in thinking that £100 for a sling is crazy?

[DidntWeAlmost]

My DS, 9 weeks is getting bigger. Still only 11lbs but will need a sturdier sling at some point.

I've just been using a long bit of stretchy material that I got off eBay sir £6 (it is amazing and exactly the same as the ones you can spend up to £80/90 on).

Anyway, my dad gave me £50 to get a good sling for him from mothercare.

They do their own brand ones which are £18. I can't see anything wrong with them but a bit reluctant to buy, as some are close to £200!

To me that just seems completely crazy.

AIBU to think that's way too much and actually their own brand sling for £18 is probably fine? Any suggestions?

Message the seller and say you want to cancel as you are concerned about it being a fake, they may just cancel it for you anyway.

You can usually look closely at the labels, logo, packaging, buttons, fastenings, etc but good fakes can be hard to spot especially if you haven’t got the genuine item infront of you to compare. I’d say this is one of the times you can’t really risk buying a fake item.

If the seller won’t cancel and you can see it’s fake, you will be able to get s refund from eBay.

I've asked them to cancel but sure they probably won't. Argh I'm so annoyed.

Report the seller to eBay with your suspicions and ask for a refund. If they’re genuine they’ll refund you with no issues.
If you’re on ace on there are lots of sling pages where you can buy second hand slings. Often called FSOT (for sale or trade) with slings in the groups name. There’s brand specific groups, budget specific area specific. Have a hunt and see what you can find.
For what’s its worth I did exactly what you did, bought the mother care sling (2! We had twins) and then ended up going down the wormhole and spent hundreds on every different type you could imagine, as as predicted the mother care one was crap. I didn’t understand the value in them before I started wearing them. They’ve got great resale value though, so pretty much made all the money back but I’ve kept a couple of the handwoven ones that I love for sentimental value. Carried the twins in good slings till they were over three.

I've messaged them and asked them to refund me. I have a feeling they're going to ignore me. Though I did say I would send it back as soon as I received it if they didn't offer a refund as the situation is too suspicious...

I'm now stressing out that I've bought from someone who doesn't speak English and they won't read my message, Or they'll just totally ignore it. Anxiety disorder coming in to play! ☹️

I got an ergo baby on eBay for around £40, it was the old style one so DS can't face out in it but it's worked really well for us and he is 18m now and I still use it with him on my back. Slings are a great thing to buy second hand and I love the ergo baby

@DidntWeAlmost sorry just rtft- they might reply to you overnight- I had this with some childproof licks I bought and they did refund me, don't panic yet also you can probably claim through PayPal if it is a fake. Hope it works out for you

I didn't use PayPal

I love my connect still. Beat piece if baby equipment I bought. £60, DS is 2 (last month) and is a tall, solid lad and I still use it regularly. Bought it when he was 12 weeks. They're called Integra baby carriers now but are the same product.

How have you paid then?

Go through ebay and you will get a refund.

If you want to buy second hand go through a Facebook Sling FSoT group and pay by PayPal so you have some protection.

I would choose something else like a Rose & Rebellion or Manduca that is less likely to be faked. However I would also really urge you to try a postal or face to face sling library hire first to see what you like before shelling out £70 on something. Don't rush in!

Definitely try before you buy! We have a Manduca carrier that we bought when DS was six months (we’d used a fabric wrap before that), and we still use it more often than the pushchair now he’s two. So even though it cost £70 it has lasted so long it was worth it.

But I actually went to the sling library intending to get an Ergo, but when I tried it it was just really uncomfortable. The Manduca is a joy in comparison, I barely know DS is there.

I got a stretchy moby fabric sling and a baby Bjorn when ds was born. I am quite petite and found the huge length of fabric a bit of a faff with the moby, and ds seemed to find the baby Bjorn restrictive as he's always been a wriggler. I then got a £10 structured fabric sling from ebay with ties to adjust and used this from 6 months to 18months. We both loved it until he got too long for it. I am expecting dc2 just after ds turns 2yo and have just bought an ergobaby in the sale (for around £100) as several friends have used them and having borrowed them a few times, they are comfortable and feel secure, even with a long, squirmy nearly 2yr old. I'm reluctant to get a double buggy, so hoping to mostly have baby in sling and toddler on trike/stroller/walking. It should last birth to 3yo so I'm hoping it balances out with the cost and trial and error last time!

Op, it might be the very old style ergobaby and the seller bought a few of them cheap as end of line? The logo etc is different now

@Thishatisnotmine I've asked for a refund so hoping they'll give me one just in case. If not, I'll have to take photos and email ergobaby to check! They've not contacted me yet so we'll see...

Really hope you get a refund and definitely report to ebay! Ergobaby will no longer check for fakes for you as the fakes are almost indistinguishable these days and so ergobaby obviously don't want to be held liable. Try a facebook selling site like "slings and things" and always check for proof of purchase for ergos (manduca/tula/connecta etc don't have problems with fakes).

@AnnaBegins there are fake tulas aplenty (or they are really flimsy, but don’t think so). tulas are in fashion in the miment...
haven’t seen a fake manduca though (but a fake connecta)

I got my Beco Gemini second hand for £35 and I’m still carrying 13 month old DS almost everywhere in it. Brilliant for walking the dog and as the main city we go to is Chester which is not at all buggy friendly.
I have a big rucksack type carrier that a friend gave me for proper walks as well, but that’s not used half as much.
I’m considering a connecta or integra as a second sling now DS is walking as they fold up much smaller and are much thinner fabric - the only issue with the Beco Gemini is it’s so thick that DS overheats in it so if he’s walking around in a coat then wants to be carried I need to strip him of a couple of layers.

I have a Beco Gemini and I'm using it for the third time-I think a decent one like that, or the Connecta or Ergo, is a good investment. Mine is really comfortable and I can sling my rucksack change bag on my back and feel fine (and I'm very unfit!)

How do you buy on eBay these days without PayPal?

I brought a sling second hand for
This reason!

All my slings/carriers are second hand. Either from people I know or from eBay. Reason why we have different types is my OH and myself have different torso to leg ratios so a sling/carrier that is comfortable for me is uncomfortable for him and vice versa.

(I currently have my 4 month daughter in a wrap on me asleep. )

Thanks @Yura, someone asked on the tula love fb page recently and was told they weren't faked so interesting to know that's not necessarily true.

The mothercare sling for £18 is the best m, we’ve a caboo for £80 and isn’t as versatile and can’t handle the same weight

We have a Tula and it's great. We also have 6 different woven wraps made of different fabrics from linen lightweight and cooler in summer to a heavy wool mix which is warmer in winter. We have varying lengths that have done from a young age up to nearly three for DS1.
We had a Stoke carrier as well for DS1 which was really good but it was a bit more of a faff compared to the Tula.
We forgot a wrap on day on holiday this year and bought a cheap (£35) carrier in mothercare and it was awful, really uncomfortable and it gave zero support for our 6 month old.
I'm always amazed at people who carry their children around as a sporran with their arms and legs hanging. There is no support for their hips, as mentioned above and it is uncomfortable for the person carrying the baby.

@AnnaBegins loads of people want to sell their tulas, and their resale price stay high. so they have no interest in admitting there are fakes ;)
manducas go cheap secondhand, so no point in fakes i guess (at least i haven’t seen any)