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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to buy clothes and presents for the kids from eBay instead of new??

60 replies

CocktailQueen · 16/10/2011 19:52

Over the last couple of years I have become an eBay queen and use it A LOT for purchases - lots of kids clothes and pressies, as you can save so much, and it's ecologically friendly too. But - we're not badly off and I don't actually HAVE to buy second hand - so AIBU?? Do you do the same? Or hate the idea? I'd much rather buy a party dress, say, for £5 than £20! My dd won't get much wear out of it, so why spend a fortune; and it's not likely to hae been worn much already. What do you think??

OP posts:
FabbyChic · 16/10/2011 19:53

Id never buy my kids clothes from eBay, always buy mine from there though and anything I need, my kids deserve new.

duvetdayplease · 16/10/2011 19:54

YANBU, most of the toys we get the kids are 2ndhand and it means we have more money for other things. They don't notice so what does it matter?

Feminine · 16/10/2011 19:54

I think its a bloody good idea.

I do it too , although we are in the church mouse category!

Great way to satisfy my shabby chic tastes.

So... YANBU Wink

BarbarianMum · 16/10/2011 19:55

I think YANBU. I buy from Ebay, Togswap sales and get given things from family and friends. I hate waste.

picnicbasketcase · 16/10/2011 19:55

YAabsolutelyNBU. It makes a lot of sense. A lot of my DC's clothes come from eBay, almost all of the Wii games and DVDs we have are from eBay or Amazon marketplace. Why buy brand new when you can get perfectly good stuff for way less money?

picnicbasketcase · 16/10/2011 19:56

I don't see what 'deserves' has to do with it Fabby, second hand doesn't necessarily mean worse.

BarbarianMum · 16/10/2011 19:59
trixymalixy · 16/10/2011 19:59

I buy tons of stuff from eBay. We have decent money coming in, but you can get such good bargains on eBay I resent paying for new stuff. Some of the stuff is brand new and clothes for babies especially are hardly worn.

troisgarcons · 16/10/2011 19:59

You'll find traders on ebay that sell new at a fraction of retail price.

Fabby - you are an awful snob at times.

SilveryMoon · 16/10/2011 20:03

YANBU.
Like you say, why pay £20 if you can get it for £5. Is just silly.
All my ds's clothes are hand-me-downs from a friend of mine. Her ds is 1 size bigger than my ds1 who is 1 size bigger than ds2, so works out well. I haven't bought my ds's clothes for 2 years!
This year for christmas, I'm looking on ebay etc too. Infact, I've even gone one better, my ds's love their wooden train track. A friend of mine also has 2 ds's but they never play with theirs, so she is giving me their track pieces and I am goingto split them into shoe boxes and give them to my boys for christmas.
She gets rid of unwanted clutter, and I get a gift for ds's. Everyone's happy.

DorisIsTheDarkDestroyer · 16/10/2011 20:09

YANBU DC's may get a few new items from FC (DD is getting to the age where she can start to question) but stuff from us (FC can only do a small number of items as he has to deliver all over the world!) is recycled.

I went to a car boot sale today and bought a 'my little pony' plastic tat icream van with pony and icecreams in fab condition for £2 there is NO WAY I would pay full price for stuff like that, it's just not worth it, but for £2 one of the dd's will be happy!

Red2011 · 16/10/2011 20:09

YANBU - I buy a lot of secondhand stuff - not just for bubs but for me and DH too; charity shops or ebay. I don't see the point of spending ridiculous amounts of money on things that are not going to be kept forever. I have also been given a lot of hand-me-downs from friends and family. Once things have been outgrown, off they go to the charity shops again, and someone else can benefit.

Now if only could sort out all the junk around the house and send most of that off to the charity shop too!

pinkytheshrunkenhead · 16/10/2011 20:09

I think the whole thing about paying through the nose for stuff and shunning second hand is very working class actually.....Grin

I have plenty of money but I think it is a good thing to recycle stuff, buy second hand especially for children, toys too, it just makes sense. I think also it is good economy because I will buy better quality clothes and they hand down much more often.

I bought two lovely push bikes for my dds and took them to our place in France for the Summer, they honestly had the best time flying around on them and only cost £20 a piece! Means the bikes can stay there and have occasional use because of their price. They were absolutely chuffed to bits with them and couldn't have been any happier if I had spent £100 each on them.

TastyMuffins · 16/10/2011 20:12

Definitely not unreasonable. I buy my DS's clothes on eBay, much easier than going to the shops, fantastic shirts, hardly worn for less than the cost of a cheap t-shirt! Can't go wrong. DS also loves to join me in the eBay clothes shopping.

A brown cardboard box of second hand lego was a great eBay Christmas present too.

MamaPizza · 16/10/2011 20:18

One of DS's main presents will be 'my first scalextric'. Got it on ebay for £3, local pick-up. It is in original box and as new, full working order mummy and daddy already played with it Blush. It would cost £30 - £40 new, so why spend the extra money? He won't know any different.

Arachnophobic · 16/10/2011 20:24

Funny how you change. With DS PFB I said no way to ebay (no rhyme intended).

I had more money and less sense then.

DD has a second hand Pooh bear cot toy thingy and a second hand baby carrier both from eBay, and I now love the fact I have a bargain.

OP YANBU.

NoOnesGoingToEatYourEyes · 16/10/2011 20:32

YANBU.

There's nothing wrong with second hand and you can get some bargains that have hardly been used or worn, they look new. And you can find brand new items for much less than in the shops.

It's also a great way to get something a bit different if you have a child who likes to be a bit individual and stand out from the crowd.

I got my son a jacket once, I doubt it had been ever been worn and the seller said it was a gift with no tags that didn't fit. My son got a massive amount of attention whenever he wore it, the mothers at playgroup were falling over themselves to find out where it came from.

skybluepearl · 16/10/2011 21:57

I love a bargin too and why not?

A1980 · 16/10/2011 22:08

As long as you are not buying shoes off ebay then YANBU.

Shoes mould themselves to the wearer and so children need new shoes. YANBU re clothes, children often wear hand me downs from siblings anyway.

lockets · 16/10/2011 22:12

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Dexifehatz · 16/10/2011 22:22

All my kids have clothes from charity shops or from friends.No problem.Same with the bulk of Christmas presents.Ds and DD2 played with their stocking filler plastic tat from Poundland more than their 'big presents'-I let the grandparents buy those!!

mummytotwoboys · 16/10/2011 23:44

Ebay definately the way to go. I get clothes for mine that I could never afford new. I am the one who "deserves" new clothes not some snotty kids who will Puke, pee, stain and generally wreck anything nice you buy them Grin Have bought them all at least one present for xmas from ebay already!! As new but you dont have to build it / spend 30 mins getting it out of the box. Ebay is brilliant!!!

ninedragons · 17/10/2011 04:16

DC don't own anything new at all, aside from a few gifts from other people. I could easily afford it but prefer secondhand for environmental and general tightness reasons. I have been picking up new-looking bits at charity shops for months on behalf of FC, and am actually completely sorted for Christmas now (go ahead, hate me Grin)

Every time I get them something secondhand, I chuck a couple of dollars in their piggy banks. I fully expect this to pay for deposits on their first flats.

MrsDreadfullyMorbidMausoleum · 17/10/2011 04:27

My kids love get toys from ebay! It means that they get the toys they want need desperately this week without making us so bankrupt they get nothing from Christmas.

I bought their pram, their playhouse, their huge climbing frame, trampoline, lots of outdoor toys from there.

Sadly Aussie Ebay is not in the same league. Sad

snailoon · 17/10/2011 06:34

There was a family in the news last year who had decided not to buy anything new (except kid's shoes) for a year. The idea really appealed to me.