The National Childbirth Trust Nearly New Sales

Seller Information May 2017

Thank you for registering as a seller at our next Nearly New Sale. This pack contains all the information that will assist you in this sale. Please read it, as it effectively constitutes the seller’s rules which we will presume you have agreed to.

VOLUNTEERS

The success of a Nearly New Sale relies heavily on our volunteers. Displaying the sale items, welcoming the buyers, managing the tills, selling refreshments etc… there are a number of ‘jobs’ that need doing to ensure a sale runs smoothly. Therefore, we always welcome volunteers with (very) open arms! Volunteers are needed for the sale itself on the Saturday and for the setting up on the Friday evening before. The Friday evening, from 8pm, we prepare the rooms (setting out rails, preparing tables and tills, etc) and you have the opportunity to set out your own items once the rooms are ready. If you volunteer for the sale on the Saturday you can enjoy the benefits of access to the pre-sale, where you can be the first to pick the bargains. If you stay to the end of the clearing up (2pm) you can also benefit from a reduced commission of 25%. We need volunteers for both the Friday evening and the Saturday, and this can also be shared with your partner (this is especially helpful if there’s anyone strong that can help us dismantling the rails!). Please email to register which day(s) you’d like to volunteer.

TIMES

  • Sellers should drop off nearly new items for sale between 8.15am-8.45am on the day (sellers will be expected to display their own items in the relevant rooms so please allow yourself time to do this and you must be finished by 9.00am).
  • Between 9am and 10am we will conduct a quality control check and prepare for the sale to commence.
  • The sale will start at 10am for NCT members and open to members of the public at 10.30am-12.00pm
  • Sellers should be able to enter at 1.15pm to collect any of their items which have been unsold but please appreciate timings may alter on the day. Your items will have been collected together and will be in the main hall labelled with your seller number.
  • Please ensure you bring appropriate holdalls/boxes to transport unsold items to your vehicle. Also check the ‘lost property and removed items’ table when you pick up unsold items. NCT accepts no responsibility for lost items.
  • All items must be removed from the hall by 1:45pm, please note there will be no time to do any sorting on the premises.

We have a charity collection at the end of the sale so any uncollected items will be deemed donated, please feel free to also leave with us anything you wish to donate.

Prams/cots and other large items cannot be donated to charity and must be collected after the sale.

LABELLING – You must use the official NCT labels provided – items labelled with different labels will be removed from sale.

Before the event, you the seller should:

  • Label up (with the official labels provided) and price each item.
  • Please label items with your seller number, a brief description of the item and its price - please make sure you fill in both halves of the label.
  • Labels must be attached securely to garments – on the ATTACH side of the label, with a safety pin (no ordinary pins please) or string. Use masking tape or string on larger items.
  • Please note that the REMOVE AT TILLS side of the label must be left free to be cut off at the tills
  • It is the seller’s responsibility to ensure labels are attached securely. No Label = No Sale

PRICING

You, the seller, decide the price for each item.

  • All items must be priced in multiples of 50p (this is to ensure quick progress at the tills which get very busy) – any incorrectly priced items will be rounded down to the nearest 50p

Over-priced items will not sell, so use the following as a guide:

  • £1 - £2 per standard clothing item is recommended.
  • £3 - £5 per item for special clothing (e.g. a designer label dress) is recommended.
  • No item should be labelled for sale at less than 50p, therefore bag up several cheaper items together.
  • Small items (such as vests or socks) should be bundled together in packs of four or five and priced 50p - £1.
  • Large items such as travel cots and strollers should generally be priced at least 50% less than they cost new.

Please note any item without a price we may either use our discretion to price that item or not sell the item.

WHAT YOU CAN SELL

Nearly new babies and children’s clothes (age 0 to 10 years), maternity clothes, toys, books and equipment. All items should be in good / fully working condition.

  • Please limit the number of items of clothing to 100 as we don’t have the room for all the clothing being brought, and this makes it fair to all sellers.
  • Clothes should be washed, ironed, with no stains, rips or buttons missing. Please put all clothes on hangers. We do have a LIMITED supply on the day if you run out.
  • The only clothes to be bagged (in clear plastic bags), are vests, socks, hats and mitts, bibs etc i.e. anything that can’t be hung.
  • Shoes should be in Nearly New condition and securely attached together.
  • Please sort clothes into age groups and bag up all toys with parts and tape up boxes of games and jigsaws, ensuring they have all their elements and pieces included.

Door bouncers, sit in activity centres and baby walkers can also now be sold. To minimise the risk of accidents door bouncers must be sold with assembly instructions including a weight limit.

Carrycot Stands

  • Stands must be labelled with the size of cot and weight loadings which can be accommodated
  • They must have a guardrail or a means of stopping the cot from falling off the stand, have a suitable base and be a maximum of 432mm above floor level
  • In order to comply with General Product Safety Regulations also ensure that the stand comes with instructions for use, that the frame is stable and has not been distorted or modified and that the carrycot can be effectively retained in position on the stand

Second hand mattresses from cots, cribs or Moses baskets

  • Following updated research from the Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths, second hand mattresses can be sold providing they have a waterproof cover (eg. PVC) with no tears, cracks or holes.
  • Mattresses should be clean and dry, firm (not soft) and not sagging.
  • ‘Ventilated’ mattresses (the type with holes) should not be sold

Children’s bicycles

The saddle height must be less than 635mm from the ground with tyres fully inflated as they are not subject to cycle legislation. Instead they are covered by toy legislation so must meet usual safety requirements: no obvious damage, no sharp edges, no finger traps etc.

Prams & Buggies

Must meet the requirements of the Wheeled Child Conveyances (Safety) regulations 1997

  • Must have a permanent label (usually on the frame or seat cover) stating compliance with British Standard 7409 or EN1888. The standard lays down requirements regarding the construction, performance and labelling for prams and pushchairs. Machines must also have a label headed ‘Carelessness Causes Fire’ which indicates that the fabric complies with flammability requirements
  • In addition, prams and buggies should be checked for the following:
  • Brakes – these should work and be able to stop a loaded machine on a slope. The tyres should also be examined as these can affect the performance of brakes
  • Locking Devices – there should be two locking devices on each machine so that when the main lock is released, the secondary lock prevents the frame from collapsing
  • Harness – a secure safety harness must be fitted
  • General – look for damage from wear and tear. Check to ensure that a child’s fingers cannot be caught anywhere. The frame should be secure and free from sharp edges or exposed parts

Brand new and boxed Breast pumps

Mains Powered Electrical Equipment

  • Second hand electrical equipment must meet legal safety requirements. If sold and unsafe and later cause injury or damage you may be liable for compensation.
  • To safeguard against this please ensure that any electrical appliances have been tested and approved by a qualified electrician. This advice includes equipment that can also run on batteries.

Second Hand Slings (not bag-style slings)

  • Wherever possible these should be accompanied by the manufacturer’s instructions. If you have second hand slings in your stock which do not have traceability, but meet NCT guidance on inspection, these can be sold.

Please note we reserve the right to remove from sale any items we deem not to be in nearly new condition – this is entirely at our discretion. NCT have new high standards of quality to uphold and we will be removing anything deemed unsuitable from the sale and the labels will be marked with a red dot. These items will be with the ‘lost’ items, so please check this area after the sale, before you leave.

WHAT YOU CAN NOT SELL

Please DO NOT bring the following items – we are NOT legally allowed to sell:

Recalled items

Responsibility for recalled items will remain with the seller. If you are unsure about any of your items please visit - Rapex: ications&CFID=8259471&CFTOKEN=17439983&jsessionid=089c10e69d18be972a72576a5 c7360581f23, or for a lists of UK and European recalled products.

Clothing with draw-string hoods

Bednest cribs

Bag style baby slings:

Bag style slings are those with a deep pouch and an elasticated edge. Whilst not all these products have been recalled, they may cause breathing difficulties in young babies.

Car seats, car booster seats, ‘Isofix’ bases or car seats from travel systems

3 in 1 pram systems can be sold but the car seat will be technically given away ‘free’ and labelled as such, as we are not allowed to sell them.

Riding hats or crash helmets

Second-hand breast pumps

Bottles, baby food & formula milk

  • Baby food cannot be sold for hygiene reasons
  • As an organisation which provides information on baby feeding, selling bottles, teats, foods labelled suitable for babies under 6 months or breastmilk substitutes including formula and follow-on formula would represent a conflict of interest

RETURNS

We do not generally allow returns, it is understood that this is a second hand sale and items are sold as seen, however items should still be complete (unless labelled otherwise) and in good working order. Therefore there may be exceptions allowed to this rule - please note it is entirely at the NNS committee’s discretion whether an item is returnable. Sellers should contact us by 5pm on Tuesday 9th May should this be the case.

CAKES

We offer refreshments on the day so all donations of cakes, homemade or shop bought, will be most gratefully received. Please deliver cakes on the morning with your sale items.

DISCLAIMERS

The Committee reserves the right to refuse to sell items considered unsafe or unsuitable. Although we do our best to ensure the security of items at the sale we are a charity and do not have the resources to police everyone through the door. The Committee cannot accept responsibility for items lost or damaged during the sale. All sellers agree to leave their items at their own risk.

PAYMENT AND AFTER THE SALE

The week following the sale, at a Count Up Evening, your ‘Remove’ labels will be totalled, 30% deducted and the remainder deposited in the bank account you used for online registration (within three weeks). We cannot guarantee the arrival of cheques, as they are now sent directly from Head Office, so please allow at least three weeks after the sale for these to be sent out. Please only contact us about payment if you have not received it more than three weeks after the sale. If you have any queries following receipt of payment please let us know, by emailing , within one week of receipt of monies.

Unless specified you will not receive your labels back, if you want your labels back please email

Please share the event on Facebook with your family and friends to ensure more buyers come along:

The more buyers we have, the more items you’re likely to sell!

To keep up to date with our next Nearly New Sale, our Bumps, Babies & Beyond group, and other NCT news, please sign up for our bi-annual e-newsletter:

Lastly, we wish you a successful sale and thank you for supporting the NCT charity. All funds raised go to the NCT charity.

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