Turn Kid's Clothes Into Cash with These Top Tips

Posted on February 16, 2015 by Sharon Schneider

As the moms who founded Moxie Jean (the site voted #1 by moms for kid's resale) we have a LOT of experience with kids clothes and how to make them look their best and prepare them for sale. Follow these tips to take care of your baby and kids' clothing and help you get the greatest number of items accepted by our "Upscale Resale" team at Moxie Jean.

General Clothing Care:

  1. Don't use hot water unless you need to. Unless you've got serious contamination on your hands (read: bodily fluids or the like), it's probably not necessary and will just cause your clothes to show "excessive wash wear" -- which means Moxie Jean won't be able to accept them.
  2. Go easy on the detergent. Even without high-efficiency washers, you don't need a lot of detergent. Using too much will clog up the fabric and, ironically, the residue left on your clothes will attract and hold dirt.
  3. Don't use the dryer unless you have to. And when you do, use the Low or Delicate setting. Heat will cause fading, but also shrinking. And when you do put things in the dryer (on a low setting), don't overstuff it. It causes more wear and tear on your dryer but also more friction and rubbing/wear on your clothes.
  4. Store polo-style collars turned up to avoid a permanent crease that fades quickly. On an otherwise nice polo, a faded crease in the collar ruins a sharp look.
  5. Treat stains right away. Use ice water or seltzer on food stains before they set. Before washing, dab a stain fighter on and let it sit for 10 minutes before washing.
  6. Turn clothing with frills, sequins, flowers or other embellishments inside out before washing it. It will reduce wear and fading on the fabric that shows and reduce the chances that things will get snagged as they turn.
  7. Get to know the steam setting on your iron. Those cute little flowers curling up? Bows on the shoulders a little droopy? Use the steam setting on your iron to perk them up. Hold the iron maybe an inch from the clothing as the steam comes out and then smooth out the petals or bows or other embellishments. Don't actually iron them--you're apt to melt, fade or otherwise damage the materials.
  8. Invest in an electric lint shaver. You can revive almost anything fleece that has accumulated pilling with a lint shaver, and knit sweaters, too. It's absolutely worth the $5 investment--probably our most useful tool.
  9. Get those grease stains out. Probably our most frustrating challenge is when otherwise adorable kids' clothes have dark spots on them, like a bit of oil or grease. Use a little dab of grease-fighting dish soap, gently work it into the fabric and let it sit for maybe half an hour, then rinse the soap out by hand and wash as normal. It works!
  10. Keep a bib on the baby, even between meals. Spit-up doesn't necessarily happen only during or right after feedings. Lots of babies spit up between meals. So don't be caught off guard. It's easier--and cheaper--to keep changing to a dry, clean bib than to go through half a dozen outfits every day.

Fancy Dresses and Formal Wear:

  1. A little nail polish will save runs. The ends of ribbons and the middle threads of buttons can fray easily when kids run around in their beautiful outfits. Use a little clear nail polish to seal them before they start to unravel.
  2. Dry clean quickly. If your child wears a formal dress to a wedding or other special event, have it dry-cleaned right after the event. Kids' might not get sweaty, but they definitely get grubby: little drops of apple juice may not be obvious right away, but after the dress sits in a closet for 6 months, those stains will darken.

Moxie Jean doesn't ask you to iron, match, hang or otherwise prepare all your clothing for actual sale--we take care of all that. But sellers who follow these guidelines tend to have an exceptionally high acceptance rate, and so earn $40 or more when they send in a bag - $70 or more if it includes better brands.

If you have high quality, like-new baby and kids' clothing you would like to sell, please review our clothing purchase policies (and pricing charts) to see what we accept and then order a FREE Moxie Jean Mailer Bag today. Or, check out the kinds of clothes currently for sale in our store. It will give you a good idea of the quality and style that "Upscale Resale" means at Moxie Jean.

Posted in baby clothes, baby clothing, cash for clothes, consignment sales, laundry, newborn clothes, selling kids clothing


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