Buying, Selling, and Swapping Kid’s Clothes/Toys with Valet Service with Swap.Com {A Review}

Like most parents, I have bought a lot of clothes through the years.  Some get totally worn out or ruined.  Let’s not even talk about my daughter cutting her brand new Tea leggings yesterday with scissors.  She put a big, fat hole in them on purpose testing to see if scissors cut fabric. 

Guess what? Scissors cut fabric. It makes me want to cry. But thank God events like that only happen once in a blue moon because, surprisingly, I learn from my mistakes.

The majority of the clothes my children have worn are in great shape with no scissor holes.

I do donate outgrown clothes or give them to a friend who has a younger child, but the majority of the time they are in piles sitting in a spare closet collecting dust.  And I’m always buying the next size of clothes or toys for the next stage in life.

In December, I was contacted by a new online service for selling your children’s clothing/toys or swapping your kid’s items for other items that you like.  It’s called Valet Service with Swap.Com. They wanted me to review this new and convenient service that is designed to make life easier.  You simply pack up your items, ship the package to them, they take the photos for you, and you set the prices for the items you want to sell.  And if you prefer, you can swap items rather than getting a cash payout for items you submitted.

 It all sounded easy, but I was hesitant. I thought packing up items and shipping them to the service sounded like a hassle.  I almost turned down the job.

But then a friend emailed and said, “Do you want a Janie and Jack peacoat for the Diva? I tried to take it to the consignment store locally, but they wanted only $3 for it. That is ridiculous.”

Right then, I decided to test Valet Service with Swap.com, and I’ve been testing it all month.

Trying out Valet Service with Swap.com

I packed up a Lilly Pulitzer dress in a size 2T.

I packed up a few things to send to Valet Service, including a Gap sweater that my daughter had barely worn, a Lilly Pulitzer dress, and a Bailey Boys one-piece for a toddler.  In a few days, they had taken professional photos, and I was ready to set my prices: sell or swap.

I think I set my prices too high because nothing sold right away.  I set the Lilly Pulitzer dress for $14.  The other items were priced below $10.

I decided to look further into swapping items.  I needed a pair of ballet slippers in an 8T.  They had one pair of ballet slippers, and it was an 8T.   Talk about meant to be. I swapped my daughter’s red sweater for the ballet slippers.  I paid $2 for shipping, and the ballet slippers arrived in a few days nicely packaged. We’ve been using them for dance class.  I was pleased.

The ballet shoes arrived within a day or two of the order, and were in good condition.

I also saw a cute Hanna Andersson red velour dress in 3T. I decided to put it in my queue for my swapping "wish list". I could have bought it immediately for $12 but decided not to do so. I decided to wait it out to see if I could swap the item.

The next week, I dropped the Lilly Pulitzer dress price to $10 and the Bailey Boys romper to $7.  Soon afterward, I got an email congratulating me because the red Hanna Andersson dress was now mine.  I could either sell it or ship the dress to me.  That meant another customer either wanted to swap their item for my Lilly dress, or they bought my dress for $10.  The red dress is on its way to my house. The Bailey Boys romper is still for sale. 

My Valet Service with Swap.Com Findings

• ·         The company is reputable, professional, and trustworthy.
• ·         The company rates your items: Like new, or new with tags, good, and fair.  I accidentally sent in a baby hat that was missing a part. They found it and refused to sell it.  That’s good because they make sure the items are in good shape.
• ·         You can make returns for any reason.
•          The seller sets the price, so some clothing items are priced very reasonably and well below the asking price of consignment stores that sell upscale children’s clothing. For example, there is a Mini-Boden sweatshirt for a boy listed in good condition for just $6.  That’s really reasonable, since that sweatshirt was probably $35 to $50 new. 
•          They bundle some of the seller’s items together to get a better price.  I’m not a fan of this because I may not like all the clothes in the bundle and only want the one item that I like. But for bargain hunters, you can’t beat it. They currently have a girl’s bundle of clothes in size six that includes items from Gap, Ralph Lauren, and Gymboree, all listed in good condition for just $6.  That’s a lot of clothes for $6.
•          If you sell, buy, and swap a lot, it will cost you in shipping, so you will need to price items accordingly and remember that a swap will cost you some money in shipping. That could add up over time.
•          Don’t send boutique items without labels. I sent in some handmade booties that a boutique sold for $20. They were barely worn, and the company didn’t even think they could get $3 for them, which is the minimum price you can set for an item.
•          Study what is for sale on the site, and consider the buyers. In the South, a Bailey Boys romper that retails for $70 new would be snatched up in a heartbeat for $7. So far, not one customer sees that as a bargain.

I’m glad I tested the service, and I do recommend it as a way to sell your children’s items or swap items that you no longer need for things you do need.

If you decide to use the Valet Service with Swap.com, tell them that the Hines-Sight Blog sent you.  I’m giving you a free shipping discount code for shipping kids' items to the Swap.com Valet Service. The code is valid for 30 days.

Go clean out your closets!

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post.  All opinions are my own. 

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