Moving into Fall

Like it or not, fall is on the way and soon all the kiddos will be heading back to school. Now I am not one of those moms who is organized enough to start shopping early for back-to-school clothes. In fact, I am one of those moms who wait until it is too cool to wear shorts anymore only to realize we have no pants that fit. And it goes something like this, “Oh, c*#p, it’s going to be cold tomorrow! You better bring up the winter bins from the basement, Hon.” This is followed by me tearing through the bins hopelessly searching for that one pair of pants that might have been a little bigger. Then the inevitable conversation the next morning: “Mom, I can’t wear these pants! They are too small!” “Well, either you wear those or shorts or nothing at all ‘cause that’s all I’ve got. I’ll try to stop today for something that will fit.”

But we know some of you like to shop early. I am envious of those of you who have it together enough to do that. And I am completely blown away by those of you who are asking for winter coats in the middle of summer. You must be super-moms! And that is why we are already stocking the store with those back-to-school clothes. Usually we start mixing some fall clothing in by the middle of July. We stop putting new summer clothing out on the floor by the end of the month. And we really try to have the store turned over to almost all fall/winter clothing by the middle of August.

We are going to start putting winter coats and bunting out now, but our plan is to switch our big swimwear display over to coats and snowsuits on August 10th. However, we know that kids can have growth spurts or lose those swimshoes, sandals, sunhat, etc. I remember all too well running all over town desperately searching for a new swimsuit in the middle of August. How frustrating! So we do keep some summer-wear out until the very end of the season. We also know that kids need swimsuits all year long and we try to keep them available to you. Just check in each size. Even after the season is over, you are always welcome to ask if we have something you need stored away in back.

What about Halloween costumes, you ask? Expect a display the very beginning of September. I just spent some time looking through all those bins because a certain someone just had to have a Star Wars costume for camp. Unfortunately, my feeling of utter triumph at having found one (after working up a sweat moving around 10 or so bins of costumes) was completely deflated after a certain someone then decided he didn’t want to wear it after all. But I can tell you, we have many great costumes! So stay tuned for info on the exact date.

We hope to see you soon for all your back-to-school clothing needs!

Christmas in July Sale

Christmas in July Sale

Why not get your holiday shopping done early this year?

All our best holiday-wear for boys and girls will be out on the floor for

One Day Only

Friday, July 31st

Selling Your Stuff

We want our customers to know how things work at Grow With Me. We’ve been customers at resale stores ourselves, so we understand the frustrations of selling. That is why we try to make the process as clear and easy as we possibly can. And we try to ensure that we give both those selling and buying get the fairest deals we can possibly can. So I thought some of you might want a better idea of how we actually go about buying items from our customers.

When you bring your things in, we first presort them. We check the items for any stains, tears, missing pieces, or broken parts. I personally have brought many things into the store that I thought were in almost perfect condition only to find something wrong with them once there. Every little stain shows up under our fluorescent lights! Many of our customers who buy from us expect our merchandise to be in like-new condition and for that reason we are very particular about what we accept.We also check the brand and size of the items you bring in. Some brands sell better than others for us, and that can sometimes depend on size. For example, Hanna Anderson clothing sells very well in smaller size, but not so well in the tween or teen sizes. And, of course, we make sure no toy or piece of equipment has been recalled.

After we presort your items, we price the things that we are able to accept. Pricing can vary greatly depending on brand, size, and condition. We do have a pricing matrix for clothing, but even then, we might price something a little higher if it is brand new with tags or a little lower if it is one of our favorite brands but has a little wear. When we price toys and equipment, we generally check the retail cost of the item and then price that item at one-third to one-half of the current retail value. Then you would get one-third to one-half of our price. So, yes, you would earn more if you sell your things on your own. But you would also have the hassle of doing that. The pricing we use is competitive with other resale stores. We would love to be able to give you more for your things, but we have to keep prices low enough for our buying customers, and we have to make enough of a profit to keep the store running and our employees paid!

Then we total everything up and give you a cash offer or 30% more if you prefer store credit. If you have dropped your things off at the store, we will then give you a call to let you know we’ve finished processing them. We really cannot tell you what we are paying out for each item, but we would be happy to let you know the pricing on one or two specific things. We do ask that you pick up those items we were not able to accept within a few days if you do not plan on donating them. We try to be flexible about the pick up of No Thank You’s, but we do have limited space in our backroom for storage. If for some reason you can’t get back to the store in a few days, we ask that you call and talk to us about the situation. If after a couple of phone calls we do not here from you, we would donate those things to our Autism Account.

We hope we’ve taken some of the mystery out of our buying process. You are always welcome to ask questions. And we hope to see you and your stuff soon!

Grow With Me Blog Deal Day

Blog Deal Day!

Tuesday, July 21st

Let us know you read our blog and

Take an extra 20% off all summer-wear

(sleeveless tops, hawaiian print shirts, shorts, swimwear, sunglasses, sunhats, summer shoes)

including all redlined items

Art Fair Exhaustion?

Are you Art-Faired out? Then take a break and stop on in for our

Friday Bin Sale

All Items in Bins are $1 and 50% of proceeds go to local autism organizations.
We have lots of new brand-name items in the bins, such as Gymboree, Gap, and Old Navy

And all redlines are still 70% off. They are disappearing fast, so hurry in!

Upcoming Events & New Items

We have two fabulous sales events coming up:

Christmas In July
Why not shop for Christmas outfits early?
Tentatively scheduled for July 31st

Stuff-a-Bag Sale
Stuff as much as you can from our bins into your bags for 1 low price
Coming up August 8th

Stay tuned for more information!



Items Now In Stock:
*Bitty Baby Changing Table and Booster Seat
*Doll Bassinet, Canopy Bed, and Car Seat Carrier
*Bratz Dolls, Convertible Car, and Moped
*Matchbox Car Sets
*Littlest Pet Shop Set
*Evenflo Trail Tech Back Pack Carrier
*Jumperoo
*Kolcraft Double Stroller
*Cradletyme Crib Mattress
*Boppy Activity Mat
*Maya Wrap Sling
*Puzzles, Puzzles, and More Puzzles!

Christmas All Year

I am often asked what it’s like to be a business owner and what I most enjoy about it. Well I’ll tell you. I love interacting with and helping our customers. And we have so many wonderful, interesting people who frequent our store, both big and little. I feel a great sense of satisfaction after assisting a new mom with the baby carriers, or lending a hand to a grandmother who is trying to decide what would be the best gift for her 3 year old grandson, or helping a dad pick out an outfit that his wife won’t bring back to the store the next day! I also like the more creative aspects of my job—working on store displays, emails, and the blog. And I’m always happy when a customer wants to buy a piece of clothing I’ve put on display or comments on one of my blog entries (hint, hint!).

But the most entertaining part of resale shop work is definitely looking over all the fun stuff people bring in. It’s like Christmas all year long! Every basket holds some golden nugget. There are the fun toys you can’t help but play with, the excellent books that hold even an adult’s attention, the little stylish outfits you wish you could afford for yourself, and the adorable baby clothes that almost make you want to have another child—almost! We just never know what we’re going to find. Of course sometimes we come across things we would rather not, such as children’s used underwear, food-encrusted toys, or moldy shoes. But more often than not we are pleasantly surprised and enchanted by what our customers bring us. So keep it coming! We buy for all seasons all year, for cash or 30% more in store credit. We look forward to seeing what goodies you have for us!

Super Duper Summer Savings

We are making room for back to school clothing, so

ALL REDLINES ARE NOW 70% OFF!

Getting ready to head to the beach? Let us help!

New Items we have in Stock:
*Goo Goo Shades and Fuzzy Shades
*Disney Sunshade Tent
*Especially for baby Car Seat Sunshade
*Eddie Bauer Baby Carrier Sun Cover
*Peapod Portable Travel Bed
*Playtex Fridge to Go Bag
*Fisher Price Aquarium Take Along Swing
*Maggie B Diaper Bag
*Envirosax Bags--make great beach bags
*Swimwear and Sunhats

Happy Holiday!

We at Grow With Me hope you have a very happy Independence Day! And feel free to run in for any last minute patriotic purchases. We will be open from 9:00 a.m. until 3:00p.m. on the 4th and anything you can put together that is red, white, and blue will be 20% off!