Are We Being Taken for a Ride?

[Oldgumbiecat]

Does anybody share my resentment that so many of the accoutrements associated with equipping for child rearing are primarily fashion items and therefore prone to ridiculously inflated prices? I think of buggies, children?s clothes and toys of one sort or another.

It can result in competition between families to ensure that they are the most up to date. It benefits only the manufacturers of these good and those that retail them. Parents simply end up, too often, in debt.

i bet my pushchair is better than yours and yes my pushchair is a fashion item and i love it, modern, sleek and well desighned

Maybe, but if you buy well and sell well you can actually end up in profit :) at worst I see pushchairs, clothes, even shoes etc as a rental business. If you buy wisely then most things have a good resale value. I buy my DDs usually expensive shoes at half price and get that or more back second hand.

like everything isn't it? - you can choose to be in the 'competition' or like sane people, ignore all the marketing and be happy.

I see it as a rental business too. I also refuse to buy anything at full price and will spend hours and hours trawling for the best deal possible, and I happily buy clothes on eBay or in charity shops. Then I sell things on eBay to get back some of the cost. In all honesty, I haven't found it that expensive having a baby. At least they don't want the latest games console or fancy phone.
I do think there are a lot of pushchairs and nursery furniture that are overpriced, but why would you choose to sell something more cheaply if people are happily paying for it?

I have bought clothes for DD1 2nd hand which have then been worn by DD2 & DD3 and then passed on in good condition for another child to wear. Most things I buy from Ebay/charity shops/2nd hand sale groups of FB.

My latest bargain was a bin liner full of clothes for DD1 for £11 which included 2 wool blend coats, another jacket, swimming costume, skirts, leggings, 9 pairs of almost brand new woollen tights, a sequined party dress, loads of tops and so on and so forth. This will then get passed down to her two younger sisters and if still some life left charity shopped or passed to friends.

I fully outfitted DD1 (and by extension DD2/DD3) for Autumn/Winter for less than £25 this also includes school uniform. Though I'm ignoring her school shoes which were £45

I don't think everything has to be a competition and TBH some of my DDs most complemented outfits have been an approx 15 year old navy pinafore dress from BHS and another dress I found in the rummage bin in a charity shop for 50p. Don't need to get on the treadwheel to have well turned out children.

I do think that you pay for the name with many pushchairs, realistically, no pushchair costs £400 to manufacture (take 50% profit on a £800 item like cameleon)
Also, for the new quinny yezz Stroller, it's really just money for old rope, it's just the quinny buzz chassis with a paint job and a fancy new seat. Bet it won't retail for less than £600, which is effectively £200 extra for a different seat that prob. Costs around £50 to manufacture. It's scandalous, problem is that everyone wants the best for their baby and to look cool with their new pushchair like it's a status symbol or something.

apart from the designer editions and accesory packs of ones like the maclaren (juicy couture stroller) then i don't think so. it's a family and lifestyle choice and covers anything and everything. why drive a brand new audi Q7 when you could have an old bongo for a fraction of the price that does the job?

i'll happily admit our choice of car, buggy, house, clothes, shoes, handbags are based on keeping up with the other families we mix with but we also very rarely (if ever?) pay full price for big purchases and would laugh at anyone who pays the full list price for a brand new out the showroom car, pushchair, furniture, designer kids clothes etc etc.

i don't understand why some people would want to spend almost double the amount they need to (am thinking bugaboo) just because everyone else has one, when the whole point is...everyone else has one!