I buy used-there I said it. I'm to poor to buy new on everything I need. Baby stuff, maternity cloths, heck regular cloths in general-all to pricey for my tastes. I even buy my girls cloths used-not all of them. I figure kids this age (4 years and 6 months) grow so fast most clothing doesn't have time to wear out. So I hunt for deals, specials, and in general the extras that I want but can not afford. I scour on-line local sites, thrift stores big and small, garage sales, Kijiji. Also my favorite-the Facebook pages dedicated to city specific sales of items. Ranging from baby socks to couches and anything in between. Now I believe in negotiating-the old fashioned haggle. I start lower than I'll actually pay and by the time I hit the price I think is fair most people think they've won. I'm horrible I know-but I'm very good at it. Its how I bought a barely used king sized bed WITH bedding for $175.00. I find though, its not the big ticket items are hard to find the good deal on-its the kids toys, clothing and various small items.
Nothing drives me more nuts than people who think they're doing you favor by charging you $4.00 for a rattle that went through all three of their kids. Its okay that charge that apparently because they spent $6.99 at BabiesRUs six years ago for the thing. I see it all the times with those exersaucers and bouncy chairs. They range in price brand new $39.99 on sale to $75.99 and beyond. Seing some one charge $50.00 FIRM on the same exersaucer I bought USED five years ago for $30.00 makes me angry for the poor person they're going to take for that ride. I can't even look at most of those pages any more, they make me so mad. Mad at the price and mad at the women posting it. Yes I said women, women trying to appease thier angry husbands. Anger over a spending habit thats gone way to far out of check. I don't even bother asking for a lower price any more, time and time again I recieve a snarky reply about how "I guess I can, but I'd rather not". All I can think is "lady it's not my fault you feel guilty for paying full price on a baby einstein item. I don't have to come and take what is essentially your garbage off your hands". I also tend to find its like they're doing YOU the favor by charging you to much for a kids toy that you could have bought on sale at wal mart in 3 weeks. My favorite is when a few weeks later I over hear people complaining about how those things NEVER work. Pfft lower your prices and see who comes out of the wood work.
And it gets better its what I call "The Brand Name Clothing Drop". Now I"ve recently-and by recently I mean in the last two years-been lucky enough to have a very large mall open within 10 minuets of driving distance from my front door to the parking lot. This mall has a number of high end brand name stores. These stores are CONSTANTLY clearing out inventory at $5.99 and under. I was able to out fit both kids for the fall/early winter for just under $300.00. This includes coats, pants, shoes, tops, hoodies, hats, mits, and jammies. I came online to check some stuff out and there it was. Most of the stuff I just bought brand new for $3.99 and under and item. The line under the pictures read "Paid $29.99 an item, GREAT DEAL $10.00 tops $15.00 bottoms. Childrens Place worn once". The audacity of some people! Thank you I'd rather be taken for a ride at the stampede!
I believe in paying it forward. There are a lot of people out there who can't afford a bumbo chair, much less a safe car seat. By paying it forward I mean GIFTING some cloths my girls aren't going to wear any more. DONATING my toys to the local "Best Beginnings". A GREAT organization helping set up mother on low incomes to take care of thier kids, and babies. They help with blankets, coupons, food, clothing and anything you can possibly imagine. Buying, selling, gifting used has many great benifits also. You pay less than retail, you aren't contributing to the land fill crisis. If you're selling you get a couple bucks, a good feeling of helping and your basement is cleared out. Now with all this being said I'm not adverse to a good yard sale. We have way to many kids books to be considered acceptable to donate, an extra couch, extra dishes, and many items that I thought were a good idea at the time. To be honest I dont' want this crap in my house so its been priced to sell. You mean $5.00 for a coffee table or OBO?! Why yes, yes I do!
Pay it forward; good people who need good quality items sometimes just can't afford it need all the help they can get. Have a mind set of "If I was in a situation where I just CAN'T AFFORD new what would my budget be?" and go from there. I wish everyone happy buying/selling! Ps Don't be an ass hole about it, people talk and the interweb remembers all!
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