Womb to Bloom - Maternity & Beyond

Over the years, various people offered me hand-me-down baby and kid clothes as well as baby gear. Often, they offer in an almost apologetic tone – as if they don’t want to offend me with their generosity. I have almost always enthusiastically taken them up on their offer. Free baby clothes? Are you kidding? Bring it on!

Hand-me-downs are a fantastic way to save money. Free ones, of course, save you the most money. These are usually from relatives and friends. Sometimes they arrive with a request that they be returned after they are outgrown. Often they arrive with the request that they never, ever be returned again – “please donate them to charity after you’re finished with them.”

Increasingly popular though is the idea of hand-me-downs from strangers – via consignment shops, seasonal consignment sales and eBay. Babies and children grow so fast, they often don’t have time to wear a garment out before it doesn’t fit. The clothing is still like new or, at least, in very good condition (sellers call this “gently used”). There is even more money to be saved when buying baby gear like cribs, pack & plays, bouncy seats and strollers on consignment. Call it recycling on a whole new level. It can save new moms a lot of money!

Consignment Shops and Sales

Consignment shops have been around for a long time. Most decent sized cities or towns have at least one or two small shops. I find that they are hit or miss as far as quality of items but, from time to time, you can score a really good deal, especially on special occasion clothing or baby gear.

Consignment sales, which are periodic events as opposed to actual stores, are becoming more and more popular. Some sales are run by for-profit businesses like Just Between Friends (a franchise business which organizes sales in various cities across the country). Others are sponsored by not-for-profit groups like churches and mothers of multiples organizations.  These sales are often fairly large and operate seasonally at convention centers, community centers and churches. They feature many sellers, a wide variety of garments and lots of different types of baby gear.

Spring and fall (usually March/April and September) are consignment sale seasons. Check for newspaper listings and on websites of sale-sponsoring organizations for dates and locations. Sometimes sale volunteers or repeat customers are offered “preview” shopping the night before a sale opens to the public. Most sales are fairly particular about what they will sell – no one wants to be known as the sale that sells dirty, worn out items. You can expect to pay half to a quarter of the original retail price, depending on the item. That’s a fantastic savings for Gymboree, Janie and Jack, Ralph Lauren and Gap clothes in good condition! Popular styles and labels for a great price.
And, if you’ve shopped lately for strollers, cribs and changing tables, you know how expensive that can be. I picked up a “gently used” crib before my twins were born for $100 at a mothers of multiples sale – and it almost perfectly matches the one I bought for my older kids for $600. (One note on gear like cribs: make sure that it hasn’t been recalled before you buy it. If you know you’re on the hunt for baby gear, print out a recall list to take with you to the sales.)

If you’re going to try some consignment sales, take a few tips from me:

• Leave your other kids if you have any (or at least your strollers) at home. Sales are often crowded – some even prohibit strollers.
• Go early. There is often a mad dash for good baby gear and large toys like playhouses especially.
• Take plenty of cash. Lots of sales do not accept credit cards.
• Take a shopping bag or empty plastic bin to carry your chosen items in.

EBay

If you have some patience, some computer search skills and some trust in humanity, you can find some really good deals on eBay as well. I find eBay to be less helpful for baby gear than consignment sales – largely because you end up having to pay quite a bit for shipping larger items. (You do have the option of searching for locally listed items for pick-up but, in smaller cities and towns, good listings are few and far between.) Clothing, however, is a different story.

There are two kinds of children’s clothing sellers on eBay: those who are emptying their own kids’ closets and those who buy up brand new, clearance rack clothing at popular stores and resell them the next season. So, you’ll find both “gently used” and “new with tags” (NWT) items. Even the NWT items are usually priced less than original retail – so you’re still likely to find a good deal. For example, I bought my son two pairs of NWT pants last fall on eBay – one Ralph Lauren and one Talbots Kids. I paid about $13 for each pair, with shipping. That was a substantial savings off the retail prices. I did have to exercise some patience and restraint as several pairs I liked went for a higher price than I was willing to pay. EBay buyers are notorious for getting “caught up” in bidding wars – often getting so excited about the auction process that they end up paying more than original retail in order to “win.”

I also recently bought a “lot” (multiple items in one auction offering) of Gymboree clothing for my daughter on eBay – 27 pieces for $120. Most of this was used – but I thought about the fact that spring and summer clothes (for my kids, at least) are largely play clothes. They’re unlikely to be in perfect shape at the end of the summer anyway – so I wasn’t too concerned that some of the shorts had a little bit of “dryer wear.”

Special occasion items and Halloween costumes are also usually good buys on eBay. Dresses, especially very dressy ones, are so often worn only once or twice – as are Halloween costumes. If you start looking early enough (i.e. don’t start bidding on Halloween costumes in October or on Christmas dresses after Thanksgiving), you’re bound to find some savings. I bought a navy blue wool Rothschild dress coat for my daughter last year for $60 – original retail on these coats ranges from $100 to $300. I think it had probably been worn five times by its previous owner. What a deal!

In our current economy and “recycling” environment, more and more parents are realizing the savings to be found in secondhand purchases. Any negative thoughts people previously had about buying used items are quickly fading away. More likely than not, you’ll find that people are increasing proud of the bargains they find (and jealous of those they missed!). As new parents, you’re already spending a lot of money to get ready for your new little addition – why not check out these options and start that college fund early with all of your savings?!