Area's largest kids' consignment sale begins Tuesday

Jeri Lynn Cunningham never shops retail. Well, she might shop for a hard-to-find, must-have item to fulfill a special Christmas wish, but, otherwise, she knows she can save by consignment shopping.

As a thrifty mom of a toddler in 1994, she took her love for consignment shopping and held a sale in her Lilburn basement with a couple of dozen sellers. That semiannual sale expanded over the decades to become one of the largest in metro Atlanta — Kidsignments, which features 1,500 sellers at the Gwinnett County Fairgrounds for a week at a time twice a year. The fall/winter sale starts Tuesday, Aug. 16 and runs through Saturday, Aug. 20, with special markdowns the last few days.

"I generally save about 80 percent off retail for my total savings," said Cunningham, whose adult son and teenage daughter are now consignment shoppers themselves.

With two decades of experience shopping and selling consignment, here are some tips Cunningham has for savvy shopping for parents.

Shop for outfits

If you ask Cunningham about the optimum price for kids clothes, she will answer you in outfits.

For baby clothes, consignors often sell outfits: a onesie and pant set, a sleeper, a dress. "Infant items to about size 2T, I never spent more than $5 for a complete outfit and always bought high-quality name brands," she said.

But as the kids get bigger, the sales racks are often divided between tops and bottoms. Cunningham said parents should keep an eye out for the outfits that are sold together occasionally, and if not, they should always pair things up.

"A $2 top is not a bargain if your child never wears it since they don't have pants to go with it," she pointed out.

And don't forget accessories. Bows, ties, socks and more can be found for $1 or less, and shoes make the outfit complete.

Consider the value

Consignment shopping doesn't mean low-quality. In fact, some of Atlanta's high-end consignment shops don't accept certain brands that you find in big-box stores.

Kids eventually outgrow the higher value brands, too, so shoppers with a keen eye can find some amazing deals.

"We have the hot brands and prices for a small fraction of retail and it is wonderful to hear our young shoppers inform their parents how much they are saving them by shopping here and finding such great deals," Cunningham said, adding that buying at a higher quality can allow you to resell the items yourself when they are outgrown.

"I rarely paid more than $5 for sized 13 children shoes and below, but I did pay $20 for an awesome pair of Uggs hardly worn."

In the infant racks, especially, she said, shoppers can sometimes find items that have never been worn and have the original sales tag attached. Those make great baby shower gifts, Cunningham said.

Splurge for safety's sake

Sometimes it isn't a great idea to use second-hand gear for your baby. For example, regulations change a lot for cribs and mattresses, and keeping up with recalls can be difficult. Kidsignments doesn't take cribs anymore because of the changes in the requirements. You can be assured of getting a quality crib at a retail store, so that is probably a better option, Cunningham said.

She also doesn't recommend buying used baby bottles or anything that is used for feeding, because of the possibility of contamination. In general, parents should be cautious about any baby gear that is more than 5 years old, especially car seats, which expire at that time.

Maternity must-haves

Moms-to-be can save, too, with maternity clothes often offered at kids' consignment stores or sales.

"Who wants to spend more than that on something you will only wear for a few months?" Cunningham said. "Expecting moms can really rack up on maternity bargains under $5."

She added that the Kidsignments sale has dressing rooms open during a portion of the sale to allow moms to try them on.