Kid to Kid Garner
Rating
Family of 4
Browsing is free, and this is the rare shopping listing where you can leave with more money than you came with.
Duration
Thirty to sixty minutes if you are buying, and that is with a plan. Resale racks are organized by size but the stock is one-of-one, so the browse takes longer per item than a chain store where you grab the size and go. If you are selling as well as buying, add time on top for the intake and evaluation, and be aware that some resale stores ask you to drop items off and come back rather than waiting. Call (919) 322-2445 and ask how this Garner store handles it before you load the car with bins.
Best Ages
This is a store you shop for a child rather than a store a child comes to enjoy, and the useful range runs from newborn through the tween years. It is strongest for the birth to five window, because that is where kids outgrow everything in a season and where buying new hurts the most, and it is where the resale inventory turns over fastest. Elementary and tween sizes are typically part of the mix too, though selection at the larger end of the size range depends entirely on what other local families brought in that week, so it is worth calling to ask what sizes are stocked before you drive out. Teens generally age out of what a children's resale store carries, so we do not mark that range as a fit. As for the kids themselves, babies and toddlers ride along fine, and a preschooler or older kid will have more patience if you let them pick out one thing from the toy section while you work the racks.
About
Kid to Kid in Garner is the store you find out about from another parent, usually the one whose kid is always dressed better than yours on a smaller budget. It is a children's resale shop at 2690 Timber Drive that both sells gently used kids clothing, toys and gear and buys yours, and its 4. 8 rating across 647 Google reviews is unusually strong for retail of any kind, which generally means the staff are pleasant and the racks are actually organized rather than a thrift-store scrum.
The case for it is simple arithmetic that every parent has already done in their head. Kids outgrow clothing on a schedule that has nothing to do with how much wear is left in it, so a chunk of what shows up on these racks was worn a handful of times before the child grew out of it. Resale pricing sits well under new retail, which is why families use a store like this to cover a whole season in the birth to five range for roughly what a couple of new outfits would cost at the mall.
The store does not publish price lists and resale pricing varies by brand and condition, so treat the savings as a shape rather than a number and set a total before you go in.
The selling side is half the value and the half people underuse. Bring outgrown items clean, folded and in season, because that is what gets accepted at any resale operation. Ask when you call whether store credit pays more than cash, since it usually does, and if you are going to shop that day anyway the credit converts your closet clean-out directly into the next size up.
Ask too how long an evaluation takes and whether you need to wait for it, because that answer varies by store and by day and it decides whether you bring the toddler along.
Timing matters more here than at a chain. Inventory is one-of-one and it follows what local families are clearing out, so weekday mornings after weekend drop-offs have been processed are the deepest racks you will see, and shopping a size up and a season ahead is where the savings actually compound. Selection in tween sizes depends on what came through the door, so call (919) 322-2445 first if you need something specific.
Hours are not published in our data, so confirm before driving out from Raleigh or Durham. Angie's Restaurant is the closest food in our directory, and White Deer Park is the nearby playground if you want the trip to end with everyone outside instead of in a car seat.
Age Suitability
Parent Logistics
Stroller-Friendly
Limited
Nursing / Changing
Unknown
Kid Meals
N/A
Setting
Indoor
Rainy Day
Great option!
Plan Your Visit
Best Time to Visit
Weekday mornings, for two reasons. The store is quieter, which matters when you are working a rack with a toddler on your hip, and inventory that came in over the weekend has usually been processed onto the floor by then. Seasonally, shop about a month before you actually need the size, because resale stock follows what local families are cleaning out: winter coats appear in fall, and the spring and summer clear-out is when the birth to five racks are deepest. Hours are not published in our data, so check kidtokid.com or call ahead, especially if you are coming from Raleigh or Durham.
Wait Times
No real wait to shop, and the checkout line moves like any specialty retail store. The wait that catches people off guard is on the selling side: having a bin of clothes evaluated takes time, and it can be much longer on a busy Saturday than on a Tuesday morning. Ask on the phone how long an intake typically takes at this location and whether you need to be present for it, so you are not standing in a store with a restless two year old waiting on a number.
Nearby Food
There is no food in the store. The Timber Drive address sits in a Garner retail corridor, so casual and fast food options are a short drive in either direction along Timber Drive and toward US 70. Angie's Restaurant is the closest sit-down option in our directory and the easiest place to land after a shopping stop. If you want to turn the trip into a real outing rather than an errand, White Deer Park is the nearby playground and its wooded trails and nature center area make a good second stop, so pack a picnic and do the store first while everyone still has patience.
Why Kids Love It
The toy and gear section is the draw, and it is a real one, because it is full of things other kids have already vouched for by loving them first. Older kids get a genuine kick out of the treasure hunt, since nothing here is stocked in multiples and finding the one shirt with the dinosaur on it feels like winning. And for a kid who is old enough to understand money, there is something satisfying about handing over a bag of outgrown clothes and walking out with something they picked themselves.
Pro Tips from Parents
- Call (919) 322 to 2445 before you bring items to sell and ask what they are currently buying and how long an evaluation takes. Seasonal buying needs change and you do not want to wait with a toddler.
- Bring your sell items clean, folded and in season. That is the single biggest factor in what gets accepted at any resale store.
- Ask whether store credit pays more than cash. At most resale operations it does, and if you were going to shop anyway, credit is free money.
- Shop a size up and a season ahead. Buying next winter's coat in spring is where the real savings live at a store like this.
- Go on a weekday morning. The racks are fullest after weekend drop-offs are processed and the store is calm enough to actually browse.
- Check the gear and toy shelves before buying new. Short-use items like bouncers, costumes and stage-specific toys are the best value in the store.
- Set a total spending cap. Resale prices are low enough per item that the cart fills faster than you expect.
What to Bring
- Your outgrown kids clothing, clean and folded, if you plan to sell
- A written list of the sizes you actually need, since one-of-one inventory makes it easy to lose track
- A snack and a distraction for a toddler, because rack browsing takes longer than chain shopping
- Your own changing supplies, since facilities here are unconfirmed
- A tote or reusable bags for the trip home
Cost Info
Partially free — some areas or times are free
Estimated Cost (Family of 4)
Browsing is free, and this is the rare shopping listing where you can leave with more money than you came with.
Kid to Kid does not publish price lists, and resale pricing depends on brand, condition and what came through the door, so we will not quote a figure.
What is reliably true is the shape of the math: a resale store like this prices gently used kids clothing well below new retail, which is why a family can outfit a growing kid for a season here for what a couple of new outfits would cost at the mall.
Set a total number before you walk in, since the low per-item prices are exactly what makes the cart fill up.
Confirm current pricing and any buy rates in store or at (919) 322-2445.
Tips to Save
- Sell before you buy, and do it in the same trip.
- Trade credit at resale stores is generally worth more than cash payout, so if you know you will be shopping anyway, ask which option this store offers and take the credit.
- Bring your outgrown items clean, folded and in season, because that is what gets accepted and what earns the most, and ask what the store is currently buying before you haul in three bins of winter coats in June.
- Shop one season ahead in the size above your kid's current one, since the whole advantage of resale is that a coat you buy in April for next winter costs a fraction of the same coat in November.
- Check the gear and toy section before you buy anything new at a big box, particularly for items with a short useful life like bouncers, costumes and puzzle-stage toys.
- And go on a weekday, since a picked-over Saturday rack is where families conclude resale is not worth it.
