Local Stores Offer a Second Chance for Used Items

With summertime here, those moving into and out of Wilton, as well as those who are reorganizing their homes, may be wondering where in town to take items that they wish to consign or donate.

The Turnover Shop, located at 98 Old Ridgefield Rd., and Wayside Exchange, located at 414 Olmstead Hill Rd., are the main used goods shops in Wilton. Each accepts a different variety of goods and serves a different market, and the two stores often “help each other out,” with pricing in particular, Jeanne Roberts of Wayside Exchange said.

At the Turnover Shop, a non-profit that has been in business for about 70 years, the money that the store makes goes to the Wilton PTA and nursing and home care.

While donations are accepted at the store all year, consignments are only accepted from about September to May, Sharon Sobel, president of the Turnover Shop, said. When consignments are in season, item sales within a month of the date it was brought in give the consignor 60 percent of the sale price back.

Sobel said the store accepts and sells “a great variety of items,” including clothing, accessories, shoes, housewares, furniture, books and jewelry.

She added, though, that there are some guidelines to whether or not an item will be accepted.

“The items have to be seasonal, this obviously refers more to clothing,” Sobel said. “It’s not that useful to a small shop with limited storage space to get Christmas clothing in January … They should be seasonal, clean (and) not damaged.”

That being said, Sobel said the Turnover Shop doesn’t throw any items away.

“Things that we cannot sell for whatever reason are then put out and picked up by Salvation Army several times a week,” she said.

There are federal regulations that limit what the Turnover Shop can accept from some categories of items. For example, Sobel said, the store largely cannot accept old toys or items such as car seats.

“We do take in toys, but let’s say, games that we put out for sale or puzzles or things like that have to be new,” she said. “The seal can’t be broken … We will accept stuffed animals if they have the original tags on them.”

She recommended bringing in used items because “because the Turnover tends to make use of all merchandise that comes our way.”

“We try to sell it, people can get great items,” Sobel said. “And also the pleasure of knowing that the things that they enjoyed or can’t use anymore will probably find a new home.”

Wayside Exchange, meanwhile, is purely a consignment shop and only accepts items that are in perfect condition or “almost as good as new,” Roberts said.

Roberts said the store sells items ranging from art and jewelry to furniture, china and silver.

In the more than 50 years that the store has been around, “we’ve always been known for our antiques,” Roberts said.

At Wayside Exchange, after each month that an item doesn’t sell, its price drops 10 percent. After a few months of it not selling, Roberts said she’ll ask the consignor to come pick the item up or to give her their approval to donate the item. Should the item sell, however, the consignor receives 60 percent of the sale price.

Roberts said the shop helps balance the ebbs and flows of Wilton’s population.

“A lot of the business does come from people who are moving away and just don’t have the room for (the items),” Roberts said. “Conversely, people who are moving here need furniture.”