buying pram second hand? e.g. off ebay?

[tiredfeet]

A few friends have said to me that rather than spend a lot on a new pram / pushchair for our first child, just to buy one second hand off e-bay or gumtree. I just wondered what other people's experiences of this are. I'm pretty wary of doing it this way, I've never bought anything off e-bay before as I'm too worried it won't be what I expected. I would try going to a nearly new sale but there don't seem to be any on over the summer round here. I can find the money to buy one new, but have just been wondering about buying 2nd hand instead, as several friends said they know people who spent a load on a brand new one and then discovered they didn't like it for some reason.

The first pram I had for Ds was a Silver Cross Linear Freeway, Think they where about £400 new.

I got mine off ebay for £100 and it was in immaculate condition.

I then got a Loola Up off ebay for £70 also in immaculate condition except I didn't like the pram so sold it. I would have been pretty pee'd off with myself if I had forked out for a brand new one because it really was that awful.

I see absolutley no problems with buying of ebay. If you can look at the pram before you buy it that's better but I didn't get to look at my 2 and they where fine.

(I have also bought brand new)

When I got pregnant my mum told me I could £500 to buy a pram but as the pram was only £100 I had £400 left to carpet Ds's room and buy his car seat which my mum was more than happy about.

2 less things we had to find money for.

Ideally you want to look for a pram that's local and you can collect and pay if you're happy with it.
I too have had an immaculate Loola, which I really like from a local lady.

I bought a Mamas and Papas Pramette from Ebay without seeing it - it was immaculate and only £80. People on Ebay are generally very candid about the condition of things, check out their feedback.
I would go to a shop, decide which pram you would like then look specifically for that. I can recommend the pramette - Bugaboos and Phil and Teds are still very expensive, even second hand.

I've bought a few prams off Ebay and never had a bad one yet. As long as you read the description and there are a fwe photos to look at.

Check to see what flaws there are, ie. rips to the material, brakes not working, scratches to the frame.

Also check the feedback of the seller to see if they've ever sold prams before, and if the pram they are selling was one they bought off Ebay previously.

Erm, ask them how old the pram is if not stated and if the raincover comes with it if not stated.

That should cover it really.

HTH

Go with your gut instinct tbh. Depends how fussy you are, i've had some good some bad. Some just need a thorough clean. For a newborn tho i think i'd still prefer new. You can still buy new tho via ebay cheaper than shops or nearly new, ex display etc. As has been said narrow down to what you want then search ebay esp local so you can see it first. Ask lots of pics detailed ones does it come with acc's, r/c etc? don't be afraid to ask q's or ask for extra photo's.

With pushchairs advertised on local sites like Gumtree you should be able to go and look with no obligation to buy. I am always happy for people to come and look at things I'm selling.

I have always bought prams second hand, got a gorgeuous pliko travel system for dd still under warrenty with carry cot changing bag TWO car seats etc for £120 and was invited to view as was local.

And I just bought a bugaboo frog - was so excited wehn it turned up looked perfect - unfolded it the chassis was broken. Contacted the seller who was devastated too - it was fine when she posted it 0- we established that the courier had broken it (citilink not Drop it Hide it Lose it) - she was lovely I returned the pram to her and she gave me a full refund. Genuine sellers don't sell something they are not happy with as they want to maintain good feedback - although I admit I agreed to pay return costs as this was neither of our faults - just bad luck.

I find you get through more than one type of pram with any child so am in favour of buy and then sell on. If you buy new ( or get one as a gift) you feel you have to use it all the time and forever to get your moneys worth - even if you end up hating it.

I am now waiting for my streety (£50 9 months old to turn up this week.

I say this from bitter experienceas the pram my inlaws bought us ended up on the skip - I hated it and could not even bring myslef to sell it as I did not want to inflict the torurous contraption on anyone else!

I bought loads of prams off ebay. Only one I have not been happy with, and paypal refunded me, so always pay by paypal if you can. Always check if its a pet & smoke free home. Not wanting to generalise here, but I have taken a chance 3 times on this, and twice the prams have arrived minging of smoke/pet hair. One of them was utterly filthy, and that was the one I was not happy with. I didnt dispute on account of the smoke though, that was my fault for not checking!
Do a local one if you can, then you can view before you buy.
Alternative you can buy from someone who deals in second hand prams but be aware, you will probably pay more than you would from a private seller. The upside of this is, they are experienced in posting/packing, and the pram is likely to be clean and accurately described, and will probably be dispatched promptly.
Last option is to buy from a private seller on ebay - good news is you will probably pay less for it, bad news is that it may not be as well packaged (if posted) and you are taking a chance that it will be accurately described.

Always check feedback, my general rule is if its a private seller with more than 1 neg feedback in 12 months, dont go there. Or if they have less than 4.7 for any of the detailed ratings.
Ebay shops anything less than 99.5% positive, I wouldnt buy from.

I bought one locally - that turned out to be completely unsafe - granted it only cost me £20 cash (the seller insited cash), but after I got it home and tried to use it - it became apparent it was VERY old and unfit for use (unsafe)... I contacted ebay who did nothing - because I hadn't paid by paypal.
So - in effect - I paid this seller £20 and then took their rubbish to the tip for them. Extremely annoying (they even left me neg feedback for requesting a refund - their listing stated that they accepted returns!)!!!
I have bought many pushchairs (pramaholic here!) and I don't expect "like new" when buying 2nd hand - but at the same time, I don't expect to get something unusable and unsafe either.
Always pay by paypal on ebay - you can get a refund if it all goes wrong - or at least you have a chance of getting a refund. If you have paid cash eBay do nothing to help you IME.

This is because even in friendly cases paypal stop the sellers account until dispute is resolved.

This of course was very unfair on the poor lady I got the frog from, but in cases where the seller is trying it on - very handy!

I've bought second hand twice, including for my first newborn. On both occasions I've bought from friends, so I've 'known' the pram, but this did mean I felt comfortable with buying the full thing including car seat, as I knew it wouldn't have been in an accident or anything. I bought a M&P three-in-one thing (with spare car seat base), and recently a running buggy. At 10 years old, the M&P is still going strong on its fourth child, and I anticipate getting many more years out of the other. I also have a folding buggy (which was bought new much to my disgust, but I needed it quickly) and for all three I think I have paid a grand total of about £180.

Personally, I struggle to understand why anyone would choose to buy brand new, when it is soooo expensive.

Also look at the for sale boards on here. Lots of good deals to be had.

Personally I would get the car seat new and a proper pram second hand. If you want a travel system check compatability with seat you are buying.

Also beware of buying a whole package new on ebay...my best friend has brought a new travel system and the car seat doesnt fit her car

Yes u can but may want to buy new fabrics.I would say avoid pram sellers as these people are only selling the buggy for a profit and are often just ripping u off. Sometimes u will get a very good deal and other times u won't. Like I once went to buy a second hand buggy to find the buggy had not been cleaned and there was literally horrible sticky food inside the gaps! The seller asked for 250 and the buggy was about four years old. Also, ask the seller where did they get the buggy from? did they buy it second hand if they brought it second hand and ur the third owner chances are u will experience problems with the buggy. I would suggest buying a buggy on Ebay as this way u are protected by the buyers protected scheme so if the seller has lied to you u can instantly get ur cash back or part of it within two weeks! If u use gumtree make sure u inspect the buggy and ensure they have not mislead u into believing the buggy is something its not.

This thread is 5yrs old. Op's dc is prob not in a buggy anymore

Sold both of mine on eBay. The buyers got almost brand new immaculate prams at less than half the price. Go for it.

Hi I am selling a silver cross pioneer set including carry cot,pushchair,bag,changing mat,bottle holder and two colour sets both black and yellow.it is 4 months old and like new only selling as down sizing and don’t have room to store.the pushchair has never been used and the carry cot has been used no more then 4 times.i want it to go to a good home and am selling it all for £350 it’s worth around £900

Did you put collection only never sold on eBay