Welcome Sellers!

Thank you for your interest in the Cossitt School Children’s Clothing Consignment Sale. This community tradition has thrived for over 40 years, benefiting the students and teachers of Cossitt Elementary School.

The Deal: Sellers keep 60% of their sales, and the Cossitt Parent Teacher Council earns 40%. All unsold items are donated to local charities.

  • The Cossitt Children’s Clothing Consignment Sale is a twice-yearly children’s consignment sale and 40+ year community tradition. Year after year, shoppers come from far and wide for great deals on gently used, high-quality children’s clothing, shoes, and books. Our sellers keep 60% of the sale price while the Cossitt Parent Teacher Council earns 40%. Proceeds benefit the students and teachers of Cossitt School, and donations of unsold items help children throughout the area.

  • You can sell gently used children’s clothing, shoes, and books. Be sure to check our list of Acceptable Items below. At our Fall Sale (September), we sell fall and winter clothing, and at our Spring Sale (March), we sell spring and summer clothing. We don’t sell toys at our sale.

  • The week before each sale, we have a Technical Assistance Night for sellers to print tags, pick up cardstock paper, use our paper cutter, view samples of tagged items, and ask questions of our friendly volunteers–all at absolutely no charge. Information below:

    TBA

  • Do you have inventory you would like to includede in the sale but no time to prepare? You can DONATE them and our volunteers do the work.

    Check our homepage for collection dates and location.

  • During the last hour of the sale, ALL items will sell for 50% off the marked price during our Half-Price Sale. It’s a wonderful way to sell more of your stuff, raising more money for Cossitt programs, and ensuring bargains for all!  Once the sale is over, we donate all remaining items to the many wonderful charitable agencies we support each year.  Your donations will benefit:

    • National Children’s Cancer Society

    • Westchester Food Pantry

    • Comer Children’s Hospital

    • Northwestern NICU

    • St. Cletus Food Pantry

    • St. Francis Xavier Food Pantry

    • Children’s Community Closet

    • BEDS

    • LADSE

    • Buddy’s Place

    • Sharing Connections

    We also donate clothing to our school district health offices to give kids something to wear in case of an accident or illness.

  • ALL unsold items will be automatically donated to an appropriate organization as noted above at the end of the sale.  We do not return unsold items to sellers.

  • Give 3 hours of your time to gain access to the Pre-Sale. SIGN UP HERE.

    Note: Children are not allowed on the sales floor until 11:30 am.

    • Refer back to our website for more information and important dates.

    • Follow our Facebook page to get updates and news on upcoming sales.

    • We keep in touch via regular email updates as the sale gets closer.

    • If you have a question about something that isn’t answered here, email us at cossittsale@gmail.com or message us on Facebook.

Sign up to sell!

Register to Sell

  • New Sellers: Click "SELLER LOGIN" and select "Need a Consignor Number?" This number is yours to keep for all future sales.

  • Returning Sellers: You must register for each specific sale. Log in and select "Register" for the upcoming season.

Enter Your Inventory

Log in to your homepage and navigate to:

Menu → Work With Consigned Inventory → Add Items → PC/Laptop Version

TIPS

  • Use detailed descriptions. Instead of "Blue shirt," write "Blue H&M Butterfly Tee." This will help you keep track of what’s what when you’re entering your items in the system. It also helps us match tags to clothes in the unlikely event your tag falls off.

  • Please use the “Baby Clothes” category for all items 12 months and smaller. We encourage you to group items as full outfits.

Pricing (scroll down for guide!)

  • Minimum Price: $1.00.

  • Average Range: $1–$5 (most items over $10 do not sell). Keep in mind that our shoppers are looking for savings and bargains. 

  • Note: All items move to 50% off during the final hour of the sale.

Tagging & Supplies

Supplies

  • WIRE hangers

  • Safety pins (larger pins work best)

  • Cardstock paper (60-70lbs)

    • Want FREE paper? Come to Technical Assistance night or pick some up beginning TBA.

  • Scissors

  • Clear packing tape (to secure tags to books or shoes)

  • Zip ties or rubber bands (to keep shoes together)

  • Laundry baskets / Cardboard Boxes / Bags to transport your items.

Printing Tags

  • Tags must be printed from the online system.

    • Handwritten or altered tags will not be accepted.

    • If you change a price, you must print a new tag.

  • Print on white cardstock paper (60-67 lb).

    • You can buy your own cardstock, or you can pick some up from us about 3 weeks before the sale.

    • Tags print 10 to a page. Cut them out and pin them to your items.

    • You can also print tags for free at our Technical Assistance Night.

Preparation & Drop-Off

Quality Standards

Look over your items carefully for stains, holes, worn knees, missing buttons, or broken zippers. (If any of these issues can’t be fixed, you can donate these items to Go Green Greater La Grange at their textile take-back event on Sunday, March 15th. )

We maintain high standards to ensure a great sale. Items will be rejected for:

  • Stains, holes, or excessive wear.

  • Odors (smoke/pets).

  • Wrong Season: We only accept Fall/Winter items in September and Spring/Summer items in March.

  • We will also reject items with tags from previous sales or tags that have been written on or altered in any way.

How to Prep

  • Clothing: Hang with the hook facing left (like a question mark ?).

  • Pants: Pin to the top of the hanger on both sides.

  • Shoes: Zip-tie together; tape tag to the bottom of the sole.

  • Books: Group sets with rubber bands; tape tag to the cover.

Where does the tag go?

  • On clothing, the tag goes on the upper-right side of the item (the wearer’s left shoulder or hip).

  • On shoes, tape the tag to the bottom of one sole or secure it inside the shoe.

  • On books, tape the tag to the front or back and cover it with regular adhesive tape.

  • On large items, tape the tag securely with clear packing tape. It’s OK to cover the whole tag with tape.

My items are tagged. When can I drop off my things?

Ready to drop off? Bring your tagged items to our Seller Clothing Drop-Off nights before the sale.

Drop-Off Checklist

  1. Separate tagged clothes into by their category (we will ask you to bring your items to each area upon arrival to the gym).

  2. Transport items to the school in laundry baskets, bags, or boxes.

  3. Required: Bring a self-addressed, stamped envelope with your seller number on the bottom corner. We use this to mail your check!

  4. Enter through TBA (Southwest doors near the bike racks).

  5. Give your items to our friendly volunteers and go home to make a list of what to BUY at the sale! You do NOT need to wait for your items to be checked.

Accepted Items

**The Cossitt Clothing Sale reserves the right to refuse any item that we do not deem appropriate for the sale.**

    • Jackets, fleeces, windbreakers

    • Shorts, leggings, pants, & jeans

    • Long-sleeved and short-sleeved shirts

    • Pajamas & robes

    • Skirts & dresses

    • Suits & special occasion dresses

    • Heavy sweaters, flannel, corduroy pants (fall sale only)

    • Winter coats & snow pants (fall sale only)

    • Swimming suits and rash guards (spring sale only)

    • Dancewear, leotards

    • Halloween costumes (fall sale only)

    • Martial arts uniforms

    • Scout uniforms

    • Board books, picture books, easy readers

    • Graphic Novels

    • Chapter books (up to 8th grade)

    • Nonfiction children’s books

    • Parenting books

    • Rollerblades, ice skates & roller skates

    • Shin guards, knee pads, wrist guards

    • Sporting gloves, baseball/softball mitts

    • Baseball/softball bats

    • Winter hats, gloves, scarves (fall sale only)

    • Belts, neckties, bowties

    • Hats, hair bows

    • Dress up & casual shoes

    • Sandals (spring sale only)

    • Rain boots

    • Snow boots (fall sale only)

    • Slippers

    • Sports shoes (dance, soccer cleats, etc.)

Unaccepted Items

Please review the following list of items we do not accept for sale:

    • Fall or winter clothing at the Spring Sale (sweaters, flannel, corduroy)

    • Spring or summer clothing at the Fall Sale (tank tops)

    • Camp/team/program t-shirts (Park District camp, Zoo Camp, etc.)

    • School spirit-wear other than Cossitt, Park Jr. High, or Lyons Township High School

    • Clothes with an individual’s name or monogram

    • Outdated or out-of-fashion clothing

    • Clothing bigger than YOUTH size 18 or any adult clothing

    • Undergarments, socks, or tights

    • Preemie clothing

    • Maternity clothing

    • DVDs / CDs

    • Helmets of any kind

    • Toys

    • Bikes

    • Baby gates, bed rails, child locks, outlet plugs

    • Baby monitors

    • Bathtubs, baby towels

    • Changing tables, diaper bags, diaper pails, potty seats

    • Children’s room decor: lamps, rugs, artwork

    • Cradles, bassinets

    • High chairs & booster seats

    • Baby carriers, slings

    • Toddler and children’s bedding & crib linens

    • Walkers, exersaucers, activity mats

    • Baby blankets

    • Breast pumps / baby bottles

    • Car seats, car booster seats

    • Crib bumpers, drop-side cribs, mattresses

    • Diapers

    • Socks, tights, or undergarments

  • Painted children’s items will not be accepted unless the items have “Made in the USA” on their label. Varnished items are acceptable as well as items with lead testing verification.  Check for recalled items at www.cpsc.gov.

Seller Pricing Guide

Shoppers at the Cossitt Clothing Sale are looking for bargains! To sell the most inventory, aim for 25–30% of the original retail price.

The $1 - $3 Range (High Volume)

These items fly off the racks when priced competitively.

  • Tees/Knit Tops: $1 – $2

  • Shorts/Leggings: $1 – $2

  • Books (Board/Picture/Chapter): $1 – $3

  • Accessories (Hats, bows, ties, belts): $1

  • Baby Onesies/Sleepers: $1 – $2 (Better when sold as sets)

The $4 - $8 Range (Standard)

For items in excellent condition or name brands (Gap, etc.).

  • Jeans/Khakis: $4 – $6

  • Dresses/Skirts: $4 – $8

  • Fleeces/Sweaters/Hoodies: $5 – $8

  • Pajama Sets: $3 – $5

  • Shoes/Sneakers/Cleats: $4 – $8

The $10+ Range (Premium)

Reserved for high-quality outerwear or specialty items.

  • Winter Coats/Snow Pants: $10 – $15

  • Special Occasion/Suits: $10 – $15

  • High-End Brands: (e.g., Patagonia, North Face, Boden) $12+

Quick Pricing Tips

  • Bundle for Value: If you have basic items (like plain white tees), pin 2 or 3 together and price the bundle for $3.

  • Condition is Key: If an item is "like new" with tags, you can lean toward the higher end of the range. If it shows any wash-wear, stick to $1 or $2.

  • The "Would I Buy It?" Test: Ask yourself if you would pay that price for the item in its current condition.