New Store Gives Parents A Place To Buy, Sell And Trade Items For Kids

McKinsie Johnson owns Kid to Kid at 2135 East 17th Street in Idaho Falls. It’s a consignment store that buys, sells and trades items for kids. Take a look inside in the video above. | Courtesy Mandy Jeppesen

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BIZ BUZZ

IDAHO FALLS

New business in Idaho Falls offers clothes and toys for kids at discount prices

rack of clothes at Kid to Kid — Rack of clothes at Kid to Kid in Idaho Falls | Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com

IDAHO FALLS – McKinsie Johnson grew up in her parent’s consignment store, so it’s only natural that she would own one of her own one day.

She and her mom, Jennifer, opened Kid to Kid in December at 2135 East 17th Street in Idaho Falls. It buys, sells and trades clothes, toys, books and shoes for children. It even has a special door for kids to enter.

McKinsie tells EastIdahoNews.com they started buying items from the public in October and have built up a steady supply of inventory since then.

“We’ve had a very good response,” she says. “Of course, there are always sizes that are harder to get. Getting people through the door to bring us those sizes — that can be a struggle sometimes.”

Customers most frequently bring infant clothes into the store. And sizes 3 through 6 for older kids are hard to keep in stock because they’re always in demand.

McKinsie enjoys the daily interactions with customers and is thrilled to be running her own consignment shop in Idaho Falls. Take a look inside in the video above.

Her parents ran a similar store in Murray, Utah, when she was a kid. It was a similar concept for adults called Uptown Cheapskate, which is a sister company for Kid to Kid.

“They started their first one in 2012. I grew up in resale. All my clothes were from Uptown,” says McKinsie. “I’ve grown to love the idea of resale shopping because retail prices are just crazy.”

Since moving to Idaho Falls, Mckinsie says there weren’t a lot of places that would take her used clothing. She wasn’t willing to donate them because she had “some really good brands.”

The desire to be her own boss, combined with the growth in Idaho Falls, motivated her to open her own business.

Kid to Kid storefront inside Teton Village in Idaho Falls. | Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com

Bringing Kid to Kid to Idaho Falls has been four years in the making for McKinsie.

“I was a working mom, so it took a while to get it going,” McKinsie recalls. “I and my parents played around with the idea, but it never really came to light until the beginning of last year. We found a spot within weeks and it just snowballed from there.”

The Idaho Falls location is the second Kid to Kid in the state. A Boise store opened in 2004. Shauna Sloan founded the company in 1992, according to the company’s website.

It’s not clear where it started, but its headquarters are in Salt Lake. That’s where Uptown Cheapskate began in 2008. Today, both brands have hundreds of locations across the U.S.

In today’s economy, McKinsie says the Kid to Kid concept is popular for families because it gives them a more affordable option to buy clothes for their kids.

“Donations are great … but it’s nice to at least receive cash for some well-paid items,” McKinsie says. “People always need extra money and selling your clothes is a great way to do that.”

McKinsie wants the store to continue to grow and be successful. She eventually wants to have a bigger space and her goal is to always be a “yes” store, meaning she wants to make it easy for customers to sell clothing.

“We hope every customer who comes in feels welcomed and wants to come back,” she says.

Kid to Kid is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. with Sunday hours coming soon.