to be amazed at the price of prams

[Greavesey]

Firstly, Hi. Post Number 1. Ever. :)

Went pram shopping with DW the other week and was massively shocked at the price and complexity of these previously unknown machines. I mean I've looked online as well and its mental. DW wants the full-monty travel system with Isofix pebble cabrios etc, we're talking the best part of £800. AIBU for two things.
1 expecting prams to be cheap
2 expecting hoping DW to consider 2nd hand, ebay etc

Short and sweet.

[GwendolineMaryLacey]

YABU to expect them to be cheap! They know what suckers us parents are

YANBU to want to consider 2nd hand. As everyone buys a huge travel system, then sells it at 6 months when they buy a Maclaren there are some good deals to be had.

But the car seat, isofix base etc is worth spending the money on.

And welcome! :)

[Sirzy]

The price of some prams is daft, really no reason to pay that much though unless you really want to.

If you are paying out then I would think long term, I know lots of people who have splashed out on expensive travel systems to 6 months later be looking to buy a more practical buggy

[Fluffeh]

IMO YANBU I checked the prices of some of the more popular prams last week online and was shocked that with foot muffs and other extras the price can be £900+. Me and my DP will definitely be buying second hand from eBay or somewhere similar :).

[Marne]

£800 is mad (my car is not worth that much) , i got through a lot of prams/pushchairs when mine were tiny but the best ones were 2nd hand and cost no more than £100.

You dont need to spend a fortune, just look for something that will last from birth until the child is walking, you can always get a good deal on e-bay for almost new pushchairs.

[RubyFakeNails]

Buy it from Ebay.

Most of them have hardly any use.

Bribe her with the idea that she can get 2 maybe even 3 for the price of one on ebay.

As its her pfb I doubt she will be impressed but its honestly the best thing, although I wouldn't say 2nd hand, I would just say form ebay.

[CastielsTrenchcoat]

Hi, unfortunately it's a bit like weddings. I agree they are overpriced, but then it's better to get a good quality pram because otherwise (like many of my friends) you could end up buying another one a few months down the line, thus spending more or the same as you would have anyway. False economy and all that. Having looked at what people ask for (price) on Ebay etc, you may as well buy new for not many more £££s. Hope that helps.

[blooblies]

YANBU. Anything baby-related is a licence to print money. It's really hard with baby #1 to consider second hand, but it is definitely the best option. And then you don't feel so bad putting it on ebay when you want/need something different!

I would take Gwendoline's advice and buy the car seat new, you could look 2nd hand for an isofix base, and then consider some of the more lightweight prams which can convert to travel systems with some adapters like the baby jogger city mini, and are freely available 2nd hand.

[Greavesey]

AIBU Thread that is both helpful and insightfull.

Remember this day.

Thanks all. :)

Will try to convince her that ebay is the way forward. Although have very poor track record of getting my own way convincing her of the most sensible option.

[MamaGeekChic]

YANBU to be surprised at the price but YABU to expect her to go for 2nd hand. For my precious first born I wouldn't have considered it- I wanted the excitment of shopping for it and it being all clean and shiny and new. There is no need to spend £800 though, there are some bargains out there. We got a brand new M&P travel system inc. carry cot for less than £250.

[wannabedomesticgoddess]

YANBU.

My advice is to shop around. We are looking at the minute and we have found some retailers selling a pram at upto £250 more than lesser known internet shops.

[IneedAsockamnesty]

yanbu. travel systems that have a carseat on a frame intended for full time use with a newborn baby are apsolultly not suitable to use as marketed.they get touted as the best thing since sliced bread but if you use them for more than a couple of hours or so a day they can have a negative impact on spinal devolopment. if you read the instructions that come with them most of them will even say that only in teeny tiny writing in the bit that everybody ignores.

people buy them because they look like they do the job,sales people sell them as fantastic things that will last years and years and claim they are suitable for constant use long term. but they are not however they are fashion statements and extreamly expensive for what they are.

a tiny baby is best kept compleatly flat where ever possible this includes when out and about in a pram. obviously a car seat is essential but even most of the infant ones will say dont use for very long periods of time and will say on long journeys stop and remove child in a safe place where possible.

as others have also said you will want a more convienant less bulky pram/ buggy a few months down the line.

[FutureNannyOgg]

Get a sling/wrap. The longest, fanciest limited edition didymos woven wraps are under £200.
My second hand ringsling was £11. Problem solved.

[minipie]

YANBU but do bear in mind it's something that will get used every day and a good or crappy one makes a real difference. Think of it like a car and it's more understandable

I think there are two sensible options:

1. spend £££ on buying new the pushchair you really really want, but make sure it is one that will last you through toddler hood (many people ditch their exepnsive first pram for something lighter)
   
   
2. accept that you will switch to something lighter once the child is 1+, so buy something cheaper and/or second hand for the baby stage. FWIW I'd rather have a really good pushchair second hand than a cheapo one new.
   
   Car seats should be new for safety reasons apparently (annoyingly).

[Bluefrogs]

Sorry to disagree with all the posters so far but my travel system was definitely one of the best things we bought.I have twins so my options were somewhat reduced with regard to the different styles etc and unfortunately much more expensive than what we had originally Budgeted for a single buggy.
Yes it was expensive but worth every single penny,used every single day and only now looking to sell it,twins are nearly 3 now.
As with everything cost is relative I guess,if you can afford an expensive buggy it's your choice,as I said ours was expensive however I have only had one,friends have bought 'cheap' buggies and commented on the likely cost of mine-however they have had to buy new ones when they have broke,I know one lady who actually spent more buying various different buggies than me with my one.

[IneedAsockamnesty]

futureNannyOgg are you normally just nannyogg? if so does the adition of future mean you have concidered my offer to let you adopt me?

[OutragedAtThePriceOfFreddos]

I'm with MamaGeekChic, I wouldn't have considered 2nd hand for my first baby. Not because I think there is anything wrong with 2nd hand, I just wanted my brand new baby to be in his own brand new pram.

It's worth spending the money, if you have a good idea of how it will be used. Really think about what you are going to be doing with it and buy what will be suitable, not what looks the cutest like I did

[Sirzy]

Also when looking at travel systems look at the practicalities. I found one I loved for DS but to get it in and out of the car would have been like a military operation attaching wheels/adapters/carry cot etc and the idea of that in the snow/rain put me off.

[JollyToddler]

I have seen more than one Quinny Buzz 3 on facebook selling groups for less than £200. We got ours second hand for £150, with lots of bits including the carrycot.

So you can get deals :)

[jkklpu]

Think carefully about how you plan to get about with your baby before you decide what fits with your lifestyle.

• If you drive everywhere and are unlikely to go for long walks straight from the car, just get a Britax car-seat from Halfords; you don't need a car-seat as part of a huge buggy travel system;
  

• you do not need a foot muff;
  

• definitely get a sling. It's indispensable if you like walking and do lots of shopping on foot and/or use public transport a lot, as well as being useful in the house in the very early period. Again, if you use public transport, you need a buggy that you can fold/unfold with one hand while holding a baby, just in case there's no space on the bus/train. The person who will be doing most of the walking/travelling around needs to be confident of all this, so don't be pushed into a choice you don't want;
  

• your buggy needs to fit in your car boot, if you have a car.
  

Oh, and if you think you might have more kids, think a little about whether, in an ideal world, you'd have a small age gap. It's even more ridiculous to spend loads on a brand-new travel system if you think you might end up spending loads more on a double pram in a couple of years' time.

[fedupofnamechanging]

I wouldn't have bought a 2nd hand pram for any of my babies and I don't fancy your chances of talking your dw into it, if she's set her heart on a new one.

That said, you don't have to spend £800. I don't think you need a separate carrycot, so long as your pram lays flat. I wouldn't necessarily buy the car seat which goes with your chosen pram - I'd get the lightest one possible because when you are carrying a 7 month old baby in it, it will weigh a ton!

I had a baby jogger city mini for my last baby and it was fantastic (and not £800). I recommend that you look for something that will fit in your car, is easy to fold, allows you to see the baby and has a decent hood and shopping basket. Oh, and something which is not too heavy - that will get on your nerves really quickly.

Let your wife enjoy her shopping though - choosing the pram is a nice experience and if she does blow the best part of a grand on it, try not to mind - we've all blown money on stuff we didn't strictly speaking 'need'. Such is life.

[bemybebe]

buy an uppababy vista. great system and includes pretty much everything in the basic package at a price under 600gbp. i bought ours at 415 ex-demo from an exhibition stand

[MichaelFinnegansWhiskers]

Lots of good advice here. Would echo that everyone I know who got an expensive/enormous travel system only really used it the first few months and then got a maclaren style pushchair. One friend hardly used her big pram thing at all; it just didn't suit her lifestyle, e.g. was a massive pita on public transport, and not very easy to get in the car, either.

Like karma, I got a babyjogger citymini - and I think I'm the only person I know with just one buggy although I do have three slings.

[MichaelFinnegansWhiskers]

Oops, didn't answer. Meant to say 1, yanbu, they are ridiculously expensive, 2, Nbu to hope, but probably bu to hope, from the sounds of things!

[wannabedomesticgoddess]

Can I hijack for a moment here...you are all so knowledgable!!

Max budget is £300. We need a carseat and a lie flat which turns into a pushchair. But we arent fussed that the carseat is compatible with the pram because I like the baby to be lying flat as much as possible.

Any ideas? So far I think its going to work out cheaper to just buy a travel system.

[twittergirl]

Buy one of the Maclaren buggies that are suitable from birth. They cost about £300 and can be used until your child is old enough not to need a buggy anymore. Problem solved!