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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Mad about secondhand comforter market

18 replies

oneplustwinslah · 15/10/2014 16:47

I am trying to find this Tesco rabbit comforter which is no longer being sold as my twins have really taken to them and need some spares. Ebay has a few of them but they are going for between £10-19 before postage!
I have tried asking on a local facebook group with no luck. Should I just pay the amounts being asked on ebay and be done with it??

OP posts:

OverAndAbove · 15/10/2014 16:49

How old are your twins? I found with mine that they never really take to a spare in the same way as the original, after a while, so it may not be worth it

HearMyRoar · 15/10/2014 16:54

My dd (2.5 years) saw straight through the replacement comforter ruse. When dh produced the new one, complete with story of magic cleaning to explain newness, after dd lost hers she took one look at it and informed us that it wasn't her beloved toy Ruby, it must be Ruby's twin.

It is now referred to as Ruby's Little Twin at all times and has rather fallen out of favour.

EndoplasmicReticulum · 15/10/2014 17:16

It's odd, isn't it? I think some people are buying up supplies and making a profit out of it.

I managed to find a replacement on ebay that wasn't too expensive as it was a less popular model. It wasn't the same as the original though. Thankfully the original has not been lost, but it's in seriously bad condition after nearly 10 years.

(the fact that my son still has it at the age of nine-and-a-half might be a thread for another day!)

ithoughtofitfirst · 15/10/2014 17:35

Oh God ds's comforter is well shaming compared to that lovely thing.

RandomMess · 15/10/2014 17:37

Having spares only works if you use them in strict rotation IME.

I learn by dc4 to buy suitable from birth, machine washable , inexpensive cuddly as a comforter!!!

MizLizLemon · 15/10/2014 17:41

DD is now nearly 7, fortunately we bought two of her comfort toys and have rotated them so the wear and tear is much the same. Out of curiosity I had a look an ebay to see if you could still get them and they had some, going for £50-£60 pounds each!!!

Boltsum · 15/10/2014 17:43

Don't bother, spares don't work. They are not the same and my kids would spot it straight off.

We have the rule that the special comfort toys they each have do not leave the house, ever. I don't care if there are a few tears the first few times they want to take them. In the long run it's far better, and less tears, if they never have the chance to get lost

farewellfigure · 15/10/2014 17:48

We had 3 spares. We told DS that as he sucked the arms until they were grey and smelled of camembert, his comforter HAD to in the wash, so he HAD to have a clean one. It didn't go well but he soon got used to it. All 4 of them now have either no arms, or 1 very tatty and threadbare arm. He's 6 and still hasn't quite given it up. He has it for bed and for if he's hurt himself. As soon as his grown-up teeth come through, I'm afraid we're going to have to put them all in the bin. I CAN'T BEAR IT.

I hope you find a replacement. I'd say £19 is nothing compared with what would happen if you lost it!

UniS · 15/10/2014 20:00

It all depends.... DS lost a cuddly on holiday tgrvother year. No longer in the shops but we found a replacement online for less than the original cost.

Original poster

oneplustwinslah · 16/10/2014 11:12

They were only £4 brand new!! ugh so annoying... these ones are constantly in the wash as they insist of having them at meal times. They also swap them with each other, so getting brand new ones wouldnt put them off (i dont think)....

OP posts:

PetiteRaleuse · 16/10/2014 11:30

I had this problem a few weeks ago when LO lost her comforter. The only place I could find it on line it was selling for hundreds! I phoned the company that made them and they were well out of stock.

I really regret not getting several back in the day, but how was I supposed to know which of the many cuddly toys and comforters she was given when she was born she would get attached to?

parallax80 · 16/10/2014 11:34

Bolts we have this rule too, but I discovered yesterday that this doesn't necessarily prevent tears. I looked up and saw a startled looking toddler being hotly pursued across playgroup by DS1 who had burst into floods of tears by the time I caught up with them (baby latched on at the same time). It transpired that toddler had been allowed to bring his comforter out with him, and unhappily it was the same as DS1's belovéd. #existentialangst

NewEraNewMindset · 16/10/2014 11:35

We have a 'special blanket' can't get a replacement that matches but did find the same blanket from Primark with a star design on it. So bought that as the exact blanket was not even showing on eBay, and I was quite prepared to pay over the odds for it.

So now my son has 'original blanket' and 'imposter blanket'. When original is in the wash he will accept imposter. If he has both at the same time he will dump imposter blanket on the floor every time without fail.

It amuses DP and I

SaucyJack · 16/10/2014 11:38

Some bright spark company makes comforters in an identical two pack. They have them in TK Maxx.

BoomBoomsCousin · 16/10/2014 11:40

As soon as we noticed what ours were using for comforters we got in several spares and started swapping them on a regular basis so they all got equally grotty worn in. Worked fine.

OP I have no idea where you could get another one from, sorry. But though comforters can make for easy settling, and it's much nicer if they have them, kids do manage without them if they get lost etc. Its a temporary (and painfull) blip, but if they still need an object like that they'll find something else to use and if they don't they'll get over it. I think the hard part is when it becomes a smelly, tatty rag that you just want to throw in the bin but they won't let you. Is it worth the money to buy these to avoid that? An alternative might be to "lose" these ones for a few weeks and see if they'll take to something newer and cheaper instead.

Lilicat1013 · 16/10/2014 11:55

My older son got attached to two pillow cases (he has them on a pillow one at a time). Unfortunately I got these pillow cases as part of a bedding set second hand on eBay as we were on a tight budget. So they already long since unavailable by the time I brought them.

It is lucky we have the two so it is always one on and one in the wash. A disaster when he is ill though as he tends to be sick all over his pillow.

Against the odds I managed to find a spare of one of the pillow cases (one is a check pattern and one is a Buzz Light Year one) but he hasn't taken to it, he knows it is different. I just have it as an emergency spare now.

My younger son is much easier he like taggies but only taggies made by a particular seller (Jellibabies.co.uk if anyone was interested). He wont take any other brand. I have just purchased my fourth taggie from her so he has a bit of collection going.

I try to keep comfort items in the house aside from going on holiday but I have relented a bit with the taggies when he has been doing something that upsets him like attending creche. The pillow is easier to keep track of as it is is pretty big.

I hate that people exploit the fact that a child has lost a comfort item to make huge profits. I couldn't be that mean.

inadarkplace · 16/10/2014 13:02

seriously im glad my youngest only ever latched onto muslin squares the only thing is they have to be second hand or washed to death we have about twenty he goes through them all until he finds the "right one" (which changes daily)

my eldest son has a blanket we bought it from a charity shop when we were waiting for a bus and it was colder than we thought it was a case of go home and grab a blanket and miss the bus or grab one from the soon to be closing charity shop next to us five years later it is a ball of wool with the occasional chunk of recognisable " blanket" we have got replacement blankets he hates them so we have a no blankie out of the house policy for the last few years a, because its a tatty mess b, how the hell he will sleep without it i don't know!

try searching facebook pages out of your area maybe someone will post it to you?

marymouse · 16/10/2014 21:49

Dc1 bought a bear comforter from boots, nearly lost it one day and managed to buy another as a spare but I just rotated them every couple of days. Lost one so bought two off eBay at Â£20 each because he loved it so much and put them into rotation too. He's 6 now and were down to the last one (which stays in bed) and I also had one sewn onto a memory cushion.

Dc2 bought girl bear comforter from boots x3 put all into rotation! Ended up buying one off eBay for Â£20 as we lost one. She's 4 now and she has two left.

Dc3, well I learnt my lesson and just used a muslin cloth tied in the middle!

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