Is anyone buying "pre loved" things for baby?

[JessiHD]

Only new stuff I'm getting new is a mattress, car seat and pushchair which are being bought by excited grandparents. Have bought/ been given cot (was my hubby's which I think it's lovely), rocking crib, clothes, moses basket, boucy chair, baby gym, baby bath, high chair, sheets and blankets. I may buy a few more things new and will probably be given some new things home but the bulk of my stuff will be preowned. I think it is a bit wasteful to spend money unnecessarily on new things for baby, when the preloved stuff is just as good. I want to have money saved for his future life, if he wants to go to Uni or buy a house or something, I think the many hundreds of pounds I would have spent on new stuff is far better to go into a trust fund for him.
Can you tell I married the son of a Scottish economist?!

 

[sabriena]

We're getting a lot of our stuff second hand. Most of all the clothes I got at garage sales and from my sister who had a baby a year ago. We are getting the crib, mattress, and travel system brand new though. I see nothing wrong with second hand stuff I love it!

 

[bobbybrewster]

All our stuff so far is secondhand - pram, moses basket, clothes (bar a few special brand new outfits), changing station, carrycot, mobile and playmat. We've saved ourselves a FORTUNE! We got our Phil & Teds Sport carrycot off ebay for less than 50% of the shop price and it arrived boxed up, brand new. I've been buying a lot of stuff off ebay - i'm addicted! There's nothing wrong at all with buying pre-loved - saves money, helps us do our bit for the environment and has meant for me that I can buy the pram i wanted without having to compromise on any other things i need. Go for it!

 

[Seity]

I was just given a used carry harness and bottle warmer from a coworker. I don't even think they used the bottle warmer. I'm trying to get as much as I can from other people.

 

[lamplighter]

Honestly I'm a little disgusted by the consumerist attitude that 'new is better'. I absolutely LOVE used/vintage things in general. I shop at thrift stores and garage sales for my own clothes , housewares, furniture, not only because of the tons & tons of money this saves, but because I genuinely think the aesthetic is fantastic if you look hard enough. Your things are more unique, they have a richness of history to them, etc. I have been going to thrift stores religiously since finding out the gender (I'm having a little boy), and I'm finding such awesome vintage baby clothes. So far his wardrobe is WAY more lovely than it would be if I was buying brand new and we're saving a boatload of money. I'm sure I'll find a few special items new that I can't resist but I'll have enough money to splurge on something special since I've saved so much in the meantime.

 

[rwhite]

What a bunch of sensible ladies Nothing at all wrong with buying pre loved things for your baby I'm a proud advocate for it!

We're lucky in the sense that OH's mum is friends with a lady who has had three girls and twins boys (the twins were a bit of a shock for them after deciding on just one more! ) and so she has been extremely helpful and has given us loads of great things for baby. She's given us plenty of clothing, some blankets, a gym to put on the floor for him, an exersaucer...so much! And she doesn't even want anything for it. Needless to say, she's on the Christmas pressie list!!

The same lady has also directed us to her friend who was selling her Phil and Ted's pram for a steal - we got it for $500 less than it would have been new, and it's in great condition. And she also sold us her highchair for about $50 and it looks to be worth about $250-$300. So we've saved heaps.

That, and I've been looking a lot on our equivalent of eBay... Gotta love cheap bits and pieces!

I have bought a few new clothes, but OH grumbles at me if I do But for the most part, I figure they grow out of them at a fast enough rate that it's probably sensible just to have a few.

Oh! And I also got an electric breast pump that had only been used once for $30, worth about a hundred more than that.

As for my crib and portacot, my sister has three boys already so she's given me her's.

I think we may have a bit of a baby-things overload but isn't it lovely to be sorted?

 

[nightkd]

I've already started buying stuff second hand What's the point in spending the extra money when you can get something in a perfectly good condition for a fraction of the price it would be new?

If your friends make any comments about how you should be buying stuff new, ask them if they'll pay the difference in price then!!

xxx

 

[Nicnac]

I'm another pre-loved lover!!! The only new stuff we've bought/been bought is the mattresses for cot & moses basket. We inherited alot from my sister, and my Ma has turned into a ebay-a-holic and so far has a travel system (to keep at hers) for £12, a vibrating singing bouncy chair for £5, a rocking chair for £25....the list goes on.

I think it's prefectly normal not to have to buy all this stuff brand new. In the older days everyone used to just pass everything on to family and friends who had the next baby. When my Ma had my sister and I the only "new" thing they bought was a silvercross pram...and even then it had cost 2/3 of my Dads monthly wage!!

The babies are in this stuff for such a short time, surely we'll all be passing stuff on when we're done?

Go for it, I say

 

[1st_timer]

I have bought all the expensive items second hand...my bugaboo, the moses basket and stand, the cotbed, a bouncer chair, some clothes...all off ebay.

Honestly, babies grow so fast I don't see the point of spending double the amount to have something thatsw maybe 6 months newer...xxx

 

[Rozie_1985]

I love pre-loved. My baby is going to be the best dressed baby in town after my love for designer clothes at a fraction of the price!! OH is amazed i would buy second hand. He said he was not expecting me to be the way i am. I am not proud and because of how i am saving money baby will have far more than what he would have if we were buying new! Keep saving ladies xxx