Kidvantage – Have you heard of it?

Do your kids (boys) have a knack for always tearing a hole in their clothes? Or do your kids go through shoes more often than getting haircuts? Forget the misery and expense of buying new ones, just go to Sears and get a free exchange! Yes Free!

Sign up for the Kidvantage program at Sears. We've been taking advantage of this program for over 3 years now and I'm surprised so many of you have not heard of it. In the last 3 years, Chrissy and I have exchanged countless items (mainly shoes and pants) over and over again for new ones.

I don't know about your kids, but my boys tear up shoes and jeans quite steadily. What is it about boys that like playing on their knees or sliding on the floor...? I compare their shoes to mine. On my shoes, only the soles are worn. On their shoes, the tops of it are worn... What gives? In witnessing how they play – crawling and rolling all over the ground – it's no wonder how quickly they tear through clothes. I'm guessing girls are a lot more gentle on their garments.


So during my trip to Sears Saturday, I turned in the above pair of filthy, stinky, disgusting worn Reeboks. Before going to the register, I grabbed a comparable (albeit slightly more expensive) pair of replacement shoes that were the same size. I told the cashier it was under Kidvantage. She compared the sizes and said no problem. She scanned the new shoes and then typed on the register. Got a manager approval and that was it. She didn't ask for receipt, phone number, ID, credit card... nothing! Five minutes later I was walking away with a brand new pair of Reeboks. It almost feels like stealing. But it's totally legit!


Note: Every cashier is different. To save time, go to the older "seasoned" cashiers for the Kidvantage exchange. The younger, inexperienced, high-schooler cashiers don't know squat. One time some young chick asked me for a receipt and I had to do the Obi-Wan Jedi mind trick on her, "You don't need to see the receipt."

I know some of my readers have confessed to shopping in the kids sections (for themselves) to save money. Consider this: if you wear a kids size and maintain that same size, with Kidvantage you'll be set for replacement clothing for life!

For us, having two boys makes the program work even better. Since you can only exchange for the same size, whatever clothes Dustin outgrows, we can just pass along to Colby. I know of one family with 3 boys that can totally make a killing with this program!

Nowadays when I see my boys rolling around the dirt and grass, I'm almost encouraging them to just tear a hole in it. Because exchanging them for a new pair is a lot easier than getting the grass stains out!

From the Sears website:

Our KidVantage® Wearout Warranty is simple:

• it covers all children's apparel and footwear as long as the child for whom you bought the item continues to wear the size
• if the item wears out, Sears will, at its option, either repair or replace it with the identical item in the same size, or if it's unavailable, a similar item of equal value in the same size
• it covers children's sizes from infants' up to 18 in apparel, and up to senior kids' size 6 in footwear, with proof of purchase

Also, once you spend $100 (accumulated), you'll get a 15% coupon.