Secondhand vs new

[Katiem1234]

I saw a friend today and it got me thinking. Would you rather spend x amount on something new, or something better quality secondhand?

For example, my friend has a tight budget and spent more on an Argos Cuggl stroller new than I did for my silver cross pushchair secondhand. It came up as she’s a bit disheartened she couldn’t afford something parent facing for newborn bit, and I told her how you can get a lot more for your money if you buy secondhand. However she’d only buy new and did turn her nose up at the idea of buying secondhand.

We just have different perspectives I guess, but it did make me wonder what everyone else's views are on new vs secondhand?

And maybe re-assurance I’m not the only one who thinks secondhand is fine!

I bought everything new.. I just prefer this unless I know the person it has come from. I got a couple items from my DSis that are second hand but pram, cot, sling etc all new. If I can afford it I'd rather have it new and keep for (hopefully) more children. Any items we haven't used I've given away to a near-by women's shelter.

2nd hand for everything.
I spent 700 quid on a pram that did everything for my first... I think more out of excitement than anything logical lol... but it's still going strong 4 years later and is on its second child!! I will be buying a stroller second hand. For my daughter the majority of things she has are second hand apart from mattresses and car seats and the odd item of special occasion clothing.
I even get the majority of Christmas and birthday presents for both children second hand.
All the furniture in my house is second hand and the majority of my clothing comes from charity and vintage shops. I hate waste.

We have a mix of new, second hand, charity shop bargains and free sites! We have a gorgeous mamas & papas cot bed which we got off the free page for my first, we bought a new mattress but its lasted both children. Toys I pick up secondhand- we bought my eldest a happyland bundle for £50 - I try to avoid buying toys new if I can esp at this age they dont play with them long enough. For special items that I want to pass down or keep like the grimms rainbow we have I bought new. Nothing wrong with second hand!

Ours was a mix.
New - buggy (as we’re planning on having two kids so will use it for 5+ years), Snuzpod (panic buy the day before DD was born), all bedding, some clothes, activity gym (present from my dad), bouncer (present from work), soft toys (mostly gifts), breast pump
Second hand - sleeping bags, some clothes, wooden toys, bath seat, nursing pillow, mobile, sling (eBay)

As a rule of thumb, if it goes in her mouth or is hard to clean, I buy new. Everything else I try and buy second hand

We've bought everything second hand so far for our first baby! It's amazing how cheap you can get bundles of baby grows on eBay! I love finding bargains in charity shops for myself so don't see the problem buying second hand for baby. And when they're a bit old they'll be costing us a lot more, so why not save money now and go second hand? Especially when they're not in most things for long.

We've bought second hand travel system, cot, clothes etc. I've managed to get good deals on eBay for blankets, muslins etc and have lots of friends and family that want to make and buy us gifts so that will save us money.

The only things we'll definitely buy brand new are mattress and car seat. I'm hoping to breast feed which will also work out cheaper if we're successful.

We only buy new!! DH won't let me buy second hand but I do get second hand bits of family which I am fine with! Just had bad experiences when buying used so stopped doing it...

If we didn't have the money though id rather buy a better make pram second hand than a cheap one new id just make sure I got it of a pram seller or on eBay so If it broke soon after id be covered.

Following this with interest as we're looking to get a second hand bugaboo tomorrow. It's 8 years old but looks in good condition and the price is 70% the original. What are people's thoughts - this is our first baby but bugaboos are just so expensive and I plan on using the buggy a lot. We could afford the original but just seems like such a good deal!

Also following with interest!! I'm only 8 weeks pregnant, it's our first baby. Obviously not buying anything for a while but we have talked about how we'd like to spread out the big purchases so it's not just one massive hit! We've just started some very vague window shopping and are trying to get to grips with it all!!

At the min, I'm thinking -
Bedside crip/pod and all mattress /bedding, car seat will be new. Probably clothes too, just from asda etc, nothing fancy.

Hoping to get crib bed, furniture and the pram 2nd hand, but part of me wonders if that's the right thing, because of warranty and needing to be sure they're all OK etc.

Any advice welcome! Xx

it's almost impossible to buy double prams on second hand market

This won’t be relevant to you yet but once you’re ready for a side-by-side stroller a little way down the line do join the Baby Jogger selling group on FB. There are always doubles available

I buy absolutely everything new. I don't know why but I just can't bear the thought of second hand anything. I know it's completely irrational and would probably save me a lot of money if I could get over it but I've been the same all my life.

@secretlyhermione a friend of mine gave me her bugaboo which is 9 years old and has survived her two children. It’s still in excellent condition, though she had looked after it well. One of the clips for adjusting the handle was dodgy, bought the spare part for £12 and hubby repaired it himself - not sure i agree with PP who thinks you end up spending the same as a new one on repairs, unless something major breaks. Bugaboo offer a ‘service’ for you pushchair for about £100 I believe which might be worth looking at.

I have been lucky and been given most things second hand - baby doesn’t know!! I’d never have spent £1k on a bugaboo. Not car seats or mattresses though as PP have said.

I have a travel system from my last baby 6 years ago.. had all the parts except the carry cot.. looked to replace just that part but it wasn't being manufactured anymore so bought a second hand carrycot from a local online selling site..
It is in pristine condition but I'm just reading this thread now and worried that I can't use the carrycot part because it's not a new mattress??? Because it's a 2012 model they don't stock it anymore...
Baby due since Friday.. help! What's best to do?

@modgepodge thanks for letting me know! That's pretty much the same condition that the one I will be picking up - as in its 8 years old and has been through two kids. I think I'll go and have a look and do a test run and if ok we'll probably take it. The only thing I worry about now is that she was throwing in a car seat but reading all this stuff now about it apparently being unsafe I think I'll avoid that.

@secretlyhermione I’d decline the seat unless it’s a friend or relative you trust 100% when they say it’s not been in a crash.

@ineedagirlsname i bought s new mattress for my pram but my not sure how necessary it is. It’s to do with SIDS guidelines but unless you are actually putting them to sleep in it for an extended period I don’t think I’d worry to much...I know they will fall asleep when you’re out and about but you’ll be watching them almost the entire time. If you did want a new mattress does it need to be the one made by the pram company? Surely any mattress the right size would be ok?

The crash doesn’t have to be a major one for a carseat to become unusable. You can often get cracks just by breaking harshly — that’s why it’s a good idea to replace car seats regularly or at least get them looked at by a professional.

Everything new for my DC years ago. Now pregnant with third and I'll be searching for secondhand bargains! Or not necessarily bargains but I like the idea of being able to get a better pushchair/pram for less money!

All new for DS1 but DS2 was a mixture of 2nd hand, new and passed on from sil. I saved a fortune buying my next2me 2nd hand just got a new mattress. New car seat too although that got Sil back up she couldn't understand why I didn't want her ones ...

Baby 3 is on the way but as DS2 is only 11 months we still have everything! Only get new stuff if it's a girl and I can buy alllll the clothes

Most stuff was second hand and I still get bargains for my 8 and 5 year old. Now they are at school they hardly wear out clothes so it's not really worth buying new. Local Facebook sites are fab. Books, lego, bikes, toys hardly used.

For clothes and furniture there's a decent argument to be made that second hand is actually healthier for the baby- the chemicals used in the manufacturing process are less likely to be still hanging around. And UK upholstery fire regulations require the use of chemicals which are banned in many places. Which leaves me feeling odd about mattresses, although I do stick to the new only rule there. What do you do with the old ones???

I bought everything new for DD (she is going to be my only) but pretty much everything I've bought since has been secondhand and I'd do that from the beginning if I was to have another.

I wouldn't be happy with secondhand unless it was from family. So I'd know where it's been and that it's clean

Absolutely everything brand new. We can afford it so why not?

Everything second hand apart from car seats and cot mattress.

I got a mothercare orb pushchair for £50 in immaculate condition from FB market place. Best pushchair ever. So many handy features. New it is £299 or there about. And the second hand one came with cosy toes, sunshade, mosquitos net, car seat adapters etc. Bargain! And I nearly treated myself to a new phil and teds for £600!

This is second baby and I learnt the hard way that there are amazing second hand bargains out there. It fabulous condition.

**Absolutely everything brand new. We can afford it so why not?

Because it's not just about money, it's also about wastefulness. Baby stuff really doesn't wear out because it's not used very much before it's outgrown. We could afford to buy everything new but won't be doing so as I can't stomach the thought of wasting money (which could be used for something else!) or resources (increasing the population of the planet is something I'm determined to do with the least amount of impact I can!) when there are completely suitable 2nd hand items out there. I'm also planning to buy maternity wear 2nd hand off eBay where I can. I won't be wearing it for long and then it can be sold on again after I've finished with it!

I really like the thought of bags of baby grows bring passed from one family to the next until they are finally worn out. They are outgrown in a couple of weeks!