What’s NEW for FALL 2010???

Thanks to all of you for your valuable input. You asked for it and so here are the new and exciting methods that SmartyPants has created for our consignors and shoppers!

• NO MORE SASE’S!!! Yeah! No hassles of trying to remember to bring that Self Addresses Envelope. We will be taking on that cost for you and mail your check to you just as we always do within 10 business days of the last day of the sale.
• MILITARY & TEACHER Pre-Sale Passes! This is our unique way of saying “Thank You” for all the hard work and dedication these people put into our country and kids. YOU are the reason our country is such a great place to live!
• TAGGING GUNS… We have teamed up with a great online company called Ticket2Tagging and they love SmartyPants so much that on top of all their great tagging gun bargains they are giving all of our consignors an additional 5% off their tagging gun purchases! Get yours today by going to to www.Ticket2Tagging.com and enter the Promo Code: SMARTYPANTS.
• JUNIOR SIZES… We now take all kids sizes and have added Junior sizes. We will be accepting Junior Girls sizes 0-14, S-XL,  and Junior girls shoe sizes 5-11. Junior boys sizes include 28-36, S-XL and junior boys shoe sizes 7-14.
• CHILDRENS SIZES have increased to size 18 and we are also including all children’s shoe sizes.
• FACEBOOK/TWITTER Updates! If you haven’t “liked” our page on facebook already then do so and then get connected with us on Facebook! We do giveaways, contests, and give out a ton of great info. This is the new way to communicate all the time and learn about what SmartyPants is up to. Click HERE to go to our Facebook Page.
• SHOPPERS! NEW & IMPROVED CHECK OUT SYSTEM!… Finally! Faster, Smoother, Less wait time… You will have to see it to believe it so get prepared to shop… and you will want to get a pre-sale pass this time around so see our Sell or Volunteer page on how to snatch up yours! And we even have some “SUPER SPECIAL” bargains that we just know you will LOVE (once again… you will have to come and see to find out what it is)!!! Mark the dates on your calendar!



Benefits Beyond the Bucks…

Having been raised to shop for bargains, consigning has always been natural for me.  My mom was an avid shopper and seller at local consignment stores and she no doubt passed the bug on to me.In addition to passing on a fervor for all things frugal, my mother also passed on a trait that I adore and am hoping to pass on to my children as well.  It’s this amazing little thing called love.

Now, I’m not talking about an “I love chocolate,” sort of love (although one cannot deny the deliciousness of its’ melt-away sweetness), or even an “I would do anything for my children,” sort of love.  I’m talking about a “love your neighbor,” kind of love – the kind of love that looks to help people you don’t know without reason or explanation and without any expectation of repayment or thanks.

Consignment helps me love!

No, I’m not crazy (well, maybe a little bit crazy).  Consignment events are a huge opportunity that anyone in any financial situation can use to help benefit others.  It’s true, and I can prove it!

Selling Consignment Benefits Others

Right now, there are hundreds of families in your community that are struggling to provide needed items for their families.  Most of them are middleclass and stuck between making too little to provide and yet too much to get assistance.  Consignment events allow these families to purchase clothing, toys, equipment, books, entertainment and more for their families.  Numerous times I have witnessed the blessing of a mom able to provide what she otherwise could not for her children thanks to the community of moms around her who were willing to participate in local consignment events.

Purchasing Consignment Benefits Others

If you have participated in a local event as a consignor before, this fact needs no explination!  Every item that you sold benefited your family.  Likewise, every item that you purchase is benefiting someone else in your community!  Choosing to purchase gently used is a choice to help a neighbor keep their electric on, buy food for their family, pay medical bills or save up money for a vacation and some much treasured memories with their family.  And to think that you helped make that happen!

The majority of consignment events work in conjunction with one or more local charities.  Through these partnerships, consignors are able to donate unsold items.

By Christina Ruhlig, owner of Just Between Friends of North Tampa http://jbfsale.com

Crib Recall Info… Is yours on this list?

2 million crib recall: Evenflo, Child Craft among 7 companies (June 2010)

Mitch Lipka
Jun 24th 2010 at 7:00AM

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Filed under: Recalls, Consumer Ally, In the News

(June 24, 2010) — In its ongoing effort to halt the use of dangerous drop-side cribs, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a 2 million-crib recall involving seven companies including Evenflo, Child Craft and the maker of the Babi Italia line.

The crib companies and the number of cribs involved in these recalls are:

• Evenflo, 750,000 Jenny Lind models
• Delta Enterprise Corp., 747,000 drop-side plus every model that uses a wood stabilizer bar
• LaJobi, 306,000 Bonavita, Babi Italia and ISSI brand cribs
• Million Dollar Baby, 156,000
• Jardine Enterprises, 130,000 sold exclusively by Toys R Us/Babies R Us
• Simmons Juvenile Products Inc., 50,000
• Child Craft, two recalls involving drop-side and stationary side cribs (total unknown because the company is out of business)

The cribs involved in this set of recalls account for 250 incidents and 27 injuries to infants and toddlers that have been reported to the CPSC, agency spokesman Scott Wolfson told Consumer Ally. This string of recalls brings to 9 million the number of drop-side cribs recalled over the past five years.

Each of the companies involved in the latest recalls — including Child Craft, whose name was purchased after the company went under — in the coming weeks will provide either a kit to immobilize the drop-side of the cribs or some other repair to make the cribs safer, the CPSC said. the companies should be contacted directly. The cribs were made between 2000 and 2009.

Since 2001, drop-side cribs have been implicated in the deaths of 32 infants and toddlers and are suspected in 14 others. Improper assembly and hardware failure can cause the drop-side of the cribs to dislodge, creating a gap in which a baby can smother or strangle.

Just since November, recalls have involved crib brands including Graco, Simplicity, C&T International, Golden Baby, Sorrelle, Generation2, ChildESIGNS, Dorel and Stork Craft.

Wolfson said he realizes the public is getting overwhelmed with the sheer number of crib recalls.

“We understand the frustrations that parents have expressed in hearing about all these recalls,” he said.

The agency has been working on a new set of rules for how cribs must be made that would effectively ban drop-side cribs. CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum told Consumer Ally in an interview earlier this year that she is committed to getting those standards in place by year’s end.

Because of all the recalls and attention to safety issues with that type of crib — once the most prevalent type of cribs in American homes — manufacturers have mostly stopped making them and big retailers such as Toys R Us/Babies R Us will no longer sell them.

“The solution is not to simply do recalls. The solution is a new strong standard that brings a new generation of cribs to retail stores that parents can have confidence in,” Wolfson said.

Concerned about all these recalls? Check out our list of things parents and caregivers should consider to ensure the safety of young ones in cribs.

“Cribs should be the safest place in the home for infants and toddlers,” Tenenbaum said in a statement. “CPSC is committed to addressing the hazards with cribs and to restoring parents’ confidence that their child will have a safe sleep.”

In addition, the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA) is promoting its crib safety program that includes providing free kits to any consumer who wants to prevent the drop-sides of their cribs from detaching.

See full article from WalletPop: http://srph.it/9yIov3