CONTRIBUTED BY JOELLE YAMADA
“Sell so much, your kids think they are next.” — Advise from financial wizard, Dave Ramsey
With PCSing looming large on the horizon for us, I’ve begun to spring clean. Or, well, cleaning has very little to do with it, I guess. It’s more a purge and discard sort of process. Along with other things, I’ve been going through the kid’s clothes and making four piles titled: orphanage, flea market, trash, and Happiness.
Happiness is a shop near the seawall where kid’s clothing can be bought AND sold. Twice now, I have gone with my bins filled with the nicest of our outgrown clothes, and have left happy with some nice change in my pocket.
It’s a delightful little store with beautiful clothing priced for those of us on a budget. She takes Gymboree, Old Navy, Gap, OshKosh, Cherokee, Carters and other nicer brand items. The majority of her clothes are 4T and under, but she has a couple of racks for up to size 10 or so. And if I had a daughter old enough, I would SO grab this hippie rainbow size 8 skirt!
There is no parking out front, so I parked on the next side street and walked back with my plastic totes of clothes. She told me I could come back later or just wait about 30-45 minutes. The first time I waited (which meant I found cute CUTE things to buy) and the second time, I took the kids down to the Dolphin Park and returned later.
As she looks through your clothes, she places things in piles by the amount she can pay you for it. There were a few 3-piece outfits that I got 800 yen for, but most centered from 200-400 yen. Then you can remove things you don’t want to sell and then she totals everything and pays you RIGHT THEN in yen. FABULOUS.
I found the experience to be MUCH more peaceful and MUCH less stressful than flea market selling and I would highly recommend it as your kids outgrow their clothes. I would also recommend it for shopping as she’s got lots of lovely American clothes that you don’t have to wait on slow shipping or pay full price for!
Happiness Kid’s Clothing Store
Hours: Open Monday to Friday from 1:00pm to 4:30pm
NOTE: Happiness only accepts clothes for consignment on Thursdays and Fridays.
Address: 〒904-0113 Okinawa-ken, Nakagami-gun, Chatan-chō, Miyagi, 1−273
GPS Coordinates: 26.3285403, 127.74609550000002
Directions: Leaving Gate 1 Kadena, turn left. Immediate right at the light to go down to the seawall. At the last light (the same one for Coffee Casa) turn LEFT. Happiness is down a bit on the right. Almost across from the post office.