Hand Me Downs is a children's resale store featuring gently used clothing, toys, gear, and furniture for newborns to teens. We have been part of the Evanston community for over 25 years. Here, we outline our current guidelines for individuals interested in selling used merchandise.
Items We Buy/Consign
- Mint condition children's clothes
- Girl's sizes 0-10
- Boy's sizes 0-16
- Mint condition children's shoes and boots
- Toys, games, outdoor play gear
- Children's books
- Baby gear
- strollers
- car seats
- swings
- gates
- portable cribs
- Crib and toddler bed linens
- Children's furniture
We Buy By Appointment Only
To make an appointment, call us at (847) 475-0803 or email us at hand.me.downs@sbcglobal.net
Appointments are scheduled during regular business hours. Please be prepared to describe your items and to tell us your appointment time preferences.
We buy clothes seasonally. We will release spring/summer 2010 appointments beginning February 5 and fall/winter appointments beginning August 2. Due to high demand and to be fair, we are unable to book seasonal clothing appointments before the biannual dates. We also may be unable to schedule an appointment or look at all your items because our inventory is full in a category/size.
We purchase/consign non-clothing items year round based on our inventory needs. Please check our Web site or our telephone message for updated information on appointment availability and inventory needs.
We purchase only a small percentage of merchandise that is offered to us. Our decisions are business decisions based on knowing what sells and the requests of current customers. At the end of your appointment, unwanted items are returned.
Condition Guidelines
Clothing- Less than 3 years old
- Freshly laundered and folded
- No tears or stains, smoke-free
- Clean
- Fully functional, no recalls
- Instruction manuals, if possible
- Clean
- Complete with all pieces
- Working condition, no recalls
- Clean, only minor surface flaws
- Instructional manual, if possible
Payment and Consignment
We pay cash for most children's clothing items and toys. When we pay cash, you receive 35%-40% of OUR selling price. Equipment and furniture items are placed on consignment. You are paid when the item sells. If it does not sell, the item is returned after 90 days. If the item sells for less than $200, the consignor receives 50% of the sale. If the item sells for more than $200, the consignor receives 60% of the sale.
June 2009 Toy Buying Update
We are pleased to announce that toys have returned to our store! The law has not changed, but we have received additional clarifying information from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the Illinois States Attorney Office. In order to remain compliant with the 2008 Child Safety Act, we will limit our buying and selling to a short list of toy makers. We will say "no" altogether to a number of toy categories. And, most importantly, we will run a safety check through the federal database on every item we purchase.
We will consider purchasing/consigning toys made by these companies:
- American Girl
- Brio
- Chicco
- Fisher Price
- Haba
- Learning Curve/Thomas the Train
- Leap Frog
- Legos
- Little Tikes
- Melissa & Doug
- Plan Toy
- Playmobil
- Playskool
- Tonka
We will not purchase/consign toys in these categories:
- Toys labeled "Made in China" from companies not on the list above
- Motorized toys
- Toys with magnets
- Computer games
- Stuffed animals/plush toys
- Rattles, teethers, bath toys, small crib toys
- Toys with multiples pieces that are not in the original packaging