Red Pony Consignment

Had troubles finding the place despite the RED exterior and had to park a couple blocks away but it was a lovely boutique! Not over-​crowded, some good deals in the sale racks and some fair-​priced high-​end labels though some overpriced low-​end labels. (people, just donate those!) The sales associate was friendly and helpful and the variety of styles and sizes was good. I would return if in the neighbourhood but the location and parking are a deterrent for me. Scored an Anthro-​brand pair of pants and high-​end cardi. Almost bought a pair of William Rast pants with a torn pocket but noticed in time — good thing b/​c all sales are final! The owner (I think) offered 20% discount but I left them behind. She said she normally returns them to the seller if damaged. All in all a good experience, but thrifting will continue to be my primary source for secondhand clothing (and donating rather than consigning)!

I loved Red Pony! They have a great selection of brands and clothes. Usually pretty new looking and fashionable.
The big draw back for me are the prices. A lot of stuff is really over priced for used pieces. Like a target brand dress for $ 30.
But their 50% stuff is really great and that’s what I go for. Everything that doesn’t sell within 8 weeks ends up there.
A couple times I’ve gone during their business overs (over my lunch!) and they’ve been closed, as well. I can see somebody at the till but the door is locked. Always pretty frustrating since it is a 10 min walk and I’m purposefully using my lunch to go.

I came into this store as I was having dinner at Upper Crust next door. The first thing I noticed were the selection of shoes displayed to the left. A pair of silver flower ecco shoes caught my eye and they were $ 26. They had a red dot on them and I asked the associate at the counter if they were half price which she told me they were. A decent price but they were a little scuffed on the side. I checked out the other shoes, but the ones I liked weren’t my size.
At the front near are items with 50% off and marked with a red dot. The left has a small men’s section. Towards the right back is a selection of purses and bags, and clothes for women. I saw brands such as Joe Fresh, Banana Republic, and Nygard. Most of the pieces were in good condition but many of the sizes were small. They do carry new Hue leggings and infinity scarves.
When I entered the store and browsed, I wasn’t acknowledged by the associate, who was behind the counter and then putting away clothes after someone had come out of the change room. Change room area looked nice and comfortable.

I think Red Pony is one of the few consignment stores in that is geared toward younger women and for that you get a bonus star!
I have dropped of items twice at Red Pony and have always come away with a decent sized cheque (considering the clothes were headed for the donation bin). I would like to chalk that up to a good sales team at Red Pony who does a good job knowing what they have in the store and can pass that along to customers. I also think it’s a testament that they price their items fairly since people are buying them.
I’ve spent some time and shopped the store and I think they have a great selection for women in my age range. It’s a small shop so it’s not too overwhelming to sift through the racks, and I also really like their jewelry display. You can find some really neat things in there.
I hope they find success in their new location in Garneau! I think the area suits them well.

Let me be clear– I love patrolling this store. I have found some really amazing deals here myself, and also some items that (if I was a different size) would have been a steal. I’ve found a number or really unique pieces, designer items, local items and more all in great shape (often with the tags on) and for a great price.
The shop is bright and sunny, the staff are friendly, and it’s always a great shopping experience. I understand that, with most consignment shops, the selection depends on when you stop by and changes frequently.
However, I’m always so disappointed with the amount of cheap fashion here. Brands like Old Navy, H&M, Zara and Forever 21 make cheap clothes that are made to fall apart and be replaced. I don’t even trust these brands when they’re sold from the source, let alone second hand. The price points you’re paying for them in a consignment shop are more often than not more than what you pay for them in a store (I recognized a few items from my own closet from before I gave up fast fashion). I’ve also found their not as relevant as I believe they intend to be, putting out clothes that look like they were in style well over two years ago (the company’s cut off for accepted items).
If you can search through the cheap brands to find the treasures, it’s often worth it. But be warned– there will be digging.

When it comes to consignment versus thrift shopping I typically lean towards thrift shopping as I find stores try and get almost the original retail price back when consigning but my curiosity won out as I was passing this place so I decided to stop and take a look.
There doesn’t seem to be much in the way of larger sizes and all I found for plus sizes was a 2XL tank top. Most of the stock seemed to fall under dressy casual office wear from great brand names like Tommy Hilfiger, Lacoste, and Anne Klein. I was quite surprised though that they also carry clothes from less expensive names like G21 and Joe Fresh. I didn’t consign anything but I think they have a high standard for what they take in as nothing looked worn or had that awful detergent smell you notice when stuff has been in the washer for too long.
For a consignment shop I felt the prices were pretty reasonable considering the creep upwards I have noticed in prices at big chain thrift shops like Value Village. The lack of pus sizes means I probably wont be making this a regular stop for shopping but I did leave with a cute gold top from Forever 21 for eight dollars. If I was in the neighborhood I definitely wouldn’t mind coming back in to dig for another random treasure and invest some more money into a great small business.