To not see why buying 2nd hand DC clothing is worth it?

[ClawHandsIfYouBelieveInFreaks]

At least on Ebay. My friend swears by it...she buys most of her children's clothes on Ebay 2nd hand and is always telling me about her bargains.

I've just spent ages going through it all and the few things I found which were nice and in good condition were already bid up to silly prices for what they are...15 quid for a 2nd hand Next frock and 3 quid postage?

Where's the bargain? All the things I liked were the same...already had 12 bids on them and postage is high anyway isn't it?

I can't see the worth in it....I can buy a nice, new dress for the same amount on the high street! Am I missing something?

I've given up buying used clothes for DTD's on ebay as was fed up of getting manky, well worn clothes that we're described as being in "excellent condition". I now only buy brand new bits of clothes off eBay - they don't tend to go for any more than the used stuff.

Car boot sales and charity shops- forget Ebay.

Charity shops I usually pay £1 for a jersey dress

Why don't you scour all the charity shops in your area for a change?

Or advertise on free cycle that you need clothes for a 6 year old boy

I have always tended to buy from charity shops for the children , but then we are talking between 50p and £2 for nice trousers/jumpers/dresses etc . Mine seem quite hard on clothes , so i don't mind so much if they wreck them when I haven't spent a lot of money on them .
Facebook selling sites are very good for good quality bundles , especially in the age ranges you are talking about OP.

My dc are clothed almost entirely in 2nd hand and they're 10 and 7. However, that's because we're lucky enough to live near a huge kids 2nd hand clothes shop. I visit about 3 times a year and buy a huge bundle each time. Even there I'm now struggling to buy enough for dd1 as the selection declines rapidly as the age goes up.

I don't buy off Ebay for the exact reasons you say, plus I prefer to be able to inspect 2nd hand stuff properly before I buy it.

I am so grateful that my sister passes all my nephews clothes onto my son. I haven't had to buy any clothes at all.

I think it's far easier to buy good quality newborn up to walking age clothes that aren't wrecked, but directly they can throw food down them and wear the knees out, it's difficult to buy then second hand online.

Car boot sales might be your friend. I haven't been for ages but I know in the past there tends to be a lot of kids stuff and you can obviously look before you buy. Also some high street charity shops seem to hold a lot of kids stuff, you can still pick up a bargain as long as you know what you're looking for.

I've heard that car boots are cheaper.

I buy stuff for DD on eBay. Not entirely because it is cheap, but because the stuff available covers multiple seasons. I can easily go round the shops and not find anything I like, but I can sit at home and trawl eBay when I fancy. We also don't live near shops, so it costs petrol and parking to go and be disappointed.

If you go for some brands then the bidding is fierce. I can't be bothered to buy Boden or Next on eBay as they are pricy. I've bought the odd BNWT Next item where it is sold out in Next.

But other brands can be much better value. I've got DD's winter coat from eBay for the last few years and have got a lovely Catimini one and a Debenhams one. I've also bought some lovely H&M items. Most of their stuff is a bit flimsy in store, but they make the odd lovely, worth having dress. And we've had some nice Gap baby cord dresses.

I also tend to buy party dresses on eBay. They don't have to be amazing brands - George party dresses are fine and I tend to get them for under £5. We bought DD a new party dress in H&M yesterday and I was shocked at the instore price of £20.

As DD gets older, I am buying less from eBay for her.

I've had a few bargains from Ebay, but find either generally more expensive items (coats) or bulk-buys are the only good value items. All the single jeans/tops seem to be £8 + £x P&P and are hardly worth it.

Last year I got both of the dc's winter coats second hand from Ebay. DS1's was £4.99 + £2.99 P&P (so £8 ish) and like brand new, the listing said it had been packed away and forgot about until it was too small. It was a branded one that was £49.99 in the shop.

A good bet for kids up to 8 years are NCT sales in church halls. I have half my stocking fillers and new winter coats through NCT sales. Go to the NCT website and you can type your postcode in and it brings up all the sale dates/locations in your area.

My winter coats were 2.50 each

I've recently sold a boys clothes bundle on eBay for £20. Buyer to collect. It has over 70 items in it including walking boots, Adidas trainers, Nike coat etc. Some of it is in better condition than others( no tat) but even if buyer doesnt like 1/3 of it she has absolutely still got a bargain. Most of it was bought in sales etc by me originally so win win!

DD used to buy a lot of things from ebay, generally for 99p.

These days (and I'm talking a couple of years) she says the prices have gone up, the quality's gone down, the postage has gone insane, and she looks for online sales from her favourite shops instead.

When I say "used to", she was 16 and it was 2 years ago.

I advocate boot sales too. I pay on average 50p - £1 for supermarket jeans or tops and £2 - £3 for nicer stuff. Go open minded. Buy out of season (summer stuff in April when the season starts), and if you see a bargain that is a size or two too big get it anyway and store it. I got a 3 in 1 waterproof/fleece coat for less than £2 and it's a good make. (currently in loft in bin liner).
School trousers and shorts are normally good value too. Again, out of season when mums are getting rid of last year's stuff.

I buy stuff for dd(7) on ebay, but mostly special party dresses, (dd loves party dresses) coats, things that don't get much wear or are a bit unusual. Prices are higher than jumble sale, usually end up paying around half the new price for as new. Amazing how much tat people try and flog though.

Ebay is misery for buyers and sellers. You never get what you think you are getting if you are buying and you get royally scr*wed over by eBay and potentially buyers if you sell!

The thing with bundles is that people seem to think that if they stick one nice frock in there along with 4 pairs of faded jeans and a washed out t shirt, you've got a bundle people will want.

Jumble sales,hand me downs,and reductions in charity shops are all still worth it.

Fara children's charity shops are fantastic!

I have just had a rubbish experience on eBay selling kids' clothes that really were in excellent condition, and good names as well, not tat. It was hardly worth my while bothering for the amount of money I've made.

Thing is Margot it depends what your idea of good brands is...and also whether the design of things appeals to others. I keep seeing bundles meant for 6 year old girls which are all sludge green brown and orange...and people including their faded summer tees in there...I don't want them! I've just chucked all our old ones in the recycling bags!

There was Next, Baby Gap, Matthew Williamson, Pumpkin Patch and a brand new with tags, unworn sequinned M&S party dress (age 11) which cost £38 originally! Obviously I know these aren't high end designer makes, but still not exactly Primark either. You mentioned Next going for a lot of money in your first message which prompted me to think "Whaaat?!" .

Agreed to a point. I have got some bargains and sometimes it's less about getting a bargain and more about buying an adorable item of clothing that the company no longer sell. I sold my DD's Boden pinafore dress collection this year. Think I had eight dresses, made about £120 from them . The prints are still very much in demand and obviously Boden don't stock them anymore so it's kind of ebay or nothing. Made about £15-£18 per dress which is still about halfish what I paid brand new. Ebay is, however, terrible for sellers. There's no protection at all and the fees/money paypal deducts means you really don't make any profit whatsoever. And if a buyer makes a false claim against you ebay always find in their favour and you have to refund for something that has nothing wrong with it! .

I've bought a few polarn o Pyret bargains on there over the years and Boden. Although I paid £50 for DD's Boden duffle coat on there this year... It was brand new but they cost similar from Boden itself, wasn't expecting the bidding to go quite that high. I never buy bundles because there's almost always a few things in there I just don't like so would have to take them to the clothes bank/charity shop and CBA. Never been to a car boot, don't drive and they always seem to be in the middle of nowhere.

most of my kids' clothes are second hand... but then, they're little (4 and 2) so that makes a difference.

Ebay is really odd - some people seem to think that because something's on ebay it's automatically a bargain. I've seen people bidding on second hand things to a higher price than you can buy a new one for.
Having said that, I tend to buy my DDs party dresses from ebay. I usually get them a Monsoon dress that originally would have cost £30-£40 for about £8, and they are generally hardly worn. I then sell them on again after they're outgrown for a similar price.
For most other clothes, it's just not worth it.

Ebay is my friend.

I once got a HUGE bundle of clothes for @ 9m to 1yr IIRC, a packed - really packed - hoover box full for 1p plus £10 p&p. Some of the stuff still had tags and it was really, really good stuff.

It's harder to see the good bargains as ds is now nearly 8 but I picked up a gorgeous suit for him, someone selling it after their lad had worn it once to a wedding and ds then wore it once to a wedding (then claimed it and kept it in his wardrobe as he likes peacocking in it).

I think for little ones it is ideal. I am not so impressed with the older stuff but you can still pick up some bargains. You have to be v aware of what things would cost new, and how easy it would be to get them. You have to be very careful of the p&p and while sometimes it is worth gambling on a poor pic or description you have to be aware and walk away and not bid above what you are willing to pay.

btw Debenhams have an outlet on ebay and I got ds uniform from there at a very reasonable price, new. The sweaters haven't worn well, though.