Before Covid, the BCT held a Nearly New Sale without fail every spring and every autumn. They were eagerly anticipated by both our members and the local community as the ‘in place’ to buy high-quality second-hand baby and children’s articles at very reasonable prices.
Thankfully, after a hiatus of 3 years, we re-established the (autumn) NNS back in 2023 and we are excited to be now in the middle of planning the 2025 edition of the BCT Autumn sale.
The concept is simple: The BCT sells baby and children items on behalf of pre-registered sellers at a one-day pop-up second-hand market. Everyone is welcome to become a seller, a buyer or helper.
Most importantly, these sales are the BCT’s largest fund-raising events. The money raised contributes significantly to the running of the BCT including the Clubhouse and family events. Keep in mind, the BCT is 100% self-funded and does not receive any public funding!
For many members the Nearly New Sale is a highlight to look forward to but if you are a new BCT member you might be unsure how a Nearly New Sale actually works.
How exactly does it work?
All the exact details can be found on the Family Life section of our website. Below you can find a short lowdown on the basics of how a BCT Nearly New Sale works, whether you intend to sell items, buy items, help at the sale – or (hopefully) do it all!
– Sellers need to register by applying for a seller number from one of our Number Allocators (NA). A dedicated NNS Newsletter will be sent at the end of August providing the link.
– Sellers can ask for up to 2 Seller Numbers with each Seller Number allowing them to sell up to 50 small items and up to 5 large items. Each Seller Number costs 3.50 euros for BCT Members and 7 euros for non-members.
– Number Allocators are points of contacts for sellers. They are dotted around Brussels and its surrounding areas so for convenience one would choose the one that is nearest to you as you will eventually need to bring your items to their house for quality checks and pick up any unsold items after the sale.
– What can you sell this year? Baby and children’s clothes (age 0-12 years), nursery equipment, toys, puzzles, games, strollers, prams, bicycles and ride on toys, car seats, Maxi Cosi’s etc. and children’s books and parenting books in ALL languages.
– Each item is quality-checked by our Sale Committee during the Quality Checks so only place your best quality items for sale. Clothes with stains, broken zips, missing buttons, damaged toys etc will be rejected and given back to you.
– How do you prepare your items? Your NA will give you detailed documentation on how to prepare your items and create your unique barcode labels
– How do you price your items? Always think – what would you pay for it? (Items priced 10% – 20% of their original value sell the best.)
Volunteers are vital
Click to open printable and sharable poster
As always, we can only make these sales happen when we have enough volunteers to help.
For the last Sale we had 22 committee members and 57 on-the-day helpers so we very much hope the enthusiasm to help at this forthcoming sale will be just as great or even more!
1. Volunteer to be local Number Allocator
This sale we are hoping to recruit more Number Allocators to ease the workload and allow members more drop off points to choose from.
2. Volunteer to help the Sale Committee
We need volunteers to help coordinate the set-up and clear-up process of the hall, treasurer assistants, equipment coordinators and volunteers to help with the van, picking up the sale items from the Clubhouse and number allocators the day before the sale.
3. Volunteer to help at a Quality Check
The week before the sale we hold our important quality checks of all the items entered into the sale. Can you spare time one morning or evening to help check the items for stains, broken pieces etc.? To make sure our high standards are maintained?
4. Volunteer on the day of the sale at Joli Bois Hall in Woluwe-Saint-Pierre
Lots of volunteers are needed on the day to help with set-up, security, cash desks, clear-up and the transport of equipment in the van
5. Volunteer at the BCT Clubhouse
A team of volunteers is needed on Saturday 4 October to lift the Sale equipment, which is stored at the Clubhouse, into the van. Then another team is needed after the sale on Sunday 5 October (early evening), to help return the equipment to its storage place at the Clubhouse.
6. Volunteer to help with publicity
This is something that ALL BCT members can help with!! Spread the word among your work colleagues, friends, at the school gate, sport clubs etc. Above, you will find a poster advertising the sale that you can print out and pin onto a notice board or place in your window.
Not only do BCT Nearly New Sales help families save money. Not only are the sales wonderful community events bringing together families from all walks of life, but they also, most importantly, help our planet Earth as we reuse and recycle up to 10.000 baby and children’s items!
If we all work together, we can make the 2025 NNS happen!
By Shelley O’Brien volunteering@bctbelgium.org
This article was first published in the 2025 summer edition of the BCT’s Small Talk magazine.
