BST Archives - Protecting Your Pennies

Save money on kid’s boutique and brand name clothing by shopping smart.

They say most great ideas come from a great need. I discovered how to save money on kid’s boutique clothing because I am obsessed with buying cute outfits for my babies.

I love smocked dresses, appliques, monograms, and jon jons but I don’t love the retail price. Through some trial and error, I have found several different sources that allow me to have the precious outfits for my kiddos at a deep discount.

Don’t get caught buying those sweet boutique items at retail price! Here are the six ways that I save money on kid’s boutique clothing.

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6 Ways to Save Money on Kid’s Boutique Clothing

Facebook BST Groups that Ship – This is probably my favorite way to save on my kid’s clothes. If you don’t know about BST Groups on Facebook, read my post here to get all the details. I consistently snag items at 50-75% off retail prices. The best part is that you purchase by paypal and get it delivered to your door! The risk on this is that it is just regular moms (or dads) selling items and most of the time the group admins are the same. However, I have found after 4 years of BST sales and purchases via this method that most people are honest. If you do run into someone that doesn’t ship your items, Paypal has amazing customer service and customer protection. That is why you always pay through Paypal!
Local Garage Sale Facebook Groups or Apps – Varagesale.com and local Facebook online groups are great places to find boutique clothing for less. I don’t find this as convenient because you typically have to meet at an agreed upon location to pick up but you will find some good deals. Insider tip: I search not just where I live but also in neighboring affluent suburbs. Particularly when I am looking for smocked items or upper end brands, the selection is usually higher in the nicest areas.
Local Thrift Stores or Once Upon a Child– You will need to pack your patience for this one, but I have found Smocked items, Janie & Jack, Hanna Andersson, monogrammed dresses and more for $1-$3.99. There is usually a pretty good selection of the major brand names at thrift stores too (Baby Gap, Rare Editions, Gymboree etc). I like to go during the week over my lunch hour if possible. Our stores are picked over during the weekends and whenever I have found a Treasure it was during the week.
Ebay – I feel like Ebay has lost its luster over the past few years, however, I love the search functions that it offers. I have purchased several lots of boutique clothes at such low prices. Just watch out for the shipping costs, sometimes it looks like a great deal until you see that it is $25 for shipping.
Local Consignment Sales – Be on the look out for when local consignment sales will be open in your area. I often find great deals on gently used boutique items. In my area, at lots of the consignment sales, there will be a boutique or two that will sell new items at a largely discounted rate.
Online Consignment Websites – Sites like Thredup or Swap.com allow you to search large inventories of kid’s gently used clothing.

These six ways are how I consistently save money on kid’s boutique clothing.

If you have been wanting to get into the BST world on Facebook, it can seem a little overwhelming. I primarily BST for children’s clothing but all kinds of different groups exist. In this post I will clue you in on the buy sell trade Facebook lingo that you will see on these resell groups.

What is BST?

BST stands for Buy, Sell, Trade and it is the first acronym that you need to learn. Most groups have their own set of rules but traditionally speaking you can buy items, sell items or make a trade on these forums. People typically sell at a discounted rate when compared to a retail store which makes it a great way to score a good deal. Most people use a variety of acronyms when selling and this post will give you all the buy sell trade facebook lingo that you need to understand what they mean.

What are they talking about? – Buy, Sell, Trade Facebook Lingo

You may feel like you need a degree in foreign language to decipher the terms used in these groups. This easy to use key will educate you on the common buy, sell, trade Facebook lingo that you need to know.

NWT – New with tags (brand new item like you would find in a retail store)

NWOT – New without tags (took the tags off but never wore or washed)

EUC – Excellent Used Condition (Worn a time or two but with no wash wear or stains, still looks new)

VGUC – Very good used condition (people have different interpretations of this but I find most would agree that this is something that has been used/worn but will have minimal wear. Very minor wash wear.

GUC – Good used condition (may have increased wash wear, a minor flaw that should be disclosed, minor stain that should be disclosed)

PLAY – Play condition (Play is used a lot in children’s clothing indicating that the garment would be good for play time or possibly daycare but not for more formal occasions. Stains, rips, flaws, fading, or large amounts of wash wear may be common)

IMO – In my opinion (You may see this when some says IMO this runs small etc.)

TTS – True to Size (Does this run big/small/or true to size)

Shipped – If you see a cost and then “shipped” ($12 Shipped) that indicates that shipping is included in the price. If you are going to sell, check the group’s rules because some groups require shipping to be included.

OBO – Or best offer (meaning that the price is not firm and you can make an offer)

PM – Private Message (often if they are going to allow offers, they want you to private message it)

SF – Smoke Free

PF – Pet Free

Purge – Lots of groups have rules about posting multiple pictures. If someone has lots to sell, they will do a purge. The purge is typically done by listing photos and costs in the comments of the main post.

Following – People often want to “follow” a purge so that they are notified when it starts. You may see people post emoticons or even just a period to follow a post. You can also click on the 3 dots at the top right of a post and choose to “Turn on Notifications” to achieve the same goal.

Email Address – Often times when someone wants to buy something, they will just post their email address under the desired item. Read the rules, some groups require that you post “SOLD” and then your paypal email address.

How do I start?

Now that you have the buy, sell, trade Facebook lingo down, what’s next?

Set up your paypal

You need to make sure you have a paypal account to start. When you want to buy something, you will need to leave the email address associated with your paypal account so that you can be invoiced.

Make sure you have your current address listed. You will be responsible (not the seller) if you have an old address listed. It happens more than you might think!

Join some BST Groups

There are lots of BST groups out there. I recommend using the search bar to search if you have a favorite brand. Most boutique/upscale brands will have their own BST groups.

Here are a few brand specific groups that I like:

Kelly’s Kids Boutique Clothing New & Used Resale

Lolly Wolly Doodle Fans and Addicts Resell Page

Remember Nguyen Smocked Resale

StellyBelly Lovers Resale

Generic groups are also great and offer a wider variety. They have groups targeted by gender, store, type of clothing etc. Here are my favorite generic groups for kid’s clothing resale:

Smocked Outfit Resale…WITH A FEW RULES

BOYS ROCK SMOCKS

Smocks Rock

Upscale Resale $20 & Under(Mud Pie, Rare Editions and More)!

Boys only name brand resale BST group with MINIMAL rules!