I don’t believe I’ve mentioned it here yet, but I am officially in the LuLaRoe queue! For those of you who don’t know what that means, LuLaRoe is a really awesome clothing company that makes buttery soft leggings and a bunch of other things that make women feel beautiful. I’ve signed up to be a consultant and there is a wait of about 6-8 weeks to be “onboarded” and get my clothes! (PS: You can join my LuLaRoe group here!) While I’m waiting in the queue, I’ve been getting everything set up so that I can hit the ground running when I get my clothes, so I thought I’d share with you absolutely everything you need to buy in the LuLaRoe queue!
(Update! You can see how LuLaRoe helped my husband quit his full-time job here!)
Absolutely Everything You Need to Buy in the LuLaRoe Queue
LuLaRoe Home Pop-Up Supplies
Collapsible Garment Racks
If you plan to do in home pop-up sales, you are going to need some garment racks. Go for racks that are commercial grade so that they can handle the wear and tear of pop-ups, and make sure they’re collapsible so they’ll fit in your car easily! I am getting 3 of these DecoBros racks from Amazon to start. They’re commercial grade, relatively inexpensive, and they have free shipping with Prime!
Clothes Hangers
You’re going to want good quality velvet hangers. Why? Because when you’re trying to put a 3xl Irma on a tiny plastic hanger and it won’t stay on, you’ll wish that the cloth had something to stick to. I am getting these hangers from Amazon because they’re inexpensive, thin (so they’ll take up less space on the racks, and they’re velvet so they should hold the clothes nicely.
Skirt Hangers
Your onboarding package will come with at least one skirt style, so you may want to grab some skirt hangers. You’ll want to make sure that you get hangers with plastic clips because the metal clips can snag your clothes! As an alternative, if you’re on a budget, you can just fold the skirts over the bottom of your typical hangers. These are some great skirt hangers with plastic clips on Amazon prime.
Garment Bags
You will definitely want some garment bags to transport your LuLaRoe clothes back and forth to pop-ups, and I’ve heard wonderful things about these IKEA Frakta Bags. They’re great because you can put the clothes in the bag still on the hanger, which makes setting up at an in home pop-up a breeze! These bags are cheaper if you buy them in-person at IKEA, but you can grab them here on Amazon if you don’t have an IKEA local to you.
A Device With Internet
I plan to bring my Mac with me to every pop up so that I can access Audrey, the check-out system, online. You could also bring an iPad or other tablet. (iPads are really helpful as a LuLaRoe consultant, so you might want to grab one if you have the budget!)
Shopping Bags
When you’re hosting in home pop-ups, you need to have shopping bags for your customers to bring their goodies home in! I am getting these hot pink shopping bags because they’re totally adorable!
DecoBros Supreme Commercial Grade Clothing Garment Rack, ChromeVelvet Suit Hangers with Extra Tie Bar – (Pack of 50)100 Bright Pink 10x6x21 Medium Plastic T-shirt Bags with Craft Insert
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LuLaRoe Live Online Sales Supplies
A Smart Phone or iPad
If you’re going to be doing live sales with Periscope or Facebook Live, you will need a smart phone or iPad. You cannot “go live” from a computer, so you’ll need some sort of device.
TriPod With Phone or iPad Connector
If you’re going to be going live from your phone or iPad, you’re going to need a sturdy tripod with an adapter to hold it. A lot of consultants use this little tripod because it’s grippy and you can attach it to anything. It’s also a good idea to get a tall tripod like this so that you can use your camera even when you don’t have a table or something to set your tripod on.
Coat Check Numbers
When selling on live video, you assign each item a number to let people “claim” the item. The easiest way to do this is with coat check numbers. These numbers are great because they break into 3 pieces so you can easily leave a number with the item while you get it ready to ship and keep another piece out for your records.
Good Lighting
I cannot say enough about how important good lighting is whenever you’re doing any sort of video or photography. In a perfect world we’d all have wonderful natural lighting. In real life? My house is covered in dark wood with very few windows, and I need a lighting set like this one.
Extension Cords
When you do live sales, your device will run out of battery fast without an extension cord! Make sure you grab a few of these to keep your device powered up so you can keep selling!
Storage Bins
You will want a few storage bins for your live sales to separate clothes that sell and clothes that don’t sell. They’ll help keep you organized and keep your sanity.
An Assistant
Seriously, if you are doing online live sales, you need to have an assistant. Maybe it’s your husband. Maybe it’s your mom. Maybe it’s your best friend who you pay in LLR clothes. Whoever it is, you need someone running your spreadsheet and keeping track of orders so that you can invoice. Do not try to do this alone!
Shipping Supplies
I get into shipping supplies in detail at the bottom, so make sure you check that out! If you sell online, you need to ship your goodies!
Winco Coat Checks, White, 500 Per BoxCowboyStudio Photography Photo Studio Video Quick Softbox Lighting Light Kit, 600 Watt OutputAmazonBasics 60-Inch Lightweight Tripod with Bag
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LuLaRoe Album Online Sales Supplies
Good Lighting
Like I mentioned, lighting is super important whenever you’re using a camera. It’s really important when doing online album sales because you need to get accurate pictures of your clothes. If your customer thinks they bought a coral top and it’s Halloween orange in real life, they won’t be happy! So get a good lighting kit and take good pictures!
TriPod (With a Remote!)
This might be a luxury item, but I pinky promise you if you’re going to be dressing and re-dressing your dress form friend 547 times, you’re going to want to get a Tripod for your camera that has a remote. That way you can set your camera up to get the exact frame you want, dress your dress form, and click a button, then re-dress your dress form and start again. You won’t need to walk back to the camera a million times, and you’ll thank me!
A Camera
Obviously you’ll need a camera to take your photos for your online sales! Many consultants do fine taking images with their smart phones, but others prefer to use more professional cameras. I “borrowed” my father-in-law’s Nikon DSLR and it’s been totally life changing. He isn’t ever getting it back!
Photography Backdrop(s)
Some people use a plain wall in their house as a backdrop and that is totally okay, but a lot of people choose to go for a more “professional” look and get a photography backdrop. When choosing a backdrop try to keep it simple so that it doesn’t distract from the clothes, and avoid a solid color because you want the clothes to stand out! I like these wood backdrops and I got the four so that my photos can have a variety and I can use them for my blog photos as well!
Dress Form
You can do an online album sale without a dress form by taking photos of the clothes on hangers, but clothes sell so much better on a dress form. Just think about how many times you’ve thought you’d hate something until you tried it on! Especially because many of the LLR styles hang differently than typical clothing (Irma, I’m looking at you!) you really want to get the clothes on a dress form to show your customers! Oh, and I’d recommend a white dress form because often the busy prints or the dark dress forms make the clothes look see-through when they aren’t.
Signage
You’ll also want to get some cute signs with the size, style, and your business branding. You can get really cute signs on Etsy or you can even get crafty and make them! Or if you’re tech-savvy, you can also just add the text to your photos on canva or photoshop.
Shipping Supplies
Again, when you’re doing online sales you’re going to have to ship your goodies. Check out the detailed shipping supplies below to make sure you’re all stocked up!
Female Jersey Dress Form with Base & Necktop.Ella Bella Photography Backdrop Paper, 4-feet by 12-feet, 4 Assorted Wood DesignsNikon D3300 24.2 MP CMOS Digital SLR with Auto Focus-S DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR II Zoom Lens (Black)
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LuLaRoe Shipping Supplies
Dymo LabelWriter 4XL
Okay, I know, this is really expensive. But think about how much you would spend on ink printing out a bajillion labels every week from your online party orders. Plus the paper. Plus all of the wasted time cutting out those labels and taping them to your packages. This Dymo LabelWriter 4XL is a thermal printer that prints out your shipping labels so that you can just stick them on your packages and it’s good to go. It’s worth the cost!
Dymo Labels
When you get the Dymo thermal printer, you’ll need some labels that work with it. I’m getting these 4×6 labels.
ZipLock Baggies
You do not want your packages getting damaged, so big Ziplock baggies offer an extra layer of protection! Plus, you can put the coat check number in the Ziplock bag with the item to help keep organized while you’re preparing to ship!
Poly Mailers
Poly mailers are often the cheapest way to ship smaller orders, so it’s a good idea to grab a bunch to prepare to ship! I am getting these adorable hot pink and yellow poly mailers so that my customers get a bit of bright colorful fun before opening up their package!
Postage Scale
You’ll need a postage scale so that you can weigh your package and pay the correct amount of shipping. When you sign up for a Stamps account I believe they still send you one free, or you can purchase one here.
Flat Rate Shipping Boxes
Once your order is too big for a poly mailer, it’s time to move up to flat rate shipping boxes. You should probably grab some of the padded envelopes, small boxes, medium boxes, and large boxes. The good news is that these packages are free from the post office!
Packing Tape
Seriously, tape those packages good! You do not want anyone to get damaged items!
Stamps.com or Shipping Easy
You’ll definitely want an account with Stamps.com or Shipping Easy so that you can get the discount on shipping and print out your labels easily. It will save you tons of time (plus they work really well with the Dymo printers!)
DYMO LabelWriter 4XL Label MakerDymo® Compatible 1744907 – 4100 10×13 HOT PINK Poly Mailers Shipping Envelopes Bags By ValueMailers
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So that’s absolutely everything you need to buy in the LuLaRoe queue! I know it seems intimidating, but I promise you it’s going to be so worth it when you get all of this awesome stuff while you’re in the queue and you’re ready to start selling immediately when you get onboarded with LuLaRoe! I am so excited to be on this journey, and I cannot wait to get started!
Don’t forget to pin this post to come back to!
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SUPER HELPFUL! I am in the que as well and this is just awesome!
Oh thank you so much! It took forever to put it together, but I was hoping it would help others waiting to onboard. :) Feel free to share with your friends!
Wow! I have not even officially decided to do it yet and after reading this and pricing everything, I am feeling very overwhelmed! You are awesome for putting this all together!
Oh I’m so glad that it was helpful! If you have any questions I’d love to help you. <3
Do you know if the label printer works with laptops? I heard they may only work or connect to desktops? Great post! Thanks!!
The printer works with my husband’s HP laptop, but not with my MacBook Pro. I think it depends? Thanks! <3
i got the dymo twin labeler, it says compatible with macs and PCs.. did yours say that on the box as well? I’m worried now that my labeler won’t work!
I’m not sure, I’m sorry!
It’s great thanks❤️
Wow!! This is quite a informative. Much appreciated. I am currently researching on whether to be a a consultant. Thank you.
Oh I’m so glad you found it helpful! If you’d like to chat about becoming a consultant I would love to help you. I’ve just had my launch and it was more than I even dreamed it would be!
I’m very interested in becoming a consultant. This is a very helpful list. Do I need to work with someone local to me to get started?
Alicia, you definitely don’t need to work with someone local. I’d love to help you get started! I’ll send you an email. <3
Thanks so much for the helpful information! I am deciding on whether I want to be a consultant, and I am very close to signing up. I do have a sponsor that I’m working with, but I really want to hear what other say.
can you write off these items for taxes?
Yes, if they’re used exclusively for business purposes (most of them would be!)
Can you email me to chat about consulting? I’m about to sign up but want an outsiders perspective.
Thank you for this. I am in queue as we speak.I am nervous and overwhelmed with all of it. Congratulations on your launch. I am praying mine goes well too?
Thank you! Best of luck to you!
Can I pick the exact items and sizes I want to sell initially or do I have to buy a pre-package?
Hi I am thinking about being a consultant and seeing all of this is a bit overwhelming when trying to budget to get started. Can you tell me appx how much you spent on all this stuff just to prepare and successfully run the business?
I spent approximately $7500 total to start up, between inventory and extra supplies. I could have done it for about $6000 if I didn’t splurge on a few things. :)
Will you send me information on how to join? Are they still offering the three introductory packages or just one?
I’ll send you an email!
Hi Kaylene
I am in the que and should be getting my call any day now.,
Quick question, other then your first initial package purchase, did you include any additional styles ? Im trying to decide how much more to add to my first order
Thanks
TRACY
I added Carlys and Amelias (and of course leggings!) to my order. I hope that helps and good luck!
You stated $7500 total to start, how long did it take you to pay that off with just LuLaRoe sales?
On our team, most pay it off their first month, and everyone has within their first three months so far.
Thank you for putting this together. I have been so overwhelmed while waiting to get my call!
How have your tripod and pink bags worked out for you? I’m in the queue and looking for options for a tripod and bags for items that don’t need to be shipped.
Isn’t one of the biggest things they tell you in the policy when you signed up was not NOT buy anything in the queue because you are not guaranteed to be on boarded?
They say that to cover their butts. Some people can not come up with the start up costs and then blame LLR when it comes to the other things they have purchased. Everyone that has the $$ for start up costs is accepted.
There are cheaper, allternative options to this list but at some point, you will want to have everything on this list.
I see dates all over the place… so my question is… how long have you being doing it now? Are u still loving it? I have seem a lot of negative reviews, so I am scared to lose my money. I am a hard worker ,I know I will put in the work. I will go above and beyond. Bit will the company back me?
I started at the end of October and I’m loving it! My husband is home full time doing it with me, and it’s been a huge blessing in our family!
Glad to see you’re enjoying being a consultant. I’m currently in the queue. Besides supplies which I’m currently working on what else did you start doing? Business account? Things of that nature. I’m looking at June sometime to be onboarded.
I already had my business stuff set up because of this blog. My main steps were to get my onboarding funds sorted, get my supplies, and set up my LuLaRoom. Sorry I can’t be more help!
Hi Kaylene! I saved your site to my Pinterest board I am in the queue and found your guide really helpful. One thing I discovered when doing research was a bag for my garment rack bags. Thought I would share it with everyone else as well. Really inexpensive startup item that I will use to carry a few racks (or have my husband do it for me) 😊 https://www.amazon.com/Clothing-Rack-Bag-Portable-Collapsible/dp/B06Y5KD2NK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1495077471&sr=8-1&keywords=Lularoe+rack+bag It’s a long link sorry I was searching for Lularoe rack bag and it’s the only one out there!!
Thank you again – Tiffany
I just joined the queue a couple days ago. Quick question for you. I don’t know a whole lot of local women. Do you have to do pop up sales or can I just do online sales?
We do primarily online sales, as does most of our team. But it really depends, some people LOVE their in-home pop ups.
I am currently waiting in the que as well and wow this has helped me so much thank you so much for putting this all together!!