Once Upon a Child

Clothes-​$
Gear – $ to $$
Great selection.

Though I like the store to purchase things for my kids, I have been very disappointed when I have gone back to sell. When drying the kids ’ clothes, I usually line dry, primarily with the goal of selling again. When I’m then told that onesies and other brands are not accepted, especially since I was very careful in caring for the clothes, I become angry and discouraged. Many clothes have actually been brand new and still not accepted. I find that rediculous and a waste of money. Sadly, I have been exploring other consignment stores to support and do business with in the Hartford area.

Great selection but sometimes prices are high for a consignment store…
My biggest issue is the fact that employees sometimes are too lazy to actually look through all your stuff. And their excuse is stains, out of season, ect. When I look some boxes haven’t even been touched and in the same exact place. Its especially noticeable when it contaons a fair amount of NWT items. I inspect the clothing before I even pack it none ever have stains and some are even new with tags. meanwhile 2t old navy jeans are in the store with brown dirt stains and discoloration are on sale for $ 9. Then they say that seperates are missing their pair WHEN I BOUGHT THEM INDIVIDUALLY! & I see clothing from carters that come as a pair being sold as a separate. So frustrating! I ended up giving up and just bringing my stuff to savers I get 20% that day if I shop and with $ 20 I can get a ton of outfits for my little one and even something for myself. Last time I found her some cute old navy boyfriend jeans no stains practically new for 2.99! Awesome deal! Recommend everyone goes there instead!

Wow just walking in here is overwelming. It’s like one gigantic overstuffed closet. Yes, the clothing is separated into size categories but that’s about it. All it seemed to be was set up in color categories. You have to pretty much hunt & peck through all this stuff and geez if you pull out an item of clothing your going to have real fun trying to shove it back in… everything was so tightly hung next to each other. You can tell most of it is used once and a while you will find something that has never been worn. You can buy brand new on sale for almost the same price for some things. You’ll wait for ever at the check out…
You really need to give yourself a good hour to find stuff here… so If you have the time it may be worth it.
Guess I’m just not into Hunting & Pecking. Tugging at things and waiting for check-out…but good luck to you if you are…

Some decent clothing to buy but not at all impressed with process when you have items to sell. I bring back items I bought from there (in good shape, not stained, no missing buttons, etc) and they refuse to buy them back. Really?
They should also have 2 price scales when selling, 1 for cash and the other for store credit

Love this store, whether you are looking to pick up some things for the little ones, or they have outgrown what they have and you are looking for a place to take it where someone else could use it this place is you place. Very friendly and helpful staff, clean store, and a great selection of things. Highly recommend this place to anyone in need for some affordable clothes and toys for the little ones or if your little ones have outgrown toys/​cloths that are still in good condition.

Now that I have visited just about every OUAC location, this particular one can only be given a 2. And, it’s for obvious reasons but more on that in a sec.
The positive: Fairly clean store, rather large and they have a decent selection. But, that is where it stops.
The negatives: The staff here (with the exception of maybe 2 women) are there is no better way to say it, effing rude. It’s a revolving door when it comes to the staff here.
They are beyond frustrating when it comes to selling. I see tattered and torn clothes on the racks yet they tell me the clothes I have taken to sell back (which came from them) are stained or considered «separates.» On one particular occasion, I drove to another OUAC that day they turned away half my stuff and another one took all of the items. Ridiculous. Selling back is solely discretionary here and it is a joke!
I have had to wait 5 or 6 hours for them to sort through stuff because they have an overabundance of things to look at.
Waiting in line is painful. There is always one.
My advice: Head to the Enfield location. Beautiful, brand new and lovely staff there. I would drive an extra 20 minutes to go there instead. And in my opinion, they have a better selection.

I love this store. I have not purchased a single item of clothing new for my four-​year-​old son since we moved to this area. I feel guilty when I buy ultra-​cheap clothing (some of the reviewers here are taking about Old Navy and Carter’s), since I don’t like to think about sweatshops producing two-​dollar t-​shirts. Since I discovered OUAC, I’ve found extremely high-​quality items in great shape. Of course you have to sift through some cheap and worn-​out items to find exactly what you want, but I’m okay with that. I also stock up on onesies to embroider and monogram for baby gifts.
Some of the reviewers mentioned the staff. They do seem a little bored sometimes, and aren’t over-​the-​top friendly, but they certainly aren’t rude or anything. They’re just high-​school kids for whom selling used toys probably isn’t a life’s passion.

Great selection of children’s clothes shoes toys books furniture and equipment. Good prices and overall value. Good place to sell gently used items.

I have been bringing my sons clothes here since he was an infant and getting him new clothes there also, he is now 6 years old. We have never had any issues with selling our gently used clothes, I like the fact that they do not just take anything the clothes need to be in good condition and I appreciate that being on the buyer side also :). They also take costumes, toys, books and many more things. It’s a great way to make some money especially for the new school year clothes :)

Think of this like a really great Goodwill store that only has kids stuff. You can find some clothes that are still new with tag for less than half the price of retail. They run some great sales on top of that. Clothes are packed in pretty tight and aisles are small, but the clothes are usually very well sorted by size and gender.
It’s true that they don’t pay much when buying, but it’s reflected in their sales prices. I only wish they gave a bonus if you got store credit instead of cash.

Personally, I’m not a fan of used clothing but I’ve perused the racks a few times while waiting for them to go through the items I’ve dropped off to sell. The selection of boys clothes are, in my opinion, gross. I’ve found the clothing to be old, outdated and overly worn. When I’ve gotten feedback on the items of mine that they chose not to purchase I’m usually confused as the clothing items I bring are always FAR nicer than what they’re currently selling — my clothing is always new and in style while their stuff looks like it’s left over from the 90’s. Newsflash: just because something says Gap Kids on the tag, it doesn’t automatically make it cute, in style or mean that it hasn’t been worn and washed one time too many. The staff is rude (with the exception of one very sweet lady whose name I don’t know) and I sometimes wonder if they really go through all the bins as some of the women strike me as pretty lazy. In fact, I know a few times they didn’t even bother to go through one or two bins of mine because they were clearly untouched and contained barely worn clothes from brand name stores that are on their list of «favorites» but yet they claimed some of the items were stained. That’s odd since a few of the items still had the tags on and I go through everything meticulously to make sure nothing is ripped, stained or too worn. Two of the girls working that day looked like they’d just spent the night working a street corner in Hartford so perhaps they were too tired to be bothered. If you have large items to sell such as high chairs, pack-​n-​plays, etc. you’re better off selling them on Craigslist because you’ll get far more money by cutting out the middle man. I would really only bring clothing here but it’s a gamble because it could end up being a waste of time if you don’t hit it on the right day.

A very picky consignment store (bad if you are selling back, good if you are buying, and you will). What makes this place unique is that it really is a high-​quality consignment kids clothing and toy store. Brand names like Gymboree, Gap, etc at low prices. PLUS if you get the discount card you can quickly collect stamps for every $ 10 you sell back OR buy, and that adds up quickly to you getting 15% off a purchase. Ever since my son was born at the nearby Manchester Memorial hospital (recommended!), we have been buying him stuff from there. I feel good knowing that I am doing my bit to recycle (think of the tons of plastic that goes into make new toys every year when there are ton of perfectly good gear sitting in people’s homes), and that I am letting someone else take the hit for paying for brand names.
Con: The employees always seem to be young, trashy-​looking women who (?) don’t have kids.
Con: They close at 8 and stop buying back stuff at 6:30 but they don’t post this essential bit of info on their site. I have seen people get turned away (in a very unapologetic manner).

I have sold to Once Upon a Child on several previous occasions, so I’m aware of their very high standards for merchandise. Prior to bringing clothing in, I went through and inspected it, and freshly laundered it. My husband dropped off; making very clear that I would be the one picking it up later. He was brushed off, and given a pick up time of 4 hours.
I checked back at 3.5 hours, and was told «another hour.» Fine, things happen. At this time, I selected a few dresses that I wanted to purchase at pick up time. Came back in an hour, and was told, «another 45 minutes.» Starting to get annoyed… Checked back at the 45 minute point, and my clothing was in the process of being looked through. Except they only looked through one box, telling me the other box «looked like it had been stored for a while… mumble mumble… not sure what it’s called… mumble mumble… get in line.»
Somewhat annoyed, I get in line. I am asked for my id, which I present, explaining that my husband dropped off clothing, which he had put under my name, but the last name on the id was different. I was then informed that I couldn’t actually pick up, because the name was different. I argued this a bit, indicating that the name on the slip, was, in fact mine. They relented and allowed me to pick up. I then ask for the items that I had asked to be placed aside. No one can find them. I’m done at this point and say, «nevermind.»
I’m given my check for accepted items, completely confused as to why one box wasn’t looked through. I get home, and there is nothing to indicate it was «stored for a while,» as it was freshly laundered. No dirt, no stains, no moths… a few wrinkles from being in a box.
The only reason I’m giving two stars instead of one is because I’ve purchased things from here before, and not had a problem. But I will never sell to them again, just too much hassle!

Still a big favorite of my for clothing and toys for the kids. They’ve been running really great sales lately. I do not know if it’s just that I am only just noticing them now or what, but 70% off or 10 items for $ 10 are great in my book any day.