CPW: How do you feel about second-hand baby items?

2redtulips · June 2014

MoreThanSparrows08 · June 2014

I'm good with just about anything second-hand, but if someone wants to gift me something brand new, I'm cool with that, too!

carlsonbaby2014 · June 2014

I thought I'd be all about second hand but I find with some things I'm really struggling with being okay with it: car seat, cloth diapers, stroller, etc. Those things I'll hope to get brand new but clothes, carriers, rockers and such I'll be looking for second hand.

voplo · June 2014

I started all new. New crib, bassinet, swing etc. I spent sooo much money! Then I discovered this shop called "Once upon a child" that is second hand everything. To be honest, 70% of the clothes I got from the baby shower for my son have still the tag on them. He grew so fast in the first 18 months that I couldn't barely use most of it. So when I ran out of clothes I went to this shop, just because the clothes here in Canada are extremely expensive and at most he is going to wear them for 1 to 3 months and it was awesome. I got a lot of things that had the original tag on it, Levis, Gap, Children's place, Gymboree... all new! I keep shopping in there and it is saving me a lot of money. If this baby is a GIRL, I will take all my very boyish clothes and sell them, and then go crazy in the girls section.

The best part, you can find all kind of clothes brands in the same shop and get just the best.

At the moment since my son is growing at slower pace, I just buy him new clothes. I notice as the sizes go up the clothes start to look more "used" and I just buy them on regular stores while on sale.

For smaller babies, is a joy to buy in the second hand shop! Most of the items are unused and they have tons and tons.

classicstar28 · June 2014

I'm fine with second hand clothes, actually. 99% of my maternity clothes are second-hand and so are a bunch of my regular clothes. Games and things are ok too. But I really want new furniture and gear. I've looked at second-hand things like swings and pack n' plays, but they just look beat up to me. Since we are being gifted most of our big purchase items (nursery furniture, travel system), we can use some of our money to get some nice new things. Otherwise, I think I'd just have to hunt until I found stuff that looks as close to new as possible.

[Deleted User] · June 2014

I'm kind of the opposite of one of your poll choices. I'm totally cool with secondhand clothing, but I want new baby gear stuff like stroller, swing, etc. Probably will get a secondhand crib, though!

2redtulips · June 2014

I have been all about scoring second-hand gear, because it has saved us so much money. So far, we have picked up the following items from neighbors, friends or even off of an online garage sale site:
swing (in great shape!), jogging stroller, umbrella stroller, changing table, baby bathtub, Boppy, shopping cart cover and some clothes. We'll get a comfy chair for the nursery off Craigslist as well.

We bought the crib and car seat new, and I feel good about that. I also really hope to get at least some new baby clothes, toys and books.

@voplo - We have a Once Upon a Child here, too, and I know I will get a lot of baby clothes there. When they grow so fast, it's totally worth it to buy some gently used things. Our neighbor has two little boys, as well, so I am sure I will continue to get some things from her.

@classicstar28 - Most of my maternity clothes are from a consignment shop as well, and those are my favorite items. I bought a few new things online and I was not very happy with them.

rox825 · June 2014

We're getting new "big" items like crib, car seat, stroller, and PnP (where baby will sleep at first), but anything that I can wash I'm good with buying secondhand. I can't wait to go to the big baby thrift sale that we have here in July to look for clothes, toys, maybe a playmat, etc. We don't have any hand-me-downs from friends or family and this is our first so we literally need everything and there's no way that we're going to get 1/2 of what we need at showers, I'm looking forward to hopefully scoring some bargains!

slensic · June 2014

I am good with just about anything second hand, except carseat, crib and mattress. After about 6 months just about all of DD's clothes are hand me downs and all of the clothes for this guy except maybe 5 things are hand me downs. They outgrow stuff so fast things are mostly still in almost new condition. For DD all of the gear was brand new but this time around I bought a rock n play and a swing on craigslist. With DD everything was small and low to the ground and I found it to be a major problem after my c-section so this time I wanted a full size swing and a rock n play, both look brand new and I just washed the covers.

rmpar29 · June 2014

I started off wanting everything new, but pretty soon I realize how unrealistic that was for our budget and started buying used clothes. I won't buy used car seats, cribs, strollers, bottles or undies (because ewww...) but pretty much everything else is far game.

Mom2anAngel2 · June 2014

I LOVE consignment stores. I frequent 4 different ones in a regular basis. One of them is great for high end clothing and gear. They have an annual Mini-Boden event which has great stuff. My sister has 3 girls and they wear Janie and Jack dresses for every holiday. She has never paid more than $10 for a dress and they look brand new. I can honestly say that DS only wears brand name cloths, however, only a handful are actually purchased new.

I think the only thing that I would not want second hand would be a car seat.

Unknown · June 2014

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LifeofCat · June 2014

Most of my closest friends have had babies in the past year, which means I'm getting soooooooooo much stuff

I have no problem taking in stuff from friends and other loved ones. Getting two swings and playmats means I can bring one to my dad's and leave it there instead of having to pack it.

So far, all that has been new is the crib, as well as some clothes (baby and maternity) and other baby accessories to come. I'm not really stuck on a particular thing being new, as long as it's safe and was well taken care of.

MrsHamon09 · June 2014

I am okay with some second hand but not a stroller, car seat, or crib just makes me nervous

KJsbabe · June 2014

It really depends on what it is, who it's coming from, and what condition it's in. MIL kept trying to give us the crib that DH slept in as a baby... Heck no!! We bought our crib and mattress brand new. Car seat, also brand new. I would never trust a used one. But, 90% of DD's clothes I've gotten at yard sales. I also found a pack and play at a yard sale, barely used. We got a lot of new things at our shower, so we have a mix of new and used.