Buying second hand

I actually prefer to buy second hand because I don't trust the fabrics they use in the production of brand new clothing. I can smell the chemicals in them and the dye that comes out after the first time of washing sends shivers down my spine. I can't imagine ever putting my baby or young child at risk with that. I even know of people who got very ill after buying new clothes from certain discount places and putting them on the same day without running them through the washing machine.
I love going to opportunity shops where they have good quality pre-loved clothes. I am often amazed what treasures I find there. My wardrobe consists of almost 80% second hand clothes, most of which have rarely been worn before I acquired them.

 

I actually prefer buying second hand as well. I can't seem to justify spending so much extra money on clothing that I get just as much use out of buying it from a thrift store. Especially when my children grow so fast that they out grow most of their clothes in 6 months or less. I always wash the clothes well before we use them anyway, although I do draw the line at buying second hand underwear. As for children's toys, I have no problem buying those second hand either. I make sure the ones I buy are in good shape and I give them a good wash with cleaner before I give them to my children. They will have just as much fun with the toy whether I buy it for $50 or $10 off of a yard sale site.

 

It depends on what I'm buying second hand, I am a bit more iffy on buying second hand clothes than I am toys or something simple. On the whole I like the concept of buying second hand, and after a quick cleaning everything will work fine, it just depends on the situation.

 

My children are grown with their own children, I have purchased second items for years without any problems. Often when I need something special and have a hard time finding it in a store I will find it at the second hand store. When children are young they grow so fast it seems more reasonable to use your money for other things they need. All items are washed before worn.

 

I have seen some expensive designer baby clothes and crib bedding at my local Goodwill.
If this Goodwill had existed when my daughter was a baby, I would have happily bought her stuff there.
Kids outgrow clothes so quickly that it's not practical to buy all new things.

 

I do prefer to buy secondhand and did so when my daughter was younger. Clothing and toys were the two things I bought. As long as I could wash it (clothes) and disinfect it (toys), I was okay with buying secondhand. I do buy a lot of secondhand clothing for myself so it wasn't new to me when I had my daughter. As they grow so fast, it makes more sense to buy used and also, I find there is a lot more selection at thrift stores.

 

I would only buy secondhand toys intended for older children, and have been properly cleaned and sterilised. (Avoid soft toys since it is hard to disinfect them completely)

If done right you can save a lot of money, especially with regards to toys like Lego bricks. You can buy them secondhand by the pound, pre-washed and disinfected for much cheaper than buying directly from the toy store.

 

There were times where I really didn't have much choice. Still, I didn't have a problem with it anyway. As others have said, as long as something can be thoroughly cleaned, I don't take issue. You also sometimes find brand new or close to new things.

One of my daughters would not have been able to go to the junior prom if I had not bought second hand. She was asked at the last minute, and I had to work hard to pull it off. I bought her a beautiful dress that had probably only been worn once for only $10.00. It was good quality, great style, in great condition. How can you beat that? I was then able to buy her new shoes, and she borrowed my beaded bag. For under 50 bucks, she was off to the prom looking gorgeous.

The school here has a prom dress exchange, which is cool, but the school my oldest daughter was going to at the time did not.

 

Well, I am a big advocate of thrift stores and yard sales, so needless to say I don't mind second hand at all. I especially don't mind buying second hand clothes. In fact, this is something that I would recommend with a baby, why because kids grow rapidly in the first years of their lives. They tend to outgrow clothes quite quickly. Second hand clothes would mean saving on the clothes the kid is wearing. So, what if its second hand, if the item still looks in good shape, if its brought home and washed well before putting on the kid who would know it wasn't brand new. As for toys I have to admit I am a bit more aprehensive here, if its a stuff animal, again can go in the washing machine. A doll or a chew toy would have to be properly sterilized before giving to a child and even then you can't be too certain that it is completely sterilized, so these I don't think I would buy for a child in a second hand store.

 

I definitely would not buy a chew toy second hand. Big toys I did. I've found some of those fairly pricey play sets before, and cleaned them up like new. I also did buy car seats and high chairs and other large, expensive items that could be cleaned properly. You can save a ton of money and get a lot more for your child than if you were paying the regular prices. Always check for any recalls before buying a car seat and such though.

 

It is perfectly fine to buy second hand toys, clothing, and some other things, like walker, swing. All you have to do is putting in some elbow grease to disinfect everything and got them to the point where you think they are safe for your children to use. To me, they are the same thing as when you got hand me down stuffs from relatives.

 

We definitely buy second hand, for most things - clothing, toys, etc. But I'm actually the opposite of OP, in that our bigger ticket items were all purchased brand new.

I see things like car seats, cribs, mattresses, etc. as health and safety items that should not be purchased used. We have passed them down from one child to the next, but only because we have owned them from the beginning and know their "history" if you will.

 

Yeah, never had a problem with second-hand. A lot of my clothing growing up was second hand, and never had a problem with it. Hell, I still remember how much I loved my Dark Knight Returns hoodie that I got second hand when I was like 4 years old at my old preschool yard sale.

 

When I was a kid I got mostly new items as toys, since I have a brother and he had his own toys as well. I think any item is ok to buy 2nd hand as long as it's not too personal like underwear.

 

You really think that it is the same thing as getting hand me downs from relatives? I mean, in a way I could see how you'd come to that conclusion. But still, there is something in my brain that tells me that no, it is not okay to purchase second hand toys for the children in my household. Relatives are one thing, but strangers are another, in my opinion.

 

It depends on the relatives. I've had some distant ones that didn't take care of things. I would not want their stuff for my kids.

I think you can also tell by the condition of something. If the toy looks clean and undamaged, you can sanitize it and use it. Of course, if it's beat up, filthy, or smells bad, you just don't buy it.

It seems like a lot of people have an image of dirty garbage in their heads when talking about second hand stuff. Most people that I know only buy the nicest "gently used" stuff that's still in nice condition. Then they take it home and clean it themselves anyway, even if it looks really clean.

 

I haven't thought of this yet. Although if we're talking about me then I'd probably say yes. However, we're talking about kids with weaker immune system. As we're all aware, merchants who sell second hand toys and clothes don't really bother about hygiene so long as people buy their offerings. Just to be on the safe side, I'd rather buy my kids brand new toys. If I'm on a budget, then I'll just go to discount stores or look out for mall-wide sales.