Little Quadoo Offers Deals For Thrifty Families

These are frugal times we are living in, and if you have a young child, you know full well how expensive it is to keep up with clothing, diapers, car-seats and gear, toys, and miscellaneous items for a little one who grows at the speed of light.

To ease that burden, consignment shop in downtown Renton on S. 3^rd, is here to help. They have been open since Sept. 1, and are still getting the word out about what they have to offer. And, they have a lot to offer.

The store's name, "Quadoo," was born out of a child's description for garage doors. Store owner Danielle Gould recounted how her son Nathaniel made-up the word to and how he continues to have a fascination garage doors.

Items of all kinds line the shelves and floorspace of Little Quadoo. They have clothes, of course, oodles of them, but they also have a surprising assortment of other items as well. Swings, books, toys, tu-tus, gear of all kinds (one customer walked away with a steal on a life jacket). All items are in superior condition, at amazing prices.

Harlen Slind, a stay at home dad to Zoey and Aysia, stops by about once a week.

“Why buy new when you can get things here for half the price, or even less,” he said. “You can find unique items here, it is close to home, and the staff is friendly here.” 

Here's how the consignment process works:  Bring in  gently used items—no stains, broken parts, or out-of-date clothing, please. And, they do not accept car seats. Repeat, no car seats. The liability is too great. Then, Gould will price them and put them on the shop floor for sixty-days. Upon sale of your item you will earn credit in the way of 50% cash credit, or 60% store credit. Many customers do a combination of both.

For clothing that doesn’t sell at the 60 day mark, it gets placed on the fifty-cent sale rack. They have fifty-cent sales about four times per year. The remaining items are bagged and taken to the Renton Clothes Bank.

Slind came in with a box of things from his little girls and essentially shopped for free based upon his store credit. Zoey was happy to donate her Minnie Mouse for another little girl to play with now that she was finished with it. Aysia immediately found a toy she liked to push around the store.

It is a favorite place for the kids to come with their parents, Gould said. Usually they do not like to leave. Besides 4-year-old Nathaniel, Gould has an 18-month old, Warren, who was named for her beloved grandfather.

In addition to consignment items, Gould stocks her store with hand-made items from a lot of local moms, including 'Mama Luvs' reusable lunch bags, 'Butterfly Brookies' aprons and bibs, and 'Strawberries & Sugar' tutus.

Meegan Prince is a consignor and buyer. Her 14-month old son, Alex is in the 95^th percentile of height and weight and is growing faster than she can keep him outfitted.

“For jammies and jeans, I can get items priced at $2.99 as opposed to $50 at a retail store," she said.

Gould’s story is an interesting one. A regular thrift-store shopper in the past, she was trying to find her niche in life. She knew that she would work with kids some day, she just didn’t know how that path would present itself.

When Gould's  husband was laid off, she began shopping garage sales and turning those finds into cash on Craig’s List and other sites. When she found herself meeting people in the parking lot of Rite-Aid several times a day, she decided people needed to come to her, and Little Quadoo was born.

Samantha Schoner was a shopper that is now a part-time employee. "Kids don't need everything new," she said. "I just like the nature of the business."

Prince agrees.

"The store has really filled a need in Renton," she said.