As far as 2nd time stuff goes I'm always on the fence. I don't like giving my kid dirty, germy things, but I also don't like spending money. So consignment sales are a good halfway point for both my dislikes. Most of the big GA sales are jurried - so crappy broken toys and nasty soiled clothes don't make it to the sale. But most things are priced about half the original or less depending on quality and age. As far as the germs go I just lyscol the crap out of everything when I get home!!!
In heindsight I'm not sure I would have bought much with an infant, I'm less germ-a-phobic now.
I made a short list of "wants" that I thought were reasonable items to buy second hand. Then I went on amazon to find the brands that I liked and to get a current price range. Slides for example range from $50 to $200, I am not willing to spend that much yet, so a second hand slide is a good idea. Then I printed the list and brought it with me.
We arrived at opening, the first day. What a mad house! People had tied ropes to a laundry baskets and were dragging them across the floor shoving clothes and toys in left and right.
I went straight for the strollers. I found some okay ones, but not for the money and condition. So I began looking for the other items on my list. After 30 minutes or so I was done. As I said, I'm not too tolerant of 2nd hand stuff, it has to be good for me to buy it. So I didn't have much in my bag. Just a few Baby Einstein dvds for $5 each- good price. And a clean non smelly diaper pail for $4.
I found my buddy with a huuuuge armfull of girl clothes. We went to the back and **ooooh** sorted everything. They had lined the floor with paper so that peole could lay out their things. That's why the crazies were shoving everything in their baskets!! SO my buddy went onto the boy clothes, and I went back to the toys.
In the end I think I did well. Space puzzel, mickey mouse puzzel, crayola color writer, four dvds, diaper pail, and two summer outfits that still had the tags on for .... $45. The dvds were the big bucks, but everything else was $4 or less!
All in all, I'm super excited for this weeks consignment sale! Hopefully I'll find a slide!
Have you tried garage sales? You can find some amazing things that are in great condition. And great finds =) Oh and my friend found a great slide at a garage sale for $5 and it was in perfect condition.
ReplyDeleteAhhh, you don't have enough siblings. I think about 90% of the things in my house/clothes I own are hand-me-downs either from my family or from garage sales/consignment stores. I rarely buy anything new.
ReplyDeleteYou are so organized! I would have never thought to take inventory and price things before I went. And I never had much luck at the consignment sales. New clothing for kids is so inexpensive, it was hard to compete.
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