New for Spring 2012

As always, we want to make this the best sale ever! We have gone “back to the drawing board” and come up with some new and (hopefully) better ways of doing things. The following are our most important changes:

Volunteers Register to Consign First!

We will open registration for consignors for 2 hours on Thursday, January 19, 2012 from 10am-12pm.
By registering early, you are committing to volunteering at least 2 hours during the sale!!!
You will be banned from participating in the next sale if we allow you to pre-register and you do not work your required hours.
Why?

To give those who really want to consign the opportunity to register early.
Remember, there are only 400 spots in the sale, and they will go quickly!

High-Level Volunteer Positions

We are looking for a few dedicated consignors who are willing to volunteer at least 22 hours at our sale in the same area (such as receiving/drop-off, check out, or gym organization).
In exchange, you will receive 100% of your sales proceeds and will be allowed to shop at 3pm on Wednesday.
You must have volunteered at our sale in the past.
These positions will be filled by a vote of the Committee. If interested, please “apply” by emailing consignment@fumctrussville.org. Think of this email as your “resume” and include information about yourself, why you should be selected and which area you would like to work (receiving, gym organization, or checkout).
Why?

We need consistency and really good, dedicated people working the most important areas of the sale in order to keep our sale the BEST IN BIRMINGHAM!

Volunteer T-shirt:

All volunteers will be required to purchase a worker T-shirt for $3. The T-shirt must be worn during your volunteer shift(s). They are super cute, and well worth the cost!

New Drop-Off Days/Times:

Sunday – 4-8pm (by appointment only)
Monday – 10am -7pm (by appointment only)
Tuesday – 10am – 4pm (by appointment only) and 4-7pm (no appointment necessary)
NO WEDNESDAY DROP-OFF TIMES!!!
Why?

To better accommodate our working consignors
To give us plenty of time on Wednesday to organize the sale.

New Drop Off Procedures:

We will unload your car for you!
Enter the rear parking lot of the church from Linden Street – from Chalkville Road, turn between the church and Braden’s Furniture, then right into the rear church parking lot (see map on our website).
Pull straight forward until your car is even with the gym doors. Remain in your car – we will check you in, unload your items, take them inside to inspect them and return rejected items to you. All you have to do is wait!
When your rejected items are returned to you or we let you know that there are none, pull forward to Tally Street, turn right and you’re back to Chalkville Road.
Why?

To maintain the quality of the sale. Drop-off often gets chaotic, resulting in poorer quality items making it to the sales floor.
To give us time and space to inspect your items. We will be CAREFULLY inspecting each item to make sure it follows the rules, is of good quality and is not out-of-date. Be sure to review all of our tagging procedures on the website and the list of what we will and will not accept.

Items No Longer Accepted:

We will no longer accept:

Non-electronic stuffed animals
VHS Tapes
Clothing, PJ’s, onesies, blankets or hats in Ziploc bags. We have had many complaints of stained/torn items hidden in bags so they can’t be inspected before purchase. Hang whatever you can according to our hanging instructions or pin your tag directly to the item.

New! Stained Item Rack:

If you have a boutique or popular brand item with a stain, we will have a Stained Item Rack this sale.
Only brands from the list on our website will be accepted for the Stained Rack (high-end, popular brands such as Abercrombie, Ralph Lauren, Kelly’s Kids, etc.). View list here.
The Stained Item tag must be on neon yellow cardstock. You can pick some up for free in the Children's building, or you can use a yellow highlighter to color your entire tag.
The Stained Item must be very gently used and not out-of-date.
Please price your Stained Item accordingly!

Response to Survey:

Many of the above changes came directly from the suggestions we received from our survey. Thanks to each of you who took the time to help us make the sale better. I wanted to address some of the suggestions that were made that we will not be implementing:

* Why don't we allow returning consignors to register first?
We currently have close to 1100 people who have consigned with us in the past, and we only have 400 slots. This means that returning consignors would quickly fill up all of the slots. Most people stop having babies at some point (Duggar family excluded) which would mean that before long no one would have baby items to consign and soon all we would have to sell would be juniors clothing. We need new consignors to continue getting a good mix of sizes.

* Why not change locations for more room so that more consignors could get in?
First of all, here is a little known fact. This sale is 99% volunteer. Beth Burden is our children's minister and she is the only church employee who helps with the sale. Everyone else who works, including Tandi and Hollie, are strictly volunteer. Changing locations would add the additional burden of prepping the area, acquiring insurance, city license, electricity, water, etc. On top of that, where would we move the sale? The Trussville Civic Center actually has less sq. footage than the church (we couldn't use their gyms because the racks would mess up their floors). The old middle school and that big building by Trussville Tire and Service (the one behind McDonalds on the corner of US11 and 459) don't have enough parking. And the old Food World Shopping Center...well, let's just say that we don't want the potential of having the same fall-out that the thrift store had.

* Why not add additional sale days and hours?
Because we are a church, we cannot start setting up until after worship on Sunday, and we have to have everything back in order by worship on the following Sunday. In order for us to sort the clothes so that they can go back to consignors on Sunday, we have to start sorting the clothes at 2pm on Saturday. We still don't get out of there Saturday night until after 8pm. While we are officially only open to the public on Friday and Saturday, Wednesday (worker sale) and Thursday (consignor sale) each bring in sales close to what is made on Public Sale Days. So your items actually have 4 days in which to be sold.

Hope that helps clear some things up for you. We are so excited about this sale and think the changes we’ve made will make it a better experience for volunteers, consignors and shoppers alike!