April 2010
Are there any clothing re-sale shops in Berkeley that are going to want 8-10 year old boy's stuff and might give me cash in return? Usually I give the clothes away to friends or thrift stores, but I have a big backlog right now, and wouldn't mind getting some cash back from a re-sale shop. We're getting a little past the size where credit does us much good. Thanks!
Child's Play, on College Avenue at Chabot Street, is a few blocks south of the Berkeley city line. They buy gently used children's clothing, and also accept clothes on consignment. I'm told they offer pretty good percentages compared to other similar businesses. Lucy
Oct 2008
I'm looking to sell my daughter's old clothes and shoes. Anyone know of the names of the shops in our area where I can go to do this? I've already gone to Silver Moon on Grand in Oakland, but that's all I know about. I figure I'd exhaust all shops who might take any of this for trade or cash before I give the rest away. Thanks. Leonora
Grove Street Kids in North Berkeley. Check their website to see what they are looking for. www.grovestreetkids.com am
I had fairly good luck buying and selling at Hannah's on upper Solano Ave, Berkeley, near the movie theater. She is a very nice mom and business owner. She won't take everything, but she is fair. kl
I'm sure you will get a lot of responses on this! I really like Grove Street Kids for resale, she also takes quality maternity clothes on consignment. The store is on MLK in north berkeley between University and Cedar.
You should call ahead and check the buying hours and exactly what she is buying. I'm pretty sure she's not taking baby clothes right now (not sure what ages that means) because she is pretty overloaded.
Also, What about Solano Kids (Albany)? Or CrackerJacks (Piedmont)? I don't know as much about them. -cheapie momma
Aug 2006
We have a lot of infant and toddler clothing (newborn up to 24 months - mostly girls clothes) in good shape that we are considering taking to a re-sale or consignment shop. We need to know a place that is fair and that we can get cash rather than store credit. Also what criteria are the stores looking for beyond clean and in good shape? What can we expect in terms of price? We need to assess if it is worth it or if we should just find a good charity to give the clothes to. Thanks for your help Margaret
I trade at Crackerjack's in Oakland and she does not buy/trade for much, only giving a few bucks for each item, but she has very low prices so trade works well there. Small selection, you have to check it often. Other than that I've found that when people sell on BPN by describing about ten items at a time, or selling by the bag, they seem to do alright. I've gotten some great items for about $4 each on BPN. Other than that, if you can use the tax write off donate clothes hound
One place I haven't seen mentioned in the archives is Solano Kids in Albany. It is, as you might expect, on Solano, near Talbot, and while I have not sold there I found my purchasing experience to be very good. They were extremely friendly and had a lot of stuff that I needed for my daughter, and it seemed like it was almost all used, or new with tags sold as used. They don't seem to be into the marketing of new stuff like some of the other stores, which I find tiresome (I mean, I could just go to a regular store for that stuff). I also second (or whatever large number I am) the recommendation of Hannah's on Solano (but haven't sold there either). I just found the people to be very nice, and the selection good --Kids resale shopper
Feb 2003
I just discovered last weekend that Lauren's Closet is not in Lafayette anymore, at least not where they used to be. Anybody know if it closed that location or if it moved? What I liked about it was that I could bring in clothes at any time and get store credit immediately. I have things I would like to do that with now. Any ideas? I understand that They Grow So Fast, whose proprietor I really like and I really like the store, does consignments and handles things differently, though I am not sure how. Anybody know? Is there anyplace in Lamorinda where I can take the bags of clothes I've got and simply trade them in for store credit? Thanks. Lori
There is a Lora or Lauren's that just opened on Mount Diablo Blvd in Lafayette across the street from the Longs/Post Office shopping center. Maryanne M
Lora's closet has opened up opposite Longs on Mt Diablo Blvd. I'm not sure what it's like though as I haven't had a chance to visit there but from the road it looks as if they have nice and plentiful stock. Vivienne
There is now a new store on Mt. Diablo Blvd (sorry, I don't have the address, but you could call information) called Lorna's Closet. I believe I heard at some point that this is either the same store as Lauren's Closet or run by someone else in the family. It is on Mt. Diablo, in a little strip next to the shoe repair store and just before Trader Joes's (on the other side of the street). Hope this helps! Claire
Have you called ''they grow so fast''? I am sure that they can give you this information on the phone and it would probably be a lot faster than waiting for the newsletter. anon
Jan 2002
With all the talk about consignment stores for kids' clothing, could we generate an update of where they are these days and how good they are? I know Tiddlywinks is changing owners by the end of this month and someone mentioned a store closing or moving away from College Ave. Hannah's takes only designer clothes. Where is a place that takes pretty non-designer clothes and gives fair prices? What store deserves your best rating (might as well include your satisfaction with their customer service)?
The one that was on College--Lauren's Closet--has moved up into the little shopping center just off Ashby, one block up from Claremont Ave., across from the Claremont Hotel (just a couple doors down from Rick and Ann's and The Bread Garden.) elise
We go to Hannah's a lot, because the quality of the clothes is very good (no stains or holes, and all fairly lightly worn). Also, the woman who has been filling in for Hannah is very nice and friendly. She is there almost every day and always has a smile. But, Darla's on San Pablo and Stockton has cheaper clothes, and more variety in terms of brands and styles. The quality is not as nice as at Hannah's, though. I think Lauren's Closet on College is also quite nice. We don't go there because it is far from us, but I know many people who shop there and are quite pleased.
I just spent a lot of time looking around for used warm outer things for a trip back east. I found Darla's had good infant stuff, though not always good brands. They don't have much in the way of older kids stuff (at least when I went) and the dynamic is a bit odd there.. Asking a question from the staff often resulted in a somewhat blank look. I found good older girl stuff at Lauren's Closet (next to Rick and Ann's now), but it was quite expensive for used clothing. Making Ends Meet had only infant clothes when we looked.
Regarding children's resale shops: there is a (relatively) new one on College Avenue in Rockridge called Child's Play. Not being an experienced resale shopper, I cannot compare it to the other shops (Darla's, Lauren's Closet, etc.) but I can say that I have found some good things when I have stopped in, and that the staff -- especially the owner -- is friendly and helpful. On College, across the street from College & Co. Sarah
October 2001
I am a mom of a 5.5 year old boy and 7 year old girl and I live in Lafayette. Having moved from Berkeley with an array of used and new clothing and toy stores for kids, I went searching. Alas, I found They Grow So Fast, located at 3413 Mt. Diablo Blvd. (the main drag of Lafayette). Their phone is (925) 283-8976. They also have a nice selection of Maternity wear. They have special hours for taking of consignment, so call ahead to get the rules. I have personally dealt wish them on many occasions and find them friendly, helpful and reasonable. I highly recommend the store. Jocelyn
What is the best (East Bay) second-hand type store for selling used toys, books & equipment to? I mean where you don't need an appointment, they'll take most of what you bring in & give a fair price. I've sold clothes before, but not toys etc.
Hi -- looking for recommendations for good resale shops. (I really need to sell/trade in baby clothes!) I am familiar w/ Crackerjacks, off Piedmont, and Lauren's Closet (College Ave. & Alameda) -- any others? Good or bad experiences with these/others?
I am glad you found Lauren's Closet, I just did so myself and was quite pleased with their service and the money I received for my used clothes. I used to go to Darla's on San Pablo in El Cerrito but was so fed up with the lack of customer service, which was downright rude most of the time (especially by the owner Darla) that I swore I would rather give it away than sell it to her. Sometimes I would come in with a ton of freshly washed and ironed clothes, which took mw quite a while I might add, only to be told to take it back home again, without even looking. I have been in the retail industry for years but never experienced such rudeness, especially when I would go out of my way to be nice to here because I sincerely believe that if should treat people to way you want to be treated. JEmerson
Try Darla Baby's Boutique on San Pablo (near Stockton) in El Cerrito. Lin
Now, why would anyone want to sell a sweet little baby? (Sorry, but I've always want to say that.) Lillian's (formerly O'Toole's) on College, half-block south of Rockridge BART, and Tiddlywinks, 1302 Gilman (near Santa Fe, I think, and several blocks east of San Pablo), in Berkeley are both good. Lillian's selection is great and both are staffed by knowledgeable, friendly people. Melanie
Try Darla's Baby Boutique on San Pablo in El Cerrito - it's especially good for furniture, but I've also bought and sold some clothes there. You might also try Silver Moon on Grand Ave. in Oakland. Selling at Lauren's Closet tends to be a bit difficult: the family often has their kids working the cash register and even making decisions about whether to resell clothes, which I don't like. They also don't tend to buy a whole lot back - even if you bought the clothes there in the first place! Lauren
I've used them all, they are all good. On Fruitvale in the Dimond District of Oakland, there is Making Ends Meet. A few blocks away on Macarthur near Coolidge is Boomerang Babies. In Alameda on Webster street is Fashion After Passion, one of my favorites 'cause the owner is such a kick in the head. On the other end of the island on Park Street is Lauren's Closet, and One, Two, Just Like New. Berkeley Baby on Shattuck near Ashby. Just remember, in resale, there is the hunt, the kill, and the wait. It may take a while for what you want/need to come into inventory. Ryan
Tiddlywinks on Gilman street in Berkeley is a really good resale shop. Toy Go Round on Solano avenue will take equipment and some clothing. Both shops have been around a while JKamerling
I just want to put in my two cents about Lauren's Closet. I took a bag of approximately twenty five items there recently, about twenty-two of which they actually wanted to buy. The problem was that they told me they could sell the whole pile of clothes for $40, and offered me $26 in trade. That seemed far too low to me, especially considering that almost nothing in the store sells for less than $6. I told the man at the counter that, and his response was that they didn't have time to individually price each item, so they were giving me a lump sum type of deal. That is not the way these type of stores generally do business. Ethical resalers will determine a price and then pay the sellers a percentage of that amount. I refused to sell him the clothes, and instead took them to Hannah's on Solano. Hannah herself is there on Wednesday mornings, or if you want you can leave your bag there with your phone number and she will call you when she has gone through it (she's totally honest & cool). She bought all the same clothes and offered me $59 in credit--more than double what Lauren's closet had offered me. I would never recommend selling clothes to Lauren's Closet, or buying there, for that matter; the person who sold the clothes you buy there was probably ripped off. Eabremner
I'm afraid I have to second the negative opinion of Lauren's Closet. I was at the one in Alameda last fall, and I purchased half a dozen items or so. As was mentioned in the previous post, none of them were exactly cheap. Imagine my dismay, then, when I got home, and found that 2 of the 6 items were mismarked in size--both too small! One was so small as to be unusable. I called the store to talk to someone there, thinking that they would be interested to hear that one of the employees was being so cavalier with the size markings. Apparently, however, the woman I talked to was the manager, and SHE DOES ALL THE SIZING HERSELF!
Her response was that she couldn't be bothered to take the time to check the sizes more carefully. I was welcome to come back to the store to exchange the items, if I wanted. But that seemed rather a lot of my time for about $8 of merchandise, especially since I was given no assurance that the sizing would be any more accurate the second time around. I've never been back, and don't anticipate shopping there again.
Places to try instead: On the Alameda island, I recommend checking out Fashion After Passion (great name!). I second the recommendation for Hannah's on Solano in Berkeley. Two other places to try are in San Leandro: Thrift Town on East 14th (the largest selection and most well organized I have ever seen); and the Davis Street Community Center (on Davis near the Arco), which is small and takes time to sort through, but I've always been given fantastic deals there. Happy Hunting!
Regarding Lauren's Closet: I recently took clothing in there to sell and got a lecture from one of the daughters about the quality of the clothing I brought in. It's one thing to simply say that they couldn't use the items I had brought in, and quite another to lecture a customer. I have decided never to buy or sell anything to them again. As a complete contrast, both Tiddly Winks on Gilman and Hannah's on Solano are terrific places to buy and sell things. They are nice, have great things, and you don't feel as if you might be getting ripped off.
A request for Lauren's Closet in Berkeley shoppers. I sent a letter to them on March 14 explaining a bad experience with customer service that left me and another customer quite upset. In my letter, which they never answered, I asked them to consider two improvements to the store to make it safer and easier to shop when you have kids along: 1) install a childproof gate to keep children from running out (they had refused to close the front door when the other mother asked, worried about her toddler, due to air circulation needs), and 2) provide a toy box to help keep young children engaged while their parents are shopping. The women's clothing store across the street provides more toys for children than Lauren's Closet does. I suggested that parents are likely to shop longer and buy more items in the store if our children are entertained for a few minutes. Lauren's Closet has two beads-on-a-wire toys, which I have never seen kids play with for very long. They don't interest my two-year old. My request to other parents, should you still like to shop at Lauren's Closet, is to please ask them to provide more toys and a child safety gate at the front door. Try to give the message to somebody other than the kids who work there, as I don't trust they would pass it on. Thanks, Penny
A good resale store in the Rockridge area is Lillian's. Lillian used to be manager for O'Toole's, and then re-opened the store under her own management. She really loves kids and toys. She prices fairly in my experience, and buys high quality stuff. Ronnie
I really like the resale shop Making Ends Meet on Fruitvale, just above MacArthur (across from the Dimond Library). The woman has a good mix of inexpensive and more expensive stuff, relatively well organized. I found she bought items very fairly as well.. She will purchase things like a Graco stroller (not just a MacLaren or Peg Perego). She has catalogs and looks up their list price and prices from there.
I'd like to put in a good word for the Lauren's Closet in the Elmwood on College. The three Lauren's Closets are each owned separately so one does not reflect on the others. I have never had better customer service than I did at the College LC-the owner took me on my word about a defective item I got home with and just sent me a check for it instead of making me come in to do the transaction (I live in El Cerrito). I have had fair treatment over the maternity clothes I've sold there and their selection of kid's clothing is excellent-a great one-stop-shop. I didn't want them to lose business over some bad business at another Lauren's Closet. Sarah
I have been very successful in finding used tap shoes for my daughter at Thrift Town on the Dam Road in El Sobrante. I don't recall seeing any for boys, but I wasn't looking. Good Luck! Laura
You're in luck here as there are lots of places to find these things. The best, to start off with, is Lillian's on College, near the Rockridge BART station. They have clothing, toys, and some furniture. I purchased both a used car seat, a frontal baby carrier, a back baby carrier, and numerous other items here and I was always well satisfied. They make sure everything they sell is in good shape.
There is another place on College close-by this, Baby World , which has toys and so forth, but generally not in such good condition, and even a wee bit overpriced, in my opinion.
Then there are a number of places on Solano Ave., Tiddlywinks on Gilman (another very good, reliable place), New Kids in Town on University, Crackerjacks in Oakland just off Piedmont, etc., etc. And don't forget Goodwill (on University Ave. in Berkeley and elsewhere), and the Salvation Army on Solano.
In short, if you want to buy used children's furniture and clothing, you're coming to the right place! Dianna
re: Lauren's Closet in Lafayette. She is a goldmine. Since fall of '95, I have not bought my 5-year old anything new except socks and underthings. We take our clothes in and trade for hers. It's the best!!! Located near the corner of First Street and Mt. Diablo Blvd. next to Gymboree and Peppers Restaurant. They take items at all hours also, which is convenient. Go there! Mari
That wonderful shop for children's used clothing, equipment, etc., mentioned in the last digest, is still there, but it's called Lillian's now (formerly O'Toole's). Lillian bought it, and I think it's even better than it used to be, not only for buying stuff but also for selling -- for either cash or store credit. Happy shopping! Nancy
Also, another place for used and (new) baby items is: Darla's Baby Boutique on San Pablo Avenue, one block south of Stockton in El Cerrito. I'm new to this, but their prices seemed really reasonable to me and the clothes were in excellent condition and cheap. Debbe
I like Mommy's Trading Post in Alameda. They are easy to sell to, can give you store credit or cash (I do store credit) and are friendly.
Chloe's Closet on Solano is gone now too! I have seen people have success for higher end clothing items on Facebook groups (think Boden, Hanna Andersson, Tea, Peek, etc.). The high end stuff actually has amazing resell value in these groups. I would be curious to know what folks are doing for everything else though.
There's a used children's clothing store in Alameda on Park Street. Lauren's Closet. Nice store.
There's also toy safari on the same block that buys and sells used toys with an appointment.
Try Grove Street Kids! https://www.grovestreetkids.com/
I’ve heard good things about mommy’s trading post in alameda.
Mommy's Trading Post in Alameda