Today  I vowed to start vlogging!  I’m a bit shy about it and far from great at it… but today I found the courage to at least start!

September 1 is always the start of MY New Year — there is little significance around January 1 in our family except that it marks a new calendar year, and its the end of Christmas vacation.   But September 1 is full of change looking at a whole new school year on the horizon.  And with that… new family resolutions for how we plan to be better this year.

In this first vlog, I share 2 of our resolutions for the coming year… and how LoobaLee can help us achieve them.

I’d love to hear YOUR back to school resolutions! So comment and share below — no matter how big or small.   Or if you have thoughts on those that I shared, let me know.  I’d love the discussion – thanks!   And, wish me luck with my new vlogging adventure!

Wishing a great start to your new year,

Suzanne

I know we’re all about clothes here on LoobaLee and it’s easy to get wrapped up into getting the best deal on adorbale children’s fashions of the moment.  Be careful not to loose site of what’s really important… your child.

While clothing is essential and a fun way for kids (and parents) to express themselves, be sure your children are included in choosing their wardrobe.   Teaching kids that it’s important to take care of themselves on the outside is a good thing.  But what is most important is what’s on the inside. 

Loobalee.com:  Your premier site to buy and sell quality kids’ clothes!

At LoobaLee, we know Moms love shopping online for kids clothing and love finding bargains, but also don’t have time to waste.  So, in our marketplace you can search a variety of ways to find exactly what you are looking for – -no more, no less. We aren’t like the huge marketplaces, such as eBay, where Sellers can spam listings by stuffing the title of their listings with false keywords, or where they feel they need to stuff their titles with multiple sizes just to show up in searches.

No… we’re different!

For starters, our Sellers select from drop-down menus that hep them specifically describe their item in detail, then we do the rest of the work!

And, we just added two more ways to browse our database, in addition to the 7 ways that already exists.  With one of the 9 ways to browse, surely you’ll find one that suits your taste.

So, what’s new?  Check our our two new searches below.  When you get to LoobaLee – just select the big red Shop Button to find them!

Availability Search

First, our favorite, an Availability Search that drills down in the left menu by size.   Our sizes are broad categories, so that they include all the ways different manufacturers size their items.  For example, with just one click you can bring up everything listed in sizes 24 months, 2, and 2T at one time for either boys or girls!

Find by Keyword

We know habits are hard to break!  And, let’s face it, most marketplaces offer Keyword Search and not much else when it comes to helping potential Buyers find what they want – so they have trained us to expect Keyword results, even though they aren’t accurate.   For example, if you search for Size Kids 4, and you get size 14, 24 months, and so on…

And, since old habits die hard, we’ve added this familiar feature into LoobaLee.  You won’t find the same exact results as our other searches (because it works just like eBay and others),  but it can deliver some colorful results and its a great place to start or a great search to try if you don’t know how or where else to look.

Earth Day celebrates it’s 40th birthday in just a few short days.   

At LoobaLee, we are committed to bringing high quality children’s clothing while preserving the earth’s environment by recycling outgrown children’s clothing rather than filling up the landfills of the world. 

 Don’t toss away your kids gently used outfits, shoes and accessories.  Sell them on our site, get some cash in your pocket and allow another child to enjoy ‘new to them’ clothing. 

With just a small amount of time and minimal effort, you can do your part to help the environment while you Resell to Recycle! 

Register to start selling today.

   Loobalee.com:  Your premier site to buy and sell quality kids’ clothes!

Hi, this is Suzanne from LoobaLee.com.  This week I was inspired to remind everyone about something we are starting to take for granted here on LoobaLee, a custom marketplace for buying and selling kids clothes.   I was reading some articles in on-line forums about frustrations with Non-Paying Buyers (otherwise known as NPB’s), and this time it wasn’t all about eBay, … it was about Bonanzle, too.  Here’s an example on the Purse Forum.

Buy & Sell Kids Clothes on LoobaLee.com

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How are we different? On LoobaLee, an order is not created until the Buyer pays.   There is no way for someone to “commit to buy” and pay later.  A buyer checks out just like on a retail site, but if they change their mind and abandon checkout, their selected items will remain in their cart exclusively “on hold” for up to 3 hours.  If they do complete their purchase, an order is created and the seller is notified.  Sellers always know that when they receive an order, that payment has been completed and it is safe to package up and ship their item(s).

We’re so glad you’re here!  We have designed this site for customers to buy and sell children’s new and used quality, brand name clothing at a fraction of the retail cost. 

Looking to buy? LoobaLee offers a great selection of brand names for boys and girls from infants to size 20.  We are constantly adding one of a kind inventory so your child’s clothing can be as unique as they are.  Shop as our guest or register on our site to enjoy member benefits such as watch lists, favorites, and holding items in your cart for 3 hours.  The best part is there is no fee to shop!  

Looking to sell?  Keeping in mind that most of our sellers are busy mom’s and dad’s, we’ve designed a quick and easy way to list using drop down menus.  Just snap a picture of the item you’re selling, download it on your own computer and click the orange sell button.  It just takes a few minutes and you’re done!  List as many items as you want for one low fee.  That’s it!  No hidden charges, listings last for 30 days and re-listing your item is a cinch. 

REGISTER TODAY:   Remember, there is no cost to shop on Loobalee.  In honor of our first official day open, we are giving away a FREE three month subscription to 3 lucky people who register today.

Come on in and give us a try!! 

– LoobaLee.com

Creating a positive Community spirit among users of LoobaLee is of utmost importance to us.

To impress upon this value, we have included “Adherence to the LoobaLee Community Code”  on our Feedback questionnaire, which can be submitted for a Seller on each completed transaction.

I have two elementary-aged daughters who love to write Acrostic Poems in school, which was the inspiration for our code.

We played with a lot of different words for the Acrostic, and settled on a word we invented “Integresale” ™, which is a combination of “Integrity” and “Resale”.  This, in and of itself, describes the spirit we desire for our Community.

I expect we’ll improve these details as we receive feedback:

Integrity

• Adherence to site policies
• Honesty
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No Surprises

• Full disclosure in listings via images and details, and in communications with Buyers and potential Buyers.  Ideally, a Buyer receives exactly what they expected.
• To help avoid surprises, Buyers are encouraged to ask for questions and clarification before making a purchase.
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Timely & Responsive

• Seller is timely in shipment
• Buyer and Seller are timely responsive in communications with each other.
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Ethical

• Being in accordance with the rules or standards for right conduct.
• Virtuous.
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Giving & Forgiving

• Tolerance and patience for busy Moms.
• Giving of constructive and timely feedback to both Sellers and to LoobaLee.
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Reciprocity

• The spirit of cooperation.
• Treat others as you would want to be treated.
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Evergreen Listings

• There is unlimited opportunity for Sellers to list and relist.  In order to keep the site’s listing fresh for Buyers and Visitors, we request Sellers to list items during appropriate seasons and not more than 4 consecutive months.
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Shipping TLC

• Care in packaging and shipping is taken to avoid damage.
• Remember, it’s nice to open a package that has been carefully wrapped and includes a receipt and personal note.
• Applies to both original purchases and, if necessary, returns.
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Authenticity

• Listings are true and authentic. We request that Sellers don’t stretch the truth in selecting from our listing menus or in adding descriptive detail to their listings.
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Lend A Hand

• All users of the Site are requested to help each other out.  If a listing is inaccurate or could be improved, lend a hand to the Seller and offer constructive feedback.
• If a Buyer or Seller has questions or needs help, be responsive.
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Extra Mile

• A transaction or Item(s) received exceeds expectations.
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If you have any feedback or more ideas on what we should include in our Community Code.  Please leave a Comment.  It’s important to us this code incorporates what you, our customer, would like to see and experience in our Community.  Thank you!
Suzanne Rielle — Co-founder,  Loobalee.com

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We have been busy over the past year researching designer children’s clothing brands for inclusion on our LoobaLee listing menus.    This is a never-ending process!  So many new brands continue to appear each year, while many others are retired.   We have been amazed at the shear volume of designer and exclusive brands from both the U.S. and around the world.  It’s a testament to the demand for quality children’s clothing.

We will go live in Private Beta mode (request your code) with over 700 brands.  We have carefully reviewed and qualified each one of them.   Unreal!  Even more unbelievable, is that our list of pending brands comprises an additional 1,000+ brands.

Qualified brands are sold wholesale in (or imported to) the U.S., are of consistently high (if not supreme) quality, and offer items at retail price points that save room for margin on the resale market.

So, who didn’t make the cut?  Surprisingly, a few stores that we have been blogging about in our bi-weekly “What’s On Sale” posts, among others:

• Children’s Place
• Old Navy
• Carter’s
• OshKosh
• Justice
• Limited Too

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Of course there are exceptions.  About 20% of each of these brands would do well on the resale market, especially higher priced items and styles that were in high demand when originally released.

However, the majority of the brand will not do well on resale and, therefore, will not justify the overhead of shipping costs.   On-line selling is simply not the right market for ‘passing’ on these gently used items.  Because we offer unlimited listings to sellers for a flat-fee and in order to keep LoobaLee listings of high quality for our Buyers, we needed to make these “final cut” decisions.

We will, however, continue to include these brands in our recommendations for buying new (as appropriate) and when donating or selling by other means.  We recognize these are often well-loved brands by Moms and kids alike.

Tip for Buying New:  While it’s tempting to buy these brands new at the prices and discounts offered, the resale market is low.   To “outfit your kids for virtually free” we recommend limiting lower-priced and lower-quality items in your kids wardrobes.  Sounds backwards?  Yes!  But, think of most purchases as “just passing through” — you care as much about what you pay up front as what you can get after wearing.

Happy Valentines Day! 

I happen to love Valentine’s Day, and have always managed to slip a couple of items into my children’s wardrobes, yet stay within my philosophy of trying to dress my kids for almost free.   I recommend buying quality, Valentines Day clothing because, unlike any other holiday, it can be worn after the holiday and into spring.

This is a reminder to watch for deep discounts on designer Valentine clothes over the next couple of weeks, and stock up for next year.   These styles don’t change much at all, and wouldn’t you rather buy them at 60-80% off now then full price or a meager 20-30% off before Valentines day next year?   You can even pick up matching accessories, like socks and hair accessories for pennies on the dollar.

Here’s some Tips for Buying Ahead:

Tip #1 

In general, the smaller the size, the better your resale value. Valentine clothing is more popular for babies, toddlers, and little kids than for older kids. And, it is far more popular for girls than it is for boys.

Tip #2  

For valuable items on the resale market, look to Gymboree, Hanna Andersson, Baby Gap, and Gap Kids.  The boutique brands also offer Valentine-themed clothing, such as MIS-TEE-V-US, Young Colors, or Michael Simon.   The typical pop-culture Valentine Tee from Target, Old Navy, Children’s Place will not re-sell well on-line, so plan to donate these or sell them in your next garage sale.

Tip #3   

Avoid Valentine clothing with words. Rather, choose solids or items that have fun prints or designs that can continue to be worn after the holiday.

Tip #4

For boys, stick with the basics.  Look for a great, solid red shirt, sweater, or vest.  Layer red with white, black, or gray. And if you have a boy who likes pink….go for it ☺

Tip #5

For girls, surely you will already have a closet full of pink! Try these ideas to create a Holiday Look  — all the layering and colors you need will be on sale.  You don’t even have to plan on heart-themed clothing for your girls to look great on Valentines Day.   So, pick up the basics too!

• Layer pink, red, white, purple or lavender tops together for a cute, trendy look. Two words of advice: 1) avoid all red and purple (too “Red Hat Lady”) and 2) use (at most) only one layer of prints.
• Accessorize with home-made Valentine jewelry, such as pins, bracelets, rings, necklaces, earrings, or hair accessories. Use pipe cleaners, beads, heart-shaped foamies, gems, and glitter. Have some fun!

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  Suzanne Rielle, Co-Founder  – LoobaLee.com

Get on the list to join our upcoming LoobaLee Private Beta!  

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Today is Earth Day! I really thought we would see some Earth Day sales today, but I haven’t noticed any from the popular merchants of children’s clothing.

Nevertheless, you will soon be able to “reduce, re-use, and recycle” with our upcoming Loobalee services. One of our core principles and inspiration is Eco-friendliness — we want to reduce the wastefulness while maintaining the joyfulness in dressing our children.

How many of you have tubs, bins, boxes, and closets full of clothing that your children have grown out of and you don’t know what to do with it?

• Maybe you don’t have any family or friends to share it with.
• Maybe you shy away from the auction sites – perhaps they are too time-consuming and complicated.
• Maybe you don’t like the idea of local resale and consignment shops (afterall, they may keep up to 65% of the sale price.)
• Maybe you don’t have place to donate them that emotionally rewarding enough for you to do a big “drop off”.

Whatever the case, the clothing sits unused and, therefore, wasted (not to mention the space it’s taking up!). What doesn’t fit your child anymore is surely to fit some one else’s and probably be just as desirable to them as it was to you originally.

At Loobalee, we want to make it EASY, REWARDING, and ENJOYABLE to cycle children’s clothing in and out of your home. And, ultimately, we want to make it simple and emotionally rewarding to donate your unneeded children’s clothing to those in need.

We aim to be:

• The EASIEST and most hassle-free on-line source for buying and selling used or unneeded children’s clothing
• The most REWARDING service, not only in terms of savings and profitability but also emotionally in terms of community, sharing, and charitable donation.
• The most FUN place to locate and buy hard-to-find items and great bargains. As well as a FUN place to sell your unneeded items and make connections with other Moms.

Loobalee — Coming Soon!
— Suzanne Rielle, Co-Founder, Loobalee.com