Community Corner
Kids Clothesline Sale Offers Weekend of Family Bargains
Popular and much-anticipated children's consignment event kicks off Friday, April 8.
Everyone in the Lehigh Valley who shops for kids items is eagerly awaiting Friday, April 8 – the start of The Kids Clothesline consignment sale taking place at Merchants Square Mall in Allentown.
The Kids Clothesline has been a bargain-hunter's paradise since 2004 when organizer Amanda D’Ambrosio started the event in a small church in Center Valley not far from her home in Coopersburg. The idea came to D’Ambrosio while on vacation in the in the southern states, where she noticed sales like this throughout the region.
The current Spring/Summer sale boasts over three hundred consignors participating and over 47,000 items in inventory. Eager shoppers will find an amazing array of items ranging from books, clothes, toys, craft and art supplies to furniture and more. A visit on their first day of item drop-off was impressive and D’Ambrosio said that the best was yet to come.
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“It’s so big and we have so many items that even I miss things,” D’Ambrosio joked. She typically spends between 80 to 90 hours working on the event along with numerous volunteers.
Participant’s drop-off items Tuesday, where they are inspected and checked in. Items approved for the sale were taken to their designated areas. Battery-operated objects are checked to make sure they work, and priced competitively.
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“We tell consignors to mark their items at one third of the original retail cost but many price much lower than that,” D'Ambrosio added, “so if you go you’re sure to find a great deal of bargains.”
Volunteers and consigners are treated to a pre-sale on Thursday, April 7.
All large baby items and furniture are located in a separate area of Merchants Square Mall, just outside of the main entrance of the mall. Rows of strollers, kids’ bikes, and even twin and toddler beds are expected.
The Spring/Summer sale runs from Friday, April 8 through Sunday, April 10 at Merchants Square Mall in Allentown. On Friday and Saturday the sale will run from 10am until 6pm. Sunday's half price sale takes place from 10am until 3pm. A special dollar sale will take place on Tuesday, April 12 from 10am until noon. All remaining items are donated.
If carting your tot through the event in a stroller is required, organizers remind shoppers to stick to small umbrella strollers.