What’s Just Between Friends?

Just Between Friends sale is a great way to save money on gently-worn items for children and expectant mothers.

Amber Post, owner of the Just Between Friends franchises in Owasso and Kansas City.

You’ve probably seen their ads and heard their commercials, but you may not know what the Just Between Friends sale is all about. Is it a buying club? Do you have to be a member? Where does the merchandise come from? Amber Post, owner of the Owasso and Kansas City JBF franchises, is happy to explain.

Back in 1997, a group of friends got together in Tulsa and formed the Just Between Friends sale. These young mothers wanted to dress their children well and save money while offering their outgrown items for sale to others. The concept started in a living room where they gathered to “shop” from each other’s surplus items. It quickly grew into the nationally franchised business it is today. The sales offer high quality, gently-worn items for children and expectant mothers and take place in large facilities around the country twice a year.

Amber says shopping a JBF sale is a great way to save money on all your children’s clothing and equipment needs, and she is happy to provide this service in her hometown of Owasso. Amber and her husband Frank have four children, Taylor (17), Grace and Chris, who are fourth graders in Owasso, and baby Ezra, who is 10 months old. “Kids outgrow clothing so fast; it’s nice to dress them stylishly and know you are getting a great deal too.”

The JBF sales carry just about everything you could need for kids and expectant mothers, including clothing sizes newborn to 16, baby equipment, children’s furniture, books, baby swings, strollers, cribs, car seats and, of course, toys. Maternity wear is also a very popular item at the sales, and the savings are significant over department stores.

The Owasso JBF sale has outgrown its original location and is in a new and larger venue this year. Amber says the new location in the Reasor’s Shopping Center at Highway 169 and Highway 20 (116th Street North) will offer more space, additional sale days and longer hours for JBF shoppers. “We now have the room to add more registers for quicker checkout,” Amber explains. “The best part is no more tents – everything is inside!”

JBF consignors earn 65 percent or more, and anyone is welcome to participate. Online registration starts the process. Once you have registered at www.Owasso.jbfsale.com, you make your tags, determine your own prices, and drop off your items. Checks are mailed to consigners a week after the sale, and new this year, volunteers receive their checks the day after the sale closes.

There are additional benefits for those who volunteer, distribute promotional material or help the sale run smoothly. “Those who volunteer get to shop first, before anyone else at our pre-sale. Next are the ­consignors, then first-time moms with children under 12 months old, day care owners and teachers,” explains Amber. “There are literally thousands of quality items from which to choose, and they are all priced below-market.”

Merchandise is separated by gender and size, neatly hung up, and the entire sale is very organized in categories. All items are examined for quality, and the sale resembles a huge children’s store as opposed to a garage sale atmosphere. Admission of $2 is charged only on the first day, Saturday, March 26, and is free for the following days. Tuesday, March 29, the last day of the sale, is half price day, with almost everything marked 50 percent off.

“Most of the items are sold because of the great discounts, but items that are left over can be picked up by their consignors, or donated to the local charities including the Owasso Pregnancy Resource Center and Standing in the Gap Ministries,” says Amber.

This year, there will be a drawing for an Apple iPad. Tickets are $5 each, and all the money raised will be split between the two charities. “It’s just another way to support the Owasso community through these very worthy causes,” says Amber.

JBF hours are Saturday, March 26, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Sunday, March 27, noon to 8 p.m.; Monday, March 28, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and Tuesday, March 29 is the 50 percent off sale, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. There is a $2 admission on Saturday. JBF gladly accepts cash, MasterCard, Visa, Discovery and debit cards. No checks please.

For more information, contact

Just Between Friends

(918) 371-7499

www.Owasso.jbfsale.com