To wonder why people buy baby gear rather than rent it?

[LaurieMarlow]

DS is 7 months. He's already grown out of his moses basket, bouncy chair, baby boppy cushion not that he really needed that , plus shedloads of clothes. We hope that DC2 will come along in time, but for various reasons we will probably wait 3/4 years before TTC. In the meantime we live in a typically teeny London flat with virtually no storage. What am I supposed to do with all this stuff?

Which made me question why I bought it all in the first place? Why don't people rent baby gear rather than buy it? As it happens, we rented a bed nest cot from NCT, which worked brilliantly for us. We returned it at 5.5 months when DS grew out of it. But I never considered it for the other big ticket items like pram/high chair/etc.

Are there rental companies out there that I just haven't heard of? Or do people simply prefer to buy, so there's no demand. Obviously I know there's a huge market in used/second hand stuff, but surely renting would be a good alternative option for people.

Any thoughts?

We got the cot that my sister's 3 had slept in. My two then slept in it. By that point it was almost 20 years old, and I couldn't even give it away on freecycle. Didn't have a Moses basket (although we had my sister's carrycot with a new mattress). Car seats - wanted new so we knew the history, and also safety developments and rules change over time. We did have a second hand pram, and frankly it was trashed by the time we'd finished with it.

Sling hire is quite popular isn't it? I can see the attraction of trying out slings and prams before buying, but when I think of the time my son threw up in his pushchair etc I'm not sure hire would work long-term.

It is tough in a flat - we lent quite a bit of stuff to SIL in between babies which helped make space, but not everyone has family/friends who want stuff at the right time.

Chariots for hire used to get mentioned a lot when mine were young. Can't find a website now but there do seem to be a few places hiring out baby equipment -seem to be targeted at holidaymakers but also some offering long-term.

Or depending on hire cost, buy from NCT sale then sell back when finished with it?

The only stuff I ever buy new are car seats and a mattress and umbrella stroller everything else has been used over and over again my pram and cot have done over 12 babies

I agree with choclover. Having had 2DC I was shocked at how much was not serviceable after the 2nd DC. Cheaper to buy 2nd hand than rent.

I did buy new mattress, crib and stroller and wish I had bought the stroller 2nd hand. The crib was cheaper new than buying one 2nd hand thanks to JC Penny firing their CEO. My crib was reduced from $550 to $200 and is solid hardwood (made in Canada) and converts to a double bed.

We just asked around and were given pretty much everything we needed. I thought it was strange when people thought we didn't want second-hand, but now I read on here that people like shopping for baby stuff. I like to save my money and spend it on a cleaner instead.

My kids adore wearing hand-me-down clothes. They are always asking which friend or relative we got the piece of clothing from and will proudly tell the people they meet in the mornings about the origins of their clothes.

I guess if you are lucky you end up in an informal rental system.

This. And I love the photos of item X being worn by friend's DD, my DS1, friend's DD2, my DD/DS2. I love the history and the stories.

i bought everything new 10 years ago (when I had high disposable income as no kids!) for ds1. It all got used for my nextv2 children, leant to various friends and I've now given it all to my sister who has just started having children, so I am pretty happy with value for money.

Don't know what I'll do with it all when she gives it back though!

The marketing of baby stuff is a huge business and so many people 'buy into' the idea that you have to have 'new' stuff for your baby.

I was lucky in that we had our baby much later than our friends and was given loads of stuff (three pushcharis ) but I am not at all 'precious' about having to have new stuff. I remember someone I met through a baby group who was very sniffy when I offered to pass on some of our stuff to her.

Look in any second hand shop/newspaper ads and you will see 100s of ads. for excess baby stuff. .

Selling childrens's shoes (ie: Clarks/Start Rite) is another huge marketing con but that's a whole other thread.

You can hire prams from the NCT as well.

But the costs of cleaning/buying new mattresses/essential parts/sending it out, it works out cheaper for lots of things to buy new and then sell it on eBay when you're done, especially if you go for one of the well-known brands that holds its value well second hand.

I wish there was a rental system in the uk. not so much for home but for travelling. we travelled to new Zealand for a month when DC1 was a baby and we could hire the car seat, pushchair, travel cot, baby rucksack for hiking etc. it was really cheap to rent and fantastic quality. made life so easy!

Renting is a great idea. You might just have had the idea that will turn you into a millionaire OP.

I 'rented' a bumbo, an inflatable doughnut thing, a baby gym and a bouncy static walker thing from eBay. Then when DS had grown out of it all, I 'rented' it back on eBay. I felt a bit guilty as I made a profit, but it was auction rather than buy it now, so it was out of my hands

After all we'd been through to actually conceive and carry to term, it was thrilling to be able to go out, choose and buy all the stuff new.

As he's grown out of things I've either sold them (moses basket, car seat, sling), passed them on to friends (little coat hangers, baby bath support, swaddle blanket), given them to charity (generic clothes, some toys) or hoarded them away out of sentimentality (particular pieces of clothing from his first year).

There's a sling rental place near me actually, I've heard great things about it and it makes sense as it's one of those things you need to try out to see which works best for you and the baby.

I would worry about the ick factor with rentals though (more than second hand I think), as I'm sure with continued use in a number of households the items will take a beating and some would be a bugger to get really clean.

I never knew you could rent it!

I think the car seat in NZ is x-rayed as a safety check between rentals to check there are no cracks etc which would make it unsafe.

It used to happen in Australia as well, but they stopped it - think it was too difficult to continue the safety checks.

I am looking into starting up a business which would formalise the 'informal' loan system out there. It'd be like Air BnB but for baby equipment.

1. People with unused stuff in their garage/ loft/ under the spare bed could make it available online for rent.
2. Then parents who are in need of something - either because they just want to rent rather than buy (for short, medium or long-term), or perhaps they are travelling on holiday or for a family visit (can't fit it in the car/ don't want to pay for extra plane luggage) can rent at their destination from another parent (rather than a traditional rental company).

Benefits for person with stuff to rent - baby equipment getting used when it would otherwise sit in the loft till the next one comes along; you don't need to store it when not using it; earn cash
Benefits for renter - don't need to take everything with you when you travel; you don't need to store stuff; don't need to worry about selling it - just return it when you're done.

What do you think to this idea? What appeals to you most about it? Would it make life easier? Do you think it'd be a service you would use? If not, why not. All thoughts welcome!

Thing is, buying second hand has the same benefits as renting, without the pressure to keep the item in good condition or worry about how long you want it for, and can then sell on if you want. Given the existence of Gumtree and EBay and charity nappy libraries etc, I'm not sure a business could work other than as a self-financing hobby.

I don't like to borrow anything that will need to be returned with an expectation of condition.

Even second hand clothes, unless they are given no strings attached are declined or returned at a suitable interval but not worn.

I think for the most part it doesn't cross people's mind to rent, I didn't even know it was an option else I'd have rented a crib for DD rather than buying one and now wouldn't be fighting about buying a new mattress for bump Though in some instances renting is very expensive, the few things I looked at renting would have paid for themselves int he time that I expected to have to rent them for. Though a bednest would have been fab fab fab to rent still wondering if I can sabotage the crib so I can rent one

Our synagogue has a "baby pool" where you can borrow (and donate) any equipment. The expectation is that you hand it back rather than sell or pass on, but no repercussions if you can't (eg if a buggy is beyond use). I borrowed a buggy when we went on holiday, and will definitely donate our stuff once we are finished, assuming no one I know needs it.

I'm in Sweden and we rented our first carseat from the NHS here.

I bought everything new but none of it was expensive. I can't imagine that it would've been cheaper to rent. The pushchair I bought for ds was completely wrecked after 3 years (we walk a few miles every day) if I had rented I would have ended up paying for it anyway. I bought a new pushchair for ds2 and that was wrecked after 3 years too.

I think the problem with renting something is that you would have to keep it in really really good condition to give it back, and with baby stuff that's difficult! For example we threw our Moses basket mattress out as soon as DD was out of it because after a cold where she sweated a lot it was a bit smelly, and our pram and high chair are pretty filthy. Car seats shouldn't be used second hand anyway and there aren't many other big ticket items other than actual furniture (cot etc). My IL's live abroad and there's a company near to them who hire out baby equipment to ex pats (usually to grandparents who have retired out there and have family to stay) and to be honest it's nearly as expensive as buying new, as they have to cover wear and tear and safety regs etc.