Purchasing off of Craigs List...

LCLaw3 · February 2012

So I'm debating purchasing some things off of craigslist, but I'm not sure if its really worth it. Specifically, the swing that I registered for is $150 at Babies R Us, but going for $50 or less on Craigslist. I'm not sure if I should just wait to see if someone buys it or if I should buy it now. I'm obviously concerned about not getting everything I registered for, even though I kept my registry to a "need only" basis, but I'm also a FTM and worried about how sanitary it is and if I can wash it, etc. I would really love any opinions on this.

cdc1982 · February 2012

When are you due? My shower wasn't until about 3wks before my due date so I was freaking out the 1st time.

This time, there have been a handful of things I wanted to get & have gotten most off Craigslist (everything I've gotten can be washed/cleaned).

If you haven't had a shower yet & you're not right on top of your due date, I'd wait to see if someone buys it. You won't necessarily need it right away so you can always buy it afterwards (if no longer on CL) & use your completion coupon from BRU.

Divallyn · February 2012

We purchased most of our major items off of Kijiji (Canada's Craiglist).

I would pick out the exact make and model of each item I wanted and scan the listings once every two days or so until I found one that was in near perfect condition and for 1/3 the retail price. All of the items we have bought have been in excellent condition and just needed a wipe down with a rag as they were a bit dusty at worst. I added up how much we had saved by doing this and we have saved $1200 on baby stuff so far buying previously used items.

I say go for it.

LCLaw3 · February 2012

My due date has been moved to April 20th and my shower isnt until March 25th. So I will have about 4 weeks or so to buy things that I need...that is if I dont go past my due date. I just figured if I could save $100 now and it was worth it, why not? But then again, I'm not really sure if you can wash the cloth on the swings or if it's even worth spending my own money now, rather than a little more of it later...

staceyk110 · February 2012

If you don't think you'll get what you need, get it off craigslist- I wish I had done that the first time around. So many baby things are used for such a short time, it's sometimes not worth the money to pay for a brand new one. For example, I wanted a swing, but my son didn't like it at all till he was around 3 months and then only used it till 6 months. I wish I had bought one from someone rather than spend all that money. If you can easily clean it/wipe it down, why not?

vermont7 · February 2012

I would wait and see if you get it at your shower. Chances are you probably will would be my guess. People usually wait until the last minute to purchase gifts.

Karley0212 · February 2012

also wait for gift cards. Why pay 1/3 price for something when you can get it new for free. We received about 200 in giftcards at our shower.

GL

lcwed · February 2012

We had friends give us their vibrating bouncer and rocker swing to us. DH bought the swing for them when their first baby was born and it seems neat that we can use it. We went ahead and registered for another bouncer, because I was paranoid it would stop working and then we would have an extra one that can travel with LO to the grandmas houses. If we get it, great, if not, then we already have one. As for the pads, they all can be washed and we did it. They look very good and we have had no problems.

returnhomegnome · February 2012

Germs only live on surfaces for 48 hours. And basic washing in a washing machine is all you need to make something safe to use if there is even the slightest concern. Used is a great way to save a little $$, esp if you don't know if you kid will like or dislike something! Eg, I got a baby Bjorn carrier, but little did I know it totally kills my back and I couldn't use it! And some babies HATE swings, just FYI.

Oh, and in my experience, no one gets everything they registered for.

But wait until your last month to start buying the missing items!

GL

cdc1982 · February 2012

LCLaw3:
My due date has been moved to April 20th and my shower isnt until March 25th. So I will have about 4 weeks or so to buy things that I need...that is if I dont go past my due date. I just figured if I could save $100 now and it was worth it, why not? But then again, I'm not really sure if you can wash the cloth on the swings or if it's even worth spending my own money now, rather than a little more of it later...

I'd personally wait until after your shower. If you buy it now & then someone buys it off the reg, you have to go through returning the one you just bought (& the hassle of "do I keep the new one or the used one?" & selling the used one if you decide to keep the new). Not sure where you're located but I see swings on CL all the time.

Depending on the swing, you can probably take off the fabric to wash it. We have FP swing &, while a major pain to remove, the fabric for the seat comes off so it can be washed.

Look into the info of the seat (BRU, Amazon or the manufacturer's website) to get full details on if the fabric can be removed & washed. If you go with the swing on CL, contact the seller to find out if they have the same model & the fabric can be removed.

I'd also suggest checking to see if the model has been recalled & that's why it's for sale (sounds bad, I know, but I've seen several CL listings of items that have been recalled).

Sheeoni · February 2012

From my own experience, I say go for it! I waited to buy a lot of things until after my shower, but a lot of things we bought before hand because they had some type of ridiculous markdown in price. If I had waited, not only would I have not gotten the item I wanted, I would have had to pay full price for it. Even if you do end up getting a swing from someone else off of your registry, you can return it for store credit and buy other things from your registry instead.
I think the whole purpose of someone getting you presents is to help you out, so I didn't feel bad to return a few things that we got that were "doubles" since we just used the store credit to buy other things that were on our registry instead

You can't know for sure that someone is going to want to shell out $70-$150 bucks for a swing that you could get for a fraction of the price used.

casoldier03 · February 2012

My SIL gave us a ton of hand me downs and a swing was included. I was able to take all of the cloth items to include the mobile off and wash them. Like PP's have said your baby may not even like it. Why spend all of the mioney or waste gift cards when like you said, you can get it for 1/3 the price.

lvrunningirlie · February 2012

I got our bassinet off of Craigs List. These grandparents had bought one for their grandson and couldn't use it anymore... and it was a $100+ one that we got for about $30. I've made sure to wash it thoroughly and took my hubby with me to go look at it and pick it up (since I really don't know these people from anywhere). Worked well for me, especially for saving money on something we'll only use for a couple of months

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