'Very happy': Hundreds save money on clothing for kids at Raleigh consignment sale

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- The final day of the July Kids Exchange consignment sale at the state fairgrounds in Raleigh attracted hundreds of bargain hunters like Teresa Chester and Kaitlyn Ward. They left with plenty of bags as they rolled a stroller to the parking lot of the Jim Graham building.

Ward smiled as she named discounted clothes for a little boy as some of the items she and her mother scored at half price.

"Swimming trunks, jewelry box, Barbies," Ward said. "We got all this for 60 bucks."

Inside the building, they navigated a sea of marked-down goods on hundreds of tables and clothes racks. Amy Winstead, the sale's owner said the activity reflects current consumer concerns.

"We've always found that with the economy when things are a little bit tight and gas prices are high and food prices are high. These families become really good stewards with what they've been given. And they are spending very smartly, evidenced by the crowds we're having at Kids Exchange," said Winstead.

Shoppers Keshia and Teshonda Smith said they saved a bundle when asked how much they'd pay elsewhere for their haul of half-priced kid's clothes and accessories.

"Maybe about 100, over 100 bucks," Keisha Smith said.

Instead, Smith said they only spent $36.86.

"I am very happy," she said.

What happens to the unsold merchandise when the consignment sale wraps up?

"What's leftover goes to the Raleigh Dream Center," said Winstead. "And so that reaches people that are homeless, really in need, and (the Dream Center does) so much good for the community. So that is such a blessing for us and for our sellers."

Winstead said there'll be another Kids Exchange consignment sale in February.