Kids Closet Sale is open for business

The semiannual Kids Closet Sale at Penn’s Peak opened its doors Tuesday night to a very special crowd — new moms, the consignors and the VIPs who paid a $10 admission to have first dibs at the goods.

Today, the sale opened at 9 a.m. and runs through 9 p.m. Thursday it runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Both days have free admission, and on Thursday most goods are 50% off.

“There’s 25,000 items,” said Jennifer Benninger, director of advertising at the Times News and co-chair of the event. “This is a nice alternative for the resale of items.”

Jennifer Rowden, a co-chair of the event and director of marketing at the Times News, said, “Every item is inspected before it goes out on the floor.”

Some items still have their original price tags on them, she said.

The Kids Closet Sale is being run by the Times News, because those who had been running it decided to hang it up, Rowden said.

“We feel that it’s an extremely beneficial event and essential to our area,” she said.

“This was a right fit for us,” Benninger said. Many of the Times News employees have been involved in the sale as volunteers, shoppers and consignors for years, she said.

“I love these sales. I’ve loved this sale from 10 years ago as a shopper back at the band shell in Lehighton,” Benninger said.

The Kids Closet Sale has everything for children from newborn to teen — clothes, coats, shoes, socks, boots, mittens and more. It also has books and DVDs, games, arts and crafts, Halloween costumes, children’s furniture and even some household items like picture frames, Christmas decorations and even an ice cream maker.

“Everybody should come down here,” Benninger said. “Everything here is quality items and reasonable prices.”

Amanda Pacheaco of Palmerton said she came to the sale last year. This year she brought items as a consignor, and also did a little shopping.

“I’m looking to pick up a few things for my daughter. She’s growing into a new size,” Pacheaco said.

“Bring some things and get some things. You never know what you’re going to find, so it’s worth checking it out.”

Alanna Anthony of Palmerton has been shopping at The Kids Closet Sale for 10 years.

“It’s really nice to buy some of these higher-priced items at a low price,” she said. The Kids Closet Sale has a variety of brand name items like Puma, Aeropostale, and Under Armour, to name a few.

Anthony is also one of the many consignors.

“It’s a good lesson — recycling — for your kids,” she said. “It also teaches them to take care of the things, so they can resell them.”

Over the years of being a consignor, Anthony has found that her children want to take good care of their things, because they want to resell them and then use that money to buy new things at the shop. This year, her daughter bought a like-new pink bicycle.

“It teaches them value, finances and how to handle their money,” she said.

Rowden said they have 127 consignors for this sale, and they receive 60% to 70% of the price of their items. Most consignors receive about $280 for their goods and some make up to $900.

Any clothing that is left that the consignor doesn’t want to take back will be donated to St. John’s Lutheran Church in Jim Thorpe.

Items such as blankets, pillows and stuffed animals will go to an animal shelter.

The Kids Closet Sale is held twice a year — in the spring and the fall. The next one will be on March 27 to 29.

“Weekends are back,” Benninger said.