Yeah less is more at first. You'll need:
-a handful of newborn vests and babygrows
-about a dozen each of 0-3 month vests and babygrows (don't bother with proper clothes just yet, newborns are just too floppy)
-a couple of soft cardigans, couple of little hats
-some blankets and soft sheets for swaddling/moses basket
-You don't NEED a moses basket, they can sleep in with you or straight in the cot but they're nice to have downstairs for somewhere clean and safe to put the baby down
-muslin squares
- nipple cream, breast pads if you're planning on breastfeeding
-bottles and steriliser if you're planning on bottlefeeding
-dummies if you have a sucky baby
-changing mat (or folded towel) cotton wool, vaseline, top n tail bowl, baby bath
-changing bag
-thermometer, infacol, nail clippers, maternity pads, arnica
-v pillow (I found mine invaluable!)
-Pushchair and carseat, cosytoes if it's going to be cold
-Cot, simple bouncy chair and possibly a cot mobile although not essential they are nice to have.
-NAPPIES. Stock up now, they go through about ten a day initially. You want a couple of large packs of newborn size, and loads of the next size up.
-WIPES. These won't go off and one size fits all. Even if you plan on using cotton wool and water for a while, you can still stock up when you see a good offer. Tip: asda's own brand ones are rubbish.
Think that's about it. Tell friends and family what you need, and ask them only to buy clothes for 3-6 months and upwards (most people will ignore you and buy some newborn and 0-3 clothes because they "just couldn't resist" so you should ensure a good mix that way!) You probably won't have to buy ANY clothes yourself for the first six months so go easy.
And apart from friends and family, try freecycle, charity shops, car boot sales, newspaper ads and yes, ebay!
I've bought a few things (pushchair etc) from this ebay shop but you're probably best off looking for last minute bargains.
My tips: get your big stuff off freecycle, get your important stuff new (cot mattress, moses basket mattress, you may want new newborn clothes out of preference) get your bits slowly from discount shops.
Avoid certain baby websites which make you believe you need things like babywipe warmers, nappystackers etc - seems like everyone's out to fleece new parents! Sorry for the ramble, hth.