Women-owned consignment shop at NJ outlet mall gives new life to clothes

With the cost of everything rising in New Jersey, more people are turning to consignment to stay fashion-fit. Enter NU2U in the Jackson Outlets. Here, you find not only great buys but also relationships.

NU2U is owned by Lori Almeida from Freehold. She's a lifelong thrifter, consignment shopper, and consignor who studied Fashion Merchandising in College and dreamed of opening a consignment shop.

"NU2U consigns previously loved items, keeping them out of landfills and out of the trash, giving them a second chance at life."

What do they sell at NU2U?

"Many of the top sellers. We do not support fast fashion here, but Lofts. Many Chico's items, White House Black Market, and you can even find Gap here. Any items found at Jackson Premium Outlets can also be found at NU2U consignment fashions, including Chanel, Louis Vitton, Prada, and items like that."

How can people keep up with what you have in stock?

"So many stores do consignment. They offer their videos on Facebook and Instagram; we do lives. Pretty much every day of the week. We do Facebook and Instagram lives to showcase our new items that have come into inventory. And if you watch them to the end, you get a secret code. That code always supports sustainability and fashion. With that code, you can get a percentage off your purchase of $20 or more."

How can people make money from selling their clothes for consignment? What are your terms?

"NU2U's consignment terms are as follows: a 50-day consignment period, during which the consignor earns 40% of the prices set by the store (we research everything, and our prices are based on market pricing)," says Lori.

"We ask that consignors bring UP to 15 items at a time (that takes about 20 minutes to process.. so it's a fair amount of time to each consignor). We get ALOT of drop-offs daily, so the name is in case the item falls from the hanger prior to it being processed)."

"Items should be of the current season, freshly laundered, on hangers and labeled with the consignor's name (which comes off when our store tage gets attached)."

"The better the item looks, the better the store looks and the more likely that item will sell. We also encourage our consignors to "Follow, Like & Share" our social media posts. Especially our live videos where we show our daily arrivals "

"In addition, consignors can follow their sales online through our portal. It's fun to see the dollars add up! Especially over the weekend when it's so busy with tourists."

NU2U is also about building relationships with those who come in to either buy or sell. Diane Fiorentino is Lori's Mom who works at NU2U

"95% of the people that come in here are just customers; they have become friends. Wonderful, wonderful. People, many times oh, actually further us as they're happy place. The happy place. Because we're happy to see them, they're happy to be here, and there's no stress. And we love being. We love the people that come in."

NU2U Consignment Fashions | consignment shop | 537 Monmouth Rd, Jackson Township, NJ