Black Friday isn’t the Only Way to Save: Secondhand Shopping for the Holidays is No Longer “Taboo”. Survey from Just Between Friends Kids Consignment Finds 85 Percent Plan to Shop Secondhand this Holiday Season

Tulsa, Okla. – As people prepare to shop for the holiday season, a recent survey finds that Black Friday & Cyber Monday aren’t the only ways to save money. Shopping secondhand at consignment sales, thrift stores, flea markets and online is another way to save money. Just Between Friends, North America’ leading children’s & maternity consignment event, says nearly 85% of people who responded in their annual, nationwide survey said they plan to shop secondhand for holiday gifts & other items.

Shannon Wilburn is the co-founder and CEO of JBF and for more than 10 years, she and JBF have helped millions of families save money on items for their families.  A self-described “bargain shopper”, Wilburn learned to save out of necessity when she was a teenager and her father was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, which had a devastating effect on her family’s finances. Today her company has more than 150 consignment events across the U.S. and Canada that help families save & earn money.

Wilburn reached out to her top shoppers & consignors and they put together a list of “Seven Gifts You Can Buy Secondhand – and No One Needs to Know”.  These are gifts you can buy second hand without anyone knowing they are ”gently used”

• Dolls, Doll Clothes and Accessories: Often you can find very gently used dolls at thrift stores and second hand stores. Package them up with some clothing and accessories and create a “Barbie Gift Bag” or an “American Girl Gift Pack”. 
• Electronics: There are homes across the country with unused Wii systems, Play Stations, games and accessories.  Make sure they all work and package it all in a nice box or gift bag.  Most      teens or tweens won’t know or won’t care.  
• Sporting equipment: Golf clubs are a great “secondhand” gift (or one you can re-gift).  If they are in good condition, clean them up and put them in a nice golf bag. Same goes for tennis equipment. Or create a “sporting package” with several pieces of used equipment inside a new storage tub.
• Costume jewelry: If it is in good condition and in style find a nice jewelry box or baggie and you’re good to go. 
• Books: New or used, books make great gifts.  An avid reader may love a used book with its own story behind it.
• Collectibles: Is anyone on your gift list collect anything?  Check out the local flea market.  They will appreciate the effort you took to find it. 
• Instruments: This is one of the top “re-gifted” items and one that you can find “like new” In fact, there are likely guitars and drum sets sitting in attics across the U.S.  

Before you put the bow on top, here are a few key tips to prep your gift.

• Use a little elbow grease: Spend some time cleaning the items to make them look new

• Box it up: Save boxes so you can reuse them

• Presentation is key: Dress it up with tissue paper, gift bags, bows and ribbons

• Style check:  Make sure the items are not out-of-date or out of style, unless you are going for the vintage look

Just Between Friends is the leader in the “second hand shopping industry”. In addition to helping families save money they also place a priority on safety. Kami Snowbarger is JBF’s product & recall specialist. She trains with the Consumer Product Safety Commission and is the “Second Hand Market Safety Expert” with the International Consumer Product Health and Safety Organization.

Snowbarger offers these safety tips when shopping second hand for the holidays - or any day. 

• Make sure items you are purchasing have all of the parts and are in good, working condition.

• If you are unsure about an item, you can easily check it out with a recall app found at www.wemakeitsafer.com

• Shop sales that put safety first. At Just Between Friends, we check for recalled items and provide up-to-date recall lists for shoppers to view at all JBF sales events.

You can use any of the information in this release, please credit Shannon Wilburn, CEO of Just Between Friends Franchise.  For more information or to set up an interview, please contact Diane White at 918-770-3905 or by email, Diane@DianeWhitePR.com

About Just Between Friends 

In 1997, Just Between Friends was created in a living room in Tulsa, Oklahoma when Shannon Wilburn, a mother of two young children, and her friend Daven Tackett hosted a sale with 17 friends as consignors and had gross sales of $2000.  In 2014, that same sale hosted two events and grossed close to 1 million.  The sales caught on with families and grew, so in 2003, they formed Just Between Friends Franchise Systems, Inc.  Wilburn is now sole owner and CEO of Just Between Friends Franchise Systems, Inc., which has more than 150 franchises in 29 states and one in Canada.  They expect to top 27 million in 2015. In June 2014, Forbes Magazine named Just Between Friends one of the top ten franchises in the United States. JBF was also named one of Entrepreneur Magazine’s Top 500 Franchises in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015.  Just Between Friends Franchise Systems Inc. also received a “Franchisee Satisfaction Award” and was named in the Top 50 franchises by “Franchise Business Review” for the past 6 years. Wilburn was also named on of Oklahoma’s “50 Women Making a Difference” by Journal Record Newspapers, was awarded the Small Business Administration’s “Women in Business Champion” for Tulsa,  and was part of the Tulsa Business Journal’s 40 under 40.   JBF has been featured on numerous national television shows including The Today Show, Good Morning America, Real Biz with Rebecca Jarvis, Fox News, CBS Early Show, ABC News, CNN, Headline News, Inside Edition, CNBC’s The Big Idea, Huffington Post and Inc.com. They have also been featured in many top markets including Seattle, Denver, Dallas, Houston, San Francisco and Philadelphia as well popular websites www.yahoo.com, www.sheknows.com and Disney website www.family.com.