Welcome! I'm a first time mom, busy wife, former model and "mompreneur" forging my way through this crazy maze called life. I share my insights on motherhood, marriage, cooking, and starting/running my clothing swap business called Gumdrop Swap. Who needs sleep? (*Raising my hand)
I really wish I had the time and dedication to be like those serious EXTREME couponers. Have you seen that show? I would need to also build out my basement to store my stockpile of groceries and toiletries too. But the savings are impressive. That's undeniable. I'm so not organized. Then I would feel guilty if it was crowded that day at the store and I was holding up the line because I was separating my order into 11 separate orders to get maximum savings. Maybe store should have a coupon line like they have express lanes?!
The Target near my home just renovated to add a grocery store inside. A few days ago I made a mental note that I needed to stop to buy a loaf of bread on the way home from church. I shuffled through the mail to find a circular from Target. There were some coupons in there and the main one was for a FREE loaf of bread. I took this as a sign.
So, I'm in Target, navigating the new floor plan. There were items I get cheaper at my preferred grocery store but I didn't want to throw the unused coupons away. A saw a woman looking at the egg selection and offered her a coupon to get a dozen eggs for $.99. A good deal but I had a full dozen at home and wouldn't need another by the time the coupon would expire. So, I offered it to her and she was so thankful. Wow, that felt great! Maybe someone could use my other coupon I wasn't going to utilize? So I found the related projects and tucked the coupon in front so it would be visible. My 3 yr old asked me a few times what I was doing. "We're leaving these for someone else," I said. And she asked her knew favorite question, "Why?" Because its nice and it will make them happy like the lady buying eggs. Toddler was satisfied. Cool.
My last coupon I gifted was for Method laundry detergent. And as I reached to tuck my coupon I saw someone else had done the same thing. Now, I'm not naive to think I "invented" this practice but maybe this is going on more than I know. Do you often find coupons tucked among products when you're shopping? Or do you go around being a coupon fairy? I think its such a nice gesture especially when everyone is looking to save money.
Fusion Fashion is having a sale on earring and necklace sets for $15-$25. To place an order please send an email to Shawnda Henry at fusion_fashion@live.com and let her know what item #s you want to purchase (for example, A16 is the Item # for the photo above). After she confirms your order she will send you a link to a secured site to complete the payment process. She accepts all major credit cards. If you want to make other arrangements to pay in cash or by check please place that in your email. She will close the shopping extravaganza on Friday, August 6th at 5 pm and place your order then. It will take approximately a week to receive your order. **Pre-payment is required to place your order. Hurry! This offer ends Friday, August 6th at 5pm (EST). She can ship anywhere in the U.S. for a nominal fee. At these prices you do you holiday shopping early! Please feel free to forward to your family and friends. Happy Shopping!
When your run your own business, it's always validating to get positive feedback. I stumbled upon a blog last month named "This Mama Works It" and mom blogger, Tammy, shares how she sells her kids clothing on ebay. She has a following and I thought her audience was similar to my target demographic. Maybe her readers are unsure if ebay is the right option for them to get rid of gently used kids clothing. Let's face it, posting those auctions take time which is a limited commodity for most parents. Gumdrop Swap is a guaranteed sale as opposed to waiting for a possible sale by online auction end.
Tammy was excited to try the service. And she posted her review today. I gave her a free month to try this service and I am allowing her to give away the same offer to a lucky winner. Go read her review and giveaway rules.
Get Paid to Tweet! http://ad.ly/publisher/refer/251902558
Please go read this simple tutorial on Sophisticate Style's Blog on how to turn your empty cereal box into a mailer. Perfect for mailing your small crafts for you Etsy and craigslist sellers!
SPECIAL OFFER: Parents who have unwanted SUMMER girl's clothes in size 3T or SUMMER boys sizes 18M to 8! When you make your 1st swap I'll take your membership fee out of your earned credits. If you are ONLINE ONLY member fee is $14.99 for 3 mos or $49.99 for a year. If you are a LOCAL customer that swaps and shops in person, the cost for 3 mos is $44.97 & the year is $159.99 (for 1st child) Avg swap yields $200-$500 in credits. So the items you swap more than pay for your membership the first time you swap. Contact gumdropswap@gmail.comor 800-385-6080 for more details.
It's amazing to me that a year ago, GumdropSwap didn't have a name. It was a crazy idea that came to me in a rare shower. I was a new mom: sleep deprived, emotional, and concerned about my "career" while on maternity leave. I needed a name for my online kids clothing swap club. I had settled on "swap" instead of trade or the like. But any word similar to kid, child, etc associated with swap made it sound like I was trafficking children or trying to copy the tv show Wife Swap. That may make a great reality show. Most parents have thought about trading their kids for ones with better behavior on some days. But I'll let the tv producers have that one. So, I had to find a word that suggested childhood without veering to far in another direction. Candy seemed an obvious choice. I kept thinking of the song "If all of the raindrops were lemondrops and gumdrops, oh what a rain that would be..." and that's when I decided gumdrop was generic enough candy reference and drop and swap rhymed. Here is a photo of the retail space after we painted and installed the wall hanging system.
My brother came to visit on his spring break. He is a teacher in Atlanta. My mother's and my birthday are only a few weeks apart so it was a perfect time to visit. He is encouraging with my business and wanted to help while in town so I accelerated the move-in to take advantage of his muscle. My husband and brother moved lots of heavy boxes in 2 storage places to my store in one day.
I didn't realize I had that much merchandise until it was all in one location! Geez. I had some crazy notion I could slowly move everything on my own in my compact car. That would have taken me months! It was a lot of stuff and I'm so glad that part was over. Then, my brother helped me move some things to the basement and begin unpacking and hanging clothes for 2 days. 4 days later and I'm still hanging and unpacking.
I am really proud of my spring window display though. I estimate I'm about 70% done hanging what I have. I'm looking for a creative way to display the 1000s of socks I have. Any suggestions?
If you are thinking of joining the children's clothing swap club (open to all U.S. residents) this month is the end of low introductory membership prices. Only $4.99/month for online members (those who do all swapping via mail and do not come into the bricks-and-mortar boutique in CT. Monthly rate will increase to $8.99 on May 1st, 2010. Confused? Don't be! Feel free to call 800-385-6080 or email gumdropswap(at)gmail(dot)com.
Think of it like this: For online members, your small membership rate ($5/month) allows you to swap as much as you want. You mail your gently used items to the boutique. I go through your box of unwanted items and credit the account you created at GumdropSwap. You will get an alert letting you know you have credits to shop with (called gumdrops). You use the website to select the clothes your children need now. You can even use your earned gumdrops to pay for your outgoing shipping! I pick your items and pack your box and you will get a box of clean, name brand, new and gently used clothes at your doorstep!
For locals that swap and shop in our boutique, the process is slightly different. You don't have to be a member to shop, but the savings is significant if you do. If you're from CT you probably haven't done much shopping downtown. You have no idea what you're missing! The Arcade Mall is one of the oldest indoor malls in the nation and a thing of beauty now that it has been restored. The glass atrium ceiling is breathtaking.
Non-members typically pay between $5-$25 per garment and do not have the privilege of swapping. If you are local to the CT area, the current rate to join is $9.99/mo if you are swapping for one child and an additional $3/month per child for the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th child (no additional charge for more than 4 children!) Rates will increase to $14.99/month for 1st child on May 1, 2010. The additional charge for children 2-4 will not increase. Members pay about half the retail prices that non-members pay. And members get to swap their unwanted children's clothing and items into credits that pay for the things they want. This makes it easy to budget for your children's wardrobe. You know they are going to outgrow things. Once you pay the membership fee, those bags of outgrown clothing you are storing in your basement or attic or closet will buy the things your kids need now. A good estimate is a tall kitchen size garbage bag full of clothes usually earns about 200 gumdrop credits. So, if you swapped that much every three months you are paying $15 (online) and $30+ (local) to spend $200 in the store.
Why the difference? Online members pay for shipping coming and going and don't select the exact garments. Instead, they choose the size, gender and type of garment (i.e. 2T, boys, jeans) and I select the nicest garment that matches that description from the vast merchandise available. I am also guided by the style preferences you specify when you register or when you place your order. If there is anything new with the tags still on, that's what you will receive. Customers describe opening a shipment from GumdropSwap as getting a Christmas gift. I use my years in the art and fashion industry as expertise. Below is a photo of the entrance to the Arcade Mall on Main St. (between Fraiche Burger and McDonalds). Then a view of the corridor you walk through to get to the shops in the mall.
Local members have the advantage of rifling through our racks of merchandise. I encourage 1st time swappers to stay to see how I rate the quality of clothing and what kind of items go to charity. But you can drop off your swap if you do not have time to stay. I will credit your account to spend at a later date. Just want to get rid of the clothes? Come on by, I'll buy them from you.
I know, I know. It sounds to good to be true. Most recyclers do it for our planet. But if the greater good of the world isn't motivation enough, maybe your family needs more of an incentive? Or maybe recycling your household waste is part of your routine or even required where you live. If so, kudos to you! My mayor is pushing the "greening" of my Connecticut city, and I applaud his efforts. I recently discovered a company called RecycleBank that rewards you for recycling by working through/with businesses and municipalities (your town or city). I used the contact us link to request that they contact my mayor because I want this in my city! If I understand the program it works like this: The city provides you with a special receptacle to put your recyclable items in. Your RecycleBank cart will be weighed each week upon pick-up. The weight will then be translated to RecycleBank Points. The more you recycle, the more your household can earn. In a few select communities, households earn rewards based on their equal share of the total amount that their entire community recycles. You earn reward points which you can use to shop with thousands of local and national retailers. You can search retailers by your zip code. There are some big names of national chains participating like Whole Foods, Rite Aid, and CVS...
I think this is such a cool program. I will keep everyone updated if I hear from my mayor or we get this implemented in Bridgeport. We already have weekly pickup but why not get rewarded for it and encourage people who aren't voluntarily participating an incentive to join in. I'm curious if anyone's city is already doing this and how they feel about the program? Please comment!
I stumbled upon a site when reading another blog one day, http://www.thefrugalitarian.com. When I read the definition of what a frugalitarian is, "One whose philosophy asserts that life is sweeter and the planet is healthier when we keep it simple, waste nothing and reinvent just about everything," I felt I had been pegged! It might as well have been my personal mission statement! I sent the woman behind the movement, Jodi Olson, a quick email expressing my enthusiasm about her efforts. And within days, she invited me to be a guest on her upcoming live web radio show on http://www.toginet.com that she does every Wednesday (4pm EST). Her weekly show is one hour. So, I was on yesterday's show. During the hour, Jodi and her co-host gave many tips on simple ways to save money. It was a blast even though I was nervous. I had to listen to the podcast to remind myself what I said, because it happened so fast. The words were spilling out of my mouth so fast! You can download the MP3 here (Frugalitarian 1-20-2010) http://toginet.com/podcasts
Posts
