consignment_shop
family

A Consignment Shop That Makes Perfect Sense and a Chance to Win $100 #KidCentsFashion

If you haven’t discovered the beauty of buying and selling at a consignment shop yet, then you are in for a treat. Kid Cents consignment shop in the Lambeth area of London is a hidden resource for thrifty shoppers. It’s also a beautiful little opportunity to make income from your gently used clothing and household items.

consignment_shop

Kid Cents – A Consignment Shop that Brings Its A Game

I have aways been an avid deal seeker. My Mom was a resourceful shopper out of necessity, and I grew up knowing the power of a sale. We shopped consignment shops when I was a child and we also sold clothing there. When I became a parent, I realized pretty quickly that babies are expensive and children outgrow clothing at breakneck speed. Consignment store shopping is a great way to stretch your budget.

A few weeks ago someone told me about Kid Cents in the village of Lambeth, in the south end of London, Ontario. It’s the largest and longest running consignment store in London. Owner Pam Batzolds started the store in 1994 as a new mother struggling to balance work and parenting.

“I had two children, 18 months apart and I worked at Canada Trust full time. But my son had some health concerns and it became a real struggle. I was feeling very torn between my corporate life and my family life, ” she said.

A colleague introduced Pam to his wife Patty who started a children’s clothing business called Little Dickens. Pam became the Ontario rep in the London area and introduced the brand to other young moms. Little Dickens high quality clothing won her over. Slowly she grew a network of MOMs and met a friend named Lee. Together they wondered about reselling their gently used clothes.

Eventually Pam and Lee became partners and they opened their store Feb. 1, 1994.

“After we made our monthly rent money for the month, we had a profit of $150.”
Pam kept working at the bank but switched her hours to weekends and evenings. Lee and Pam each worked three days and the store was open six days a week. Now the store is a thriving business with numerous staff members and 6,000 square feet of space.

consignment_shop

A Consignment Shop Treasure Hunt

This month I took a morning to go visit and see what they offered. Pretty much all consignment shops are good for one thing or another. There are kid’s gently used clothing shops and women’s clothing consignment shops and others that specialize in household wares. The common denominator is saving money. Kid Cents has a little bit of everything.

consignment_shop

As I made my way through the shop – all three floors of it – I passed tableware, books, toys, jewelry, clothing, and even furniture. All of the items were very clean and in excellent shape. They were items that looked as good or almost as good as they would have straight from retail. Impressive.

On the main floor, near the entry way I spied a large selection of  Christening and Confirmation gowns. If I were looking for one of these items I would start here at Kid Cents because you might as well save some money on a gown that is only going to be worn once.

consignment_shop

Because I am a Mom, I spent most of my time taking in the large selection of children’s clothing, toys, and accessories, which included clothing sizes up to 14/16. With a teenager and a tween of my own, I know how hard those sizes are to find. Justice, Adidas and Under Armour brands popped out at me, as did a selection of HUNTER and BOGS boots. Toys are in great condition with a selection of Playmobil and Build a Bears too.

Housewares is on the lower floor, with everything from glassware to furniture. The main floor is largely kid’s clothing and toys and the third level is women’s clothing. In fact, the top floor is pretty spectacular. That’s where I perused the huge selection of women’s items.

consignment_shop

My Kid Cents Haul

Don’t let the name fool you, there’s so much more than kid stuff at Kid Cents. Women’s Tilly pants for $24.00? Plus, a huge selection of brand name purses and clothing like Michael Kors jeans, and a wide variety of shoes, belts, and jewelry. And bonus. They even had a VERY solid double-sided LULULEMON rack. Nice. It seriously took a lot of restraint in that area of the top floor.

Resort wear was on display and also some cute jewelry. Anyways, I did get out some of my shopping impulses at this amazing consignment shop. In fact, I got a nice sports bra and a Speedo bathing suit (which looked totally brand new) for my daughter and an Under Armor top for myself. Check the Kid Cents Instagram channel for noteworthy items coming daily.

I plan to make an appointment to bring some of our gently used clothing in, along with some of my old Lululemon items too. Feels like a great way to make a few extra dollars this season after I do some cleaning.

[tweetthis]Enter now for a chance to win $100 Kid Cents Gift card #ldnont https://www.facebook.com/boutiquetopfloorkidcents/?fref=nf #KidCentsFashion #giveaways[/tweetthis]

Kid Cents Makes Perfect Sense

In addition to all the deals, Kid Cents makes perfect sense for my favorite consignment shop because I finally have a place that I can bring my very gently used items to sell. Kid Cents items are gently used brand name only, much of it is like new, and that’s the gold standard for an excellent consignment shop. It’s located at 2182 Wharncliffe Road South, London, (Lambeth).

Pop BY Kid Cents Facebook Page and follow the instructions for a chance to win $100 Kid Cents gift card.

This post has been sponsored by Kid Cents, which means I have been compensated. My opinion is all my own and it is always truthful. 

Mom of two beautiful active girls, traveller, fitness junkie, social media consultant, and keeper of the sanity.

17 Comments

  • Laura

    I love shopping at consignment stores especially for kid clothes because a lot of the clothes still have tons of wear left in them. It looks like this store has great finds, especially for boots. I’ll have to check them out.

    • Paula

      YES exactly. So many clothing items – especially kid’s clothing that is good quality – have many miles left on them. My kids really enjoy getting something gently used sometimes.

  • Yashy Murphy

    This looks like a neat spot to get some great items. I’ve always been weary of consignment shops but some like this one looks like they only share the best!

    • Paula

      I think there are a few brands that I would never in a million years pay full price for – one of those is Hunter boots especially for kids. But I would buy them gently used at a great discount. I like this store for several reasons – the variety of clothing and housewares and the high quality items. I am sure people try to sell worn out no name products sometimes but clearly they don’t accept those. That makes a difference. Thanks for commenting Yashy!

  • Amanda

    You are completely right about how fast kids outgrow their clothes – we just got our son a couple size 4 clothing at Christmas and they’re already too short on him. I’m done having kids but just found out I’m going to be an aunt and we’ll know the gender later on this month. If it’s a boy I’ll be keeping everything for my new nephew but if it’s a girl (fingers crossed – I need a girl to spoil) I’ll be making my way to my local consignment with HUGE bins full! I wish ours had more to offer like Kid Cents so I could pick myself a few things up with the money 😉

    • Paula

      It’s a great shop with so many angles covered really. I was impressed. Can’t wait to hear if you will be an aunt to a boy or a girl! We definitely used some consignment shops when Payton was small. They outgrow clothing so very fast!

    • Paula

      Did you really? That’s fantastic to read. I only heard about it recently and I am scooping up some clothes and making an appointment to sell a batch of them too. Loved the women’s clothing section.

  • Jeanine

    I love shops like this! I would love to check this one out, I love the prices at consignment shops and although its a bit far for me I’d travel there for sure!

    • Paula

      Thanks for commenting Jeanine – I am sure you have many of these in your city. I like that this one has such a wide variety of items.

  • TIffany C

    This store looks amazing. I wont like a lot of the time I don’t go into consignment stores as they are overwhelming and not very tidy. I love how organized and clean it looks and the fact it has many items to go through.

  • Monica

    Consignment store shopping makes so much sense, especially for kids who outgrow clothing at the speed of light, It’s also smart for adults as you can get some awesome deals on lots of top quality clothing you may not have normally been able to afford.

  • Diane Welburn

    I drive through Lambeth often. I had no idea this was there. I will for sure check it out the next time I am driving through! I love local stores more than big box. And you had me at saving money! lol