I can't ever imagine being so financially well off that...

[DontBiteTheBoobThatFeedsYou]

... I would pay £49 for a toddler puddle suit from Mountain Warehouse when I could buy a second hand MW one on eBay or fb for £3.

There's a few of these like this.

Same goes for buying things such as Bumbos brand new. Jumperoos or vtech walkers.

Who actually buys these brand new when they can constantly be found for a fraction of the price in immaculate condition elsewhere.

So you want the perks of buying second hand but also want to be a bit judgey of the people you're buying from

We bought everything new for our child because I'm a bit of a germophobe and we could afford to and it's nobody else's damn business.

If anyone has a issue with what you choose to do then it's their problem & they can feck right off with it BUT the same goes in reverse.

Nope I'm with you OP. My favourite clothing brand for my little one is Frugi - at £32 for a pair of dungarees she'll fit into for all of a month, I live by second hand selling sites. Best bargain so far was a Tuppence and Crumble Star Wrap for £3....they're £20 new

Course, as everyone else is pointing out....some-one has to buy new in order for there to be second hand. And if you can afford that kinda money on kids clothes then good on you.

Similar to a PP, I did recently shell out £50 on a Muddy Puddles suit. I live in Cornwall - we all know it will get used!

I'll also add the only things I bought new for my little one were crib, car seat and Moses basket. Facebook marketplace has saved me an effing fortune!

Best bargain so far was a Tuppence and Crumble Star Wrap for £3....they're £20 new grin

I just sold mine for £10!

Its the common sense thing - its not so common. Some people just want new everything for kids of having doting rellies who don't mind forking out etc.

I can’t imagine being massively wealthy and then having so little to do with my retirement time that I’d want to waste it on hunting for ‘bargains’ on Ebay and the like.

Surely you’ve got better things to do than haggle when you’re mega rich?

I buy things new because I enjoy going to the shops and browsing. I get delight in seeing my dc in these clothes. It’s up to me to decide how to spend my money.. If I want to spend money on an Asda, Next or Harrods outfit, that’s up to me. You spend your money how you want, and I’ll spend money on how I want.

I always buy new but pass it on to a group of Syrian refugee families nearby who are happy to receive these items.

I can afford it and I like to buy new. It's my personal choice.

@Ragwort Bonkers! Where is your charity shop?

Well, each to their own and that’s what makes the world go round!
To some people £49 might be a bargain....because they have more money than you and therefore a completely different perspective.
To the next person, even a £5 second hand is a ridiculous waste of money for something we’ve/they’ve managed for years without.
We need ALL of those people in the world.....or we’d be pretty screwed.
Live and let live. You do it your way & accept (Without contempt) that others will do it theirs.

Tried the Ebay Gumtree route for some stuff and found I was spending so much time and fuel travelling to addresses to collect. Most items I was interested in were 20 - 40 mikes away as I live in rural location. Just not worth it. I have sold some items I purchased new, but on a very local community site. As others state if folk didn't buy new how would you be able to buy second hand.

Fairly recently we came into a significant amount of money. In general our spending habits haven't changed massively, most of the money is now in savings in one form or another but having money now gives us the breathing space to buy lowish value items without agonising about it. If one of my kids needs a new puddlesuit and I know they are outgrowing it's and I have some free time then yes, I can search eBay/Facebook/NCT sales and grab a second hand bargain but if the old one rips and they need one for nursery tomorrow or I'm having a relentlessly busy week then I can pop out to the nearest shop, spend £50 and it doesn't matter to us. That's the breathing space being 'rich' gives you imo.

A few months ago in the middle of a week that was crazy busy with school, work and social commitments our kettle broke. In the past I might've tried to fix it, I'd have searched Argos/Tesco/curry's etc for the best value (not necessarily cheapest) that suited us. But we had the money and it was an awful week. It was such a relief to pop into the nearest homeware shop in my lunchtime (dunelm mill as it happens) and just chose the best kettle for the job. I didn't have the head space for anything else and yes, we could easily afford it.

To me shopping is trawling FB and Shpock. I can't afford new

I'm on the jojo selling site on fb and sometimes clothes on there are expensive. Eg a faded baby grow, bobbled for more than half price. I'd never pay it. However, I bought some lovely bnwt emile et rose baby clothes on ebay for next to nothing. It cost more for postage than the actual items

I get your point but there are a lot of land fillers out there that like to keep up appearances and not be seen as underprivileged or have germaphobe issues.... Which sometimes makes me laugh! Mainly because they use used goods all the time when they’re eating at restaurants, using a public toilet or taking part in activities where you need to hire goods or kids sharing toys at school and nursery. But sometimes it depends on why it’s needed and when. I can afford to buy brand new things but when it comes to kids mainly, I like to be wiser with my money and consider the environment. I’m not precious.

I buy most of my children's clothes in charity shops so I can afford to buy things new when I absolutely need to - things I won't scrimp on, like shoes, and things that are needed but I don't want to/can't source second hand so easily - underwear, or anything needed right now in a specific size, and none of my local charity shops have anything appropriate.

I'll also happily pay more for good quality, bearing in mind it will go through at least my 2 DC and then hopefully more after them.

@DontBiteTheBoobThatFeedsYou I picked up a full ski suit for my youngest, now in 7-8, when he was in 3-4 year old stuff, brand new from mountain warehouse the actual shop, for £11, should have been £65, because they were changing their branding, and it's now on its 4th owner, all passed down, all well loved, you know what? I don't mind being the buyer if I know it will get its money's worth, and that suit has had £65 worth of anyone's money never mind £11. Same with Levi's jackets for my girls, they've been passed from cousin to cousin, for there children, and the expense outweighs the pleasure I get, a little misty eyed if I'm honest, when I see my youngest cousins youngest baby wearing my daughters jacket that she hasn't fit into since she was 2, 10 years ago!
On the same vein I've also had a coat cut apart so my daughter could keep part of it, and had that part sewed onto a denim jacket, that when she grows out of I'll have to cut up again And have sewn on a bigger sized denim jacket, so bearing that in mind we bought second hand, because it's not going to be passed to anyone and she loves the item off the original coat!

I enjoy carefully selecting a few key pieces of clothing for myself and the kids each season. I like to have exactly the item I want when I want. I don't like a cluttered home so will pass it on to charity when I no longer need it. I shop online as I prefer to spend our free time in the outdoors/ seeing family and friends/ relaxing at home. In many other ways, I'm quite frugal.

I used to buy 2nd hand
But its just too much effort to find it, pick it up, find the right size.
Id rather buy new at very similar prices and get it to my door
So much easier

It has to be a absolute bargain for me to buy 2nd hand now

Depends. Have you ever been on the receiving end of other kids calling you Charity Shop Sally/Jumble Sale Jenny/Bin Diver Ben?

Obviously the messages being given out by Extinction Rebellion and Greta Thunberg aren't reaching those kids if they'd rather sneer at people who are contributing towards a slowdown in the amount of manufacturing and consumerism, and that "must have it new" mentality.

Sad that the youngest generation aren't 'getting it' any more than their parents.

Obviously the messages being given out by Extinction Rebellion and Greta Thunberg aren't reaching those kids if they'd rather sneer at people who are contributing towards a slowdown in the amount of manufacturing and consumerism, and that "must have it new" mentality.
Sad that the youngest generation aren't 'getting it' any more than their parents.

Well duh XR have made themselves a laughing stock. Literally a joke thats ignored by most.
The talk is even starting to turn on Greta to she all slogans, no real world solutions, just a kid having a tanty.
I can guarentee you kids dont think about the environment when they bullying. I mean really, common sense, if they bullying you think they thinking about consumerism and environment?

Im not about to make DD a target just to be some eco warrior, how cruel.

I'm half and half. I've had stuff gifted, second hand and on sale so therefore I enjoy buying some stuff new. For example I like handmade stuff so will buy second hand generic toys and buy a 100 things from Niamhs Neverland.

DD’s puddle suit was £11 is the sale in Mountain Warehouse. I hardly ever pay full price for anything.

I only buy new because growing up I never had anything new, not because parents couldn’t afford it but because they didn’t think it was worth spending money on a child, my clothes were always a bit weird and I never had anything cool like the other kids, and I got bullied for it, I have horrific memories.

So I buy new, take care of stuff and pass everything on.

I did use a lot of second handstuff when DD was very little - bag of babygros etc from eBay which worked fine. But I do buy more new now that she’s in a size that lasts for at least a year. It’s partly so I get stuff that will actually last a year instead of already being worn. Partly so stuff matches.
I’ve also ended up being overwhelmed with secondhand stuff when I said I was open to it - 2 x those giant IKEA blue bags were left at the house. About a third of the clothes inside had holes in or were stained. About half weren’t to my taste (very pink and frilly which I don’t want), so less than a quarter were any good, but then they’re all random items which don’t match anything else. So I’ve had to spend time sorting, and the work out how to dispose of all the stuff I don’t want.
We had a secondhand cot, which I thought was brilliant initially as we’d save £70. But by the time I’d worked out what size mattress to buy for it and found somewhere to buy it. Then it turned out some of the plastic fixings were broken so I had to source new and replace some screws. It ended up costing about £25 plus a LOT of time to make it useable and would have been far easier just to buy a new one.

I do sell stuff on that I’ve bought new but describe it carefully and do a package of things that coordinate etc