than having your own garage sale? You bet.

Here’s why:

1) You make more money. Once you’ve set your prices, they’re set and you make at least a 60% commission. You have the option to sell everything at half-price on Saturday, but it’s not required. At the last garage sale I had, people wanted to give me $1 for 2 dresses I had marked at $3 each.

2) You don’t sit in your driveway all day. As a matter of fact, you don’t even need to attend the sale. All you need to do is drop off your inventory at your appointed time. The IKC staff does the rest.

3) It takes less time. See the above. Then add in the amount of time you spend getting your items ready- even if you don’t tag all the items and enter them into a database (you don’t do that for garage sales, do you?), you are still spending the time to sort through things and get them set up on tables. After that, you sit in your driveway all day. I spend a few hours getting my inventory ready, but that’s it.

4) You have the choice to donate unsold items. IKC is happy to have you pick up unsold items, or they will pack up your items and donates them to a worthy cause. Again, this is less work than tearing down your garage sale and then driving to Good Will with everything that doesn’t sell.

5) Access to the Pre-Sale. Consignors make the IKC Sale go-round. All consignors are eligible to shop the very first moments of the sale, and consignors who volunteer during the sale get to shop the earliest (their commission is higher)

Last fall, the boy was wearing a 3/4T, the girl a size 6.

 

First Day of School, 2012.
The boy is wearing size 6 shorts, the girl a size 8.

Are you convinced yet?

This year’s fall sales will be September 13-15 at the Hamilton County Fairgrounds, AND there’s a brand new sale in at the Hancock County Fairgrounds set for September 27-29. In addition to the fall sales, there is a new Holiday Sale happening at the Hamilton County Fairgrounds November 16-17. Talk about opportunities to be out with the old and in with clothes that fit your growing kids!

The consigner registration deadline for the Hamilton County Sale is September 4th, and for Hancock County it’s September 22nd. Consignors who register for both sales will save 50% on their second registration fee (so it’s $10 for one sale, $15 to do both).

{The Giveaway}

Indy Kids Sale has graciously offered two pairs of tickets to their popular Pre-Sale. Instead of waiting until Thursday, Pre-Sale ticket holders get to shop on Wednesday afternoon, and therefore get first dibs on the great deals!

TO ENTER: First, leave a comment telling me what you are on the hunt for this fall. I’m looking for winter jackets for my two- their arms have grown inches and inches this year.

Second, link to post about this giveaway on your Facebook page and leave a comment here telling me you did for an additional entry. FYI, you can find IKC Sale on Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/IndyKidsConsignment

Thirdly, feel free to also post about this giveaway on Twitter- here’s a Tweet to make it easy: “Enter to win pre-sale passes to the Fall @IKCSale from @gotchababy. Clothes don’t buy themselves, & your kids have grown!”

This giveaway will be open until Monday, September 3 at 9pm. The winner will have 24hours to respond, if there’s no response, I will choose a new winner. Good luck! (And mark the sales on your calendar!)

Traffic Jam! Big toys are accepted too!
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First Day of School! First Day of School! {and a Hallmark Giveaway}

{Edited: This giveaway is now closed. Thanks for playing!}

We did it. The kids made it through their first day of school on Monday with flying colors. Four hours of swimming on Sunday ensured an appropriate bed time, and things continued to move along easily after that.

Lunch boxes, homework, and after school snacks have all made a comeback like they never left. The emails are coming in from the school list serve, and the fall calendar is filling up with school obligations.

Here’s the thing- this year, I’m not kicking and screaming that summer is over. I’m enjoying falling back into the rhythm of my half-days at the office and few hours with the Fox alone before picking up MaM. I love that the kids are both in the exact same classrooms as last year, and that they are reunited with so many of their friends.

My friends at Hallmark are celebrating back to school season as well, and sent me some goodies to help during those days that aren’t all A+’s and gold stars. They have a whole line of products tagged “Kids Encouragement”, and it’s full of ways to show your kids how much you care.

Their LunchBox notes are making a repeat appearance this year, which thrills me because  MaM LOVES them. I love putting them in her lunch box, and she loves getting them in her lunchbox.

They also sent an assortment of kid-friendly greeting cards (I have 14 nieces & nephews, so they will come in handy), some of which include *gasp* JUSTIN BEIBER!!!!!

 

New for this year is this adorable Bug ‘Em plush. This plush pal can be outfitted with treats a few different ways to show your kids how much you love ’em. Visit Hallmark.com/BugEm for all kinds of ideas on how to use this little guy. I haven’t quite decided when he’s going to make an appearance at our house, but I know he’ll be popular when he does.

{The Giveaway}

To celebrate back to school, Hallmark would like to send one lucky reader a back-to-school prize pack that includes greeting cards, lunchbox notes and a Bug ‘Em plush.

To enter, please leave me a comment telling me one thing you love about back-to-school time (or what you don’t love) and be sure you use your best email so I can reach you. For extra entries, feel free to do any of the following, and add an extra comment for thing you do.

1) Go like Family Fun in the City on Facebook and leave a comment telling me that you did.

2) Post a link to this giveaway on your facebook page and tell me that you did.

3) Tweet about this giveaway- something to the effect, “Celebrating Back-to-School with @HallmarkPR & @gotchababy, you can too! http://gotchababy.com/?p=2904”

This giveaway will be open through Monday, August 20th at about 9pm. The winner will have 24hrs to repsond before a new winner is chosen. Good luck!

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Indianapolis Indians Ticket Giveaway 2012

Edited: This giveaway is now closed- congratulations to the winner, Erik Deckers! Thanks for playing!

It’s summer!

The pools are open, summer reading programs are about to begin, movies and concerts in the park are all scheduled up, and the Tribe is playing ball at Victory Field.

I love Indiana summer nights. I love being outside, whether it’s at a park, at a concert or in my own backyard. There’s just something about a summer night that holds so much more possibility than a night in, say, February.

One of the best ways to spend a summer night downtown is to take a game in a Victory Field. The Indianapolis Indians are the home team, and the game is fun time for everyone, baseball fans and casual observers alike.

THE GIVEAWAY

This year, once again, Indiana’s Family of Farmers would like to send you (yes, you) and up to seven other people to their annual night at the ballpark, happening on June 11, 2012. How cool is that?

All you have to do is leave a comment here, telling me what you like to do outside on a nice summer’s night. For additional chances to win, feel free to do any of the following. Be sure to leave a seperate, additional comment for each action you take.

1) Tweet this: I entered to win tickets to Victory Field from @gotchababy & @FamilyofFarmers and you can too! http://wp.me/pVbJS-ID

2) Post about this promotion on Facebook with a link to this post.

3) Like Family Fun in the City on Facebook (what? like another blog? Yes. Please do. We’ll be posting amazing things there all summer long.).

Remember, leave a separate comment for each thing you do- each comment will count as it’s own entry.

The giveaway will run through Friday, June 1st at 9pm. The winner will have 24 hrs to get back to me, so be sure to use your best email when you fill out the comment form. Good luck!

More Giveaways to Enter: 

Chaos is Bliss (open thru 5/31)

Family Fun in the City (open thru 6/1)

Angel’s Homestead (open thru 5/31)

Mom for Less (open thru 6/2)

Hoosier Party Girl (open thru 6/4) 

Disclosure: Thanks for Indiana Family of Farmers for providing my family with tickets to this super fun night! While they provided the tickets for my family and this giveaway, the fun we have a Victory Field (and my opinion of it) is all our own!