Website updates/ Mailer

We are working on the website tonight. We will have updated shopping and volunteer schedules by the end of the evening.

Our Fall/Winter mailer went out on 7/23. You should have received it in your mail box today. If you didn't, don't worry. We have the .pdf version posted on the home page. Simply click on the link and download/print.

The count down is on. We are looking forward to seeing everyone again soon!

Thanks,
Natalie

Clarification

We spoke to many of you about hosting another sale this Spring. We know this recent sale was rushed due to the CPSIA legislation. Because of this, we were considering another sale so that you would have more time to prepare your items.

dWe tried to secure dates in late April or early/mid May. Unfortunately, everything is booked.

So, we have decided to press forward as planned and host the next sale in August. We look forward to seeing you then. Of course, if you have any questions, please contact us!

The time has come!

We are doing final preparations on the Kids Market Eve! Here's a note in case you need to reach us during the sale. We will not be checking email. If you need us, please call 490-0744.

We are looking forward to seeing you!

Extended Deadline for Consignor Numbers

We know this has been an accelerated timeline for our sale. Because of this, we have decided to extend the deadline for new consignor numbers to Saturday, Jan. 24th.

Last minute change to the volunteer schedule

We had to make a last minute change to the volunteer schedule. We modified the slot on Monday from 5pm - 9pm. Volunteers who work this slot will have the privledge of shopping at 4pm before working their volunteer slot from 5-9. The shopping time is a bit limited but you get the opportunity to shop earlier without working an entire 8 hours.

Let us know if you are interested in this slot by emailing Natalie at eskidsmarket@bellsouth.net

What to bring to the sale...

Lately, we've had several consignors asking if we accept specific items to the sale. It's hard for us to identify specific items that are accepted for the Spring/Summer Sale. Basically, we accept everything except heavy winter clothing. We like to save these items for our Fall/Winter sale.

Check Your Spam Filters

We've had some recent comments that you are not receiving replies to your emails. Please check you spam filters to make sure that you can receive emails from eskidsmarket@bellsouth.net. We have replied to all emails on the same day that we receive them. If you have not received a reply, please contact Natalie at (251) 633-9145.

6 days to Kids Market

Thanks to everyone. So far, we've had a very good response for our upcoming sale. We still have a few volunteer slots left. Make sure that you check our volunteer page for available times.

We are looking forward to seeing everyone and having a great sale.

Thanks.

Deadline for Seller ID#'s

The deadline for seller id#'s is quickly approaching. If you or somone you know would like to consign items in our Spring/Summer sale, please email requests to eskidsmarket@bellsouth.net by Friday - Jan. 23rd.

Tell your family and friends

It's come to our attention that some people did not receive our mailer. Typically, we provide 4 weeks notice before the sale begins. This sale was placed on an accelerated timeframe because of our concerns about the new CPSIA legislation. We want to make sure everyone is aware that the sale is just around the corner. Please check with your friends and family that participate in the sale. Make sure they are aware of the new dates and the new schedule. Thanks for your help!

Investing in you.

Over the course of our 11 year history, Eastern Shore Kids Market has continually sought ways to better serve our consignors and customers. This year, we are investing in you by purchasing time on two digital billboards.

It's our hope that this marketing effort will increase the local awareness of the Kids Market sale. This will mean more sales for you.

Let us know if you see the ads. One is located at Hwy 181/Hwy64 intersection. The other is located on I-10 east near the tunnels.

Changes in Volunteer Schedule

Check out the revised volunteer schedule here.

We have changed some of the time slots and added a column to let you know how many slots are left. If you have not signed up, please email Natalie as soon as possible at eskidsmarket@bellsouth.net. If you don't see something that works for you, email anyway. We will do our best to make some thing work for your schedule.

If you have already signed up for a volunteer slot, this will not impact you.

New Husband Slots Posted

Check the volunteer schedule. We just posted available time slots for husbands to help. Get your guy to help and you get into the sale early!

What to bring to the sale

We've rec'd several emails about the type of items to bring to the sale. This is our Spring/Summer sale. However, we always accept long pants and baby coveralls year round. In addition, we accept lighter weight sweaters, jackets and long sleeved items. Save heavy weight jackets etc for the Fall/Winter sale.

Volunteer Slots

Take time to look at the volunteer slots. Volunteers who help during check-in or breakdown are able to shop the earliest pre-sale. We are limiting the number of volunteers who qualify for these times. Make sure you contact us early to get your name on the list.

CPSIA Details

For those of you who are looking for details on the CPSIA law, here is a link to the detail page on the Consumer Product Safety Commission. We removed the information because it was cluttering our home page.

New Pick-up hours

Take a minute to check the Contributor Pick up time. Our original schedule had pick up time from 9pm to 10pm. We have changed this and moved the pick up time one hour earlier. It is now 8pm - 9pm on the 29th. We know that the original schedule was tough for pick up. Hopefully, this will work out better since this is a school night.

CPSIA

Thanks to all of you who are responding to our recent mailer. Here's the latest information. Monday afternoon, we were notified of a new law that is going into effect on February 10th, 2009. This new law requires that all children's items sold wholesale, retail or consignment require a third party lead safe certification. This costs several hundred dollars per test. Effectively, the law would force us and all other consignment sales that sold children's items out of business.

In an effort to hold one last sale, we secured the Fairhope Civic Center for January 25th - 29th before the new law takes effect. We didn't have any time to wait. We know that this sale will operate differently than any other sale we have hosted. Also, we appreciate your flexibility as we seek to serve you through Eastern Shore Kids Market.

Here's the good news. Yesterday, afternoon, the Consumer Product Safety Commission released an interpretation as far as the impact on consignment businesses. We are not required to prove certification and we are able to continue operating. However, after February 10th, we are not allowed to sell anything that has lead levels higher than acceptable limits and we are not allowed to sell items that have been recalled. We will post links to the CPSC recall webpage so that you can inform yourself about these products. This is great news because it means that we can continue to operate Kids Market!

Unfortunately, our postcards were already in the mail when we received the good news. We don't want to alarm anyone. Please know that the information printed on the postcard was accurate as of Thursday when they were mailed. We want to keep you posted on this blog. Check back for updates and answers to questions.

Thanks,
Natalie Field