Entering Inventory in Online System
Inventory Deadline:
Gresham Sale: Sunday, April 9th at 7am
Jantzen Beach Sale: Monday, Nov 28 at 7am
This is the deadline to enter everything you want to sell into the inventory system.
No new items can be entered after this deadline, but you can still print tags for existing items.
Before You Start
Watch the video to see the inventory program in action and see exactly where to click.
Below is a brief description of the features of the on-line system. You can edit your information at any time before printing the tag. If you make changes after you print the tag, you have to print a new tag with a different barcode.
We suggest you get your items together in size order first. Keep your items in the same order until you print your tags.
Once you enter your inventory into the online system, the system will create tags that look like this one. The system will generate a PDF like page on your screen to print. 10 tags print on a page.
After you print and cut your tags, place your tags in numerical order by Item Number. If you have kept your items in order, then they should be easy to match up and attach the tag to the item.
There is a 20 minute session limit, so if you don’t enter any items during that time, then you will have to re-login.
The system closes every night from 1:00am to 1:35am. This is for maintenance and we have no control of this time.
Selling at both sales?
If you would like to sell your items at both sales, you don't have to re-enter anything. Simply follow the instructions on the Transferring Inventory page.
How to enter items in the system
PDF OF TAG
Entering Items
Category
Choose the category that best fits your item so that it can be placed in the sale in the correct location. Volunteers will try to group similar items together on the floor to make it easier for shoppers.
The infant shoe category is for shoe sizes 0-2. For sizes 3 and up, choose Shoes-Boys or Shoes-Girls. If your item is unisex, put whatever gender you think is best.
For toys, just choose the most appropriate age group for the toy.
Size
Choose the accurate size for clothes and shoes. The clothing sizes are ranges like 0-3 months, 3-6 months, 6-9 months etc. There are certain clothing brands, like Carters, that when the label says 6 months, that means for up to 6 mo (so you would pick 3-6 mo). But there are other brands that it means it is for 6-9 mo. So use your best judgment.
Do NOT type in the size in the description field. We need it in the correct location so that we can have an accurate count of how many items are coming to the sale to plan the rack placement.
Don’t Use S, M, L, XL for Children’s Clothing. These sizes are for Maternity and Junior clothes ONLY. For children's clothing brands that use this sizing convention, please assign a number size that is closest. IE A size medium at Old Navy fits an 8 year old, so put it under size 8.
Junior Sizes are allowed at both sales at this time. Please confirm on the “What’s New” or the "Item Restriction" page for limits on items.
For Girl Junior clothing, pick “Clothing – Girls” for the category and then for the size pick one of the following: XS-Juniors, Small-Juniors, Medium-Juniors, Large-Juniors and X-Large-Juniors. If your clothing item has an even size like 4, 6, 8, then that is women’s clothing. Please do not put women’s clothing under Junior Clothing sizing.
For Boy Teen clothing, just use sizing 10/12, 14/16, or 18. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS JUNIOR BOYS.
Adult Sizes are allowed at both sales at this time. Please confirm on the “What’s New” or the "Item Restriction" page for limits on items.
For Women’s and Men’s clothing, the size is combined with the category. For example you pick “Womens-Small (4&6)” under the Category and then just leave the Size BLANK (Pick “Leave Blank”).
Description
Describe each item briefly with a good description. If it is a brand name, list the brand. Describe its color and any special feature it has. This helps in case a tag gets separated from the item during the sale so we can put them back together. For example:
Gymboree L/S Shirt
Blue Stripe w/ Moose
Space is limited to 25 characters per line and 2 lines. You can put things like “Never Worn” or “Paid $30 retail” to encourage the shopper. You can abbreviate Long Sleeve = L/S and Short Sleeve = S/S. You can also write things by hand if you run out of room.
Be especially descriptive on baby gear since there are a lot of the same type of item. Don’t just put “High Chair”, put “Graco High Chair with Blue Bear Print.” A good description can also help us sell an item if the tag has fallen off and can’t be found. We can look up items in the system, but if you just list “High Chair”, we won’t be sure that is the right one.
Quantity
Most of the time, this will be 1. But if you are selling 10 items of exactly the same thing (i.e. 10 hair clips), then put in 10 and 10 individual tags will be generated. There is a limit of 25.
Price
Prices should be in $1 or $.50 increments. (i.e. $1.00, $1.50, etc.) There is a minimum price of $1.
As a general rule, price your items at 1/3 of the original retail price. If an item is like new and name-brand, you can price it higher. Some equipment can sometimes go for up to 50%, like bike trailers, Ergo carriers, Bumbo Seats etc. If an item has been well used and is not name-brand, it should be priced on the lower end.
Another pricing tactic is to price it a little high and then include it in the ½ price sale on Sunday. Or, if you are looking to not have to take anything home at the end of the sale, price your items to sell. Ask yourself, what would I expect to pay for this item? Price it no more than what you would be willing to pay.
See the pricing tips in the Consignor Guidelines PDF at the top of the What and How to Tag page.
Discount
If you want this item to be included in the ½ price sale on the Sunday, then check this box. A red star will appear on your tag right above the price. The star will print black if you don’t have a color printer, which is fine.
Donate
If you want to donate this item at the end of the sale if it didn’t sell, then check this box. A large “D” will appear on your tag to the left hand side of the tag.
Any item that is designated as “Donate” and has not sold at the end of the sale will first be included in the “Bargain Buck” sale. Consignors do not receive credit for these items, and instead the money will be donated to the charity. Any items not sold in the Bargain Buck sale will then be donated to the charities that we have selected for each sale. Let us know if you know of any charities in need that we could consider supporting!
If you are willing to Donate, you should also consider including it in the ½ price sale to give it one last chance to earn you some money. Many shoppers come back on Sunday just for this sale.
At the end of the sale, you will be able to print out a list of your donated items if you need it for tax purposes.
Submit
After you submit each item, it should appear at the top of your item list . It will only show the last 5 items in your list unless you hit the box to show all the items.
You can print tags as you go or wait until you are all done to print at one time. You can edit any info on an item before you print your tags. If you edit the price of an item after you printed a tag, you must print a new tag and discard the old one. If you have an old tag and want to lower the price, you can staple the new tag onto the old one (to save yourself from having to use the gun again).
Print, Cut, and Attach
Be sure to use card stock (65 lb. or higher) for printing. Make sure the barcodes are complete, clear and not faded or they won’t scan and will cause backups at the checkout. The tags will print 10 to a page.
If you are having printing problems, contact Susan to try to help resolve the problem. You can send the tags as a PDF file to a place like Leamy Printing & Design as well.
Feel free to make your tags look distinctive! For example, use a stamp somewhere on the tag (like a frog), cut out the borders with crazy scissors, or use a (light) colored cardstock. Just don’t cover the barcode! These distinguishing features help in the sorting process after the sale, too.
Once you are done printing your tags, check out the What and How to Tag page for instructions on tagging your items.
Online System Tips
Sort everything first according to size and gender. The system remembers the previous entry, so you don’t have to re-select these categories each time. You can even sort them by price since it remembers that as well.
Donate or Discount: Remember, if you check “Donate” or “Discount” on an item that it will remember that for the next entry, so make sure you “uncheck” these if you don’t want the next item included.
Pick the right size in the size category for clothing. Do not just type the size into the description! We need an accurate count of clothing to plan the amount of racks we need. If you don’t know the size, or it is European, just estimate the size. “Small, Medium and Large” categories are only for Maternity and Junior items.
Check out your earnings potential! The system keeps a running total of what you have input (the value is located just about the yellow bar).
Edit your mistakes at any time. If you change your price on your item, you must reprint the tag because the barcode is different.
Disable pop-ups to print your tags. You can do this temporarily. My computer sent me a message telling me how.
Don't use Firefox 3 to print your tags. The text in the description field will print out gibberish. This is a Firefox 3 issue and has nothing to do with our program. There are also issues with Firefox printing the barcodes of the last 2 tags on the next page. Use Internet Explorer to resolve these issues. Email Susan if you have any questions.
Use big scissors to cut 2 sheets at once. Just make sure you don’t cut the barcode or your consignor number. A paper cutter has been a great investment for me (from thrift store).
Time Limits: If you don’t enter any items for 20 minutes, then you will have to re-login.
Reuse your inventory entries. If you are taking unsold inventory from one sale to the next, you don't need to enter it again. You just need to re-activate the items once you register for the next sale.