Back-to-school season is in full swing, and parents are spending more and more on back-to-school expenses each year. Parents can expect to pay over $600 for elementary school children, over $1,000 for middle schoolers and almost $1,500 for kids in high school, for school supplies and fees alone. These numbers have risen every year, according to Huntington Bank’s Backpack Index, which has tracked annual cost of school supplies since 2007.
Faced with these costs, parents are looking to cut back wherever they can. Back-to-school season for many children also signals the need for new clothes and equipment for extracurricular activities – from band and music lessons to sports. Winmark’s various franchise brands help parents save on all these expenses, making the back-to-school season more affordable.
Clothes
Plato’s Closet® is a mainstay in clothing resale, especially for teens and twenty-somethings and Once Upon A Child® is the “go to” retailer for kids through elementary school. Both offer the latest styles with savings of up to 70 to 90 percent off regular retail prices, translating to huge cost savings for parents.
Plato’s Closet and Once Upon A Child styles are perfect for kids who constantly outgrow their clothes. Not only can parents easily find clothes at affordable prices and they can sell their gently-used items for cash.
Sports Equipment
Extracurricular activities are one of the biggest back-to-school expenses. Kids are constantly outgrowing sports equipment and their supplies often need to be replaced every year. The cost for the equipment necessary for even just one sport – from cleats to uniforms and other equipment– add up quickly. Every year, one in five parents spend over $1,000 per child for sports gear and equipment. Saving even a fraction of that can translate to hundreds of dollars in savings.
Play It Again Sports® offers great value for sports and fitness equipment, so parents are not spending a fortune every year on new equipment. Play It Again Sports houses new and gently-used inventory, with discounts from 40 to 90 percent off retail prices, meaning significant savings for parents.
Instruments
In addition to organized sports, school band and music lessons are another popular extracurricular activity among children of all ages. New instruments can set parents back hundreds of dollars and even more for lessons or practices. Parents are sometimes reluctant to make this initial investment, since they don’t know how long their child will even be interested in pursuing music.
By purchasing quality used instruments, parents can save money while ensuring they won’t be wasting it on a lost venture. Music Go Round® offers significant savings for buying quality used instruments and will also purchase used instruments in exchange for cash on the spot. Even if the music lessons don’t work out, parents can still get some money back and won’t have an unused instrument in the closet collecting dust.
Buying gently-used items is one of the easiest ways for parents to save during back-to-school season. Winmark’s brands allow parents to save on some of their biggest expenses, while offering money for the gently-used goods their children have outgrown.
Are you interested in bringing one of our brands to your local community to help parents save? Click here to learn more about our franchise brands.
