Sometimes it feels like there is a neverending array of baby gear to buy. I know that’s not true, and our kids can get by with a lot less, but it sure is nice to have some of these items around to help make our lives easier.
My first line of attack when I consider gear for the kids is to check out Craigslist or my local FB resale group. Not only do babies grow out of things fast, but a lot of times parents don’t get as much use out of things as they hoped (because we all know all babies are different, and what may be one parent’s treasure is another parent’s “trash”). I’ve found many gems this way, including a radio flyer wagon, red retro play kitchen, twin bed, and toy organizer! But if I can’t find what I’m looking for, when shopping around for brand new items, one of the factors that weigh into my purchasing decision is resale value.
For me, sometimes it’s worth spending a bit more for popular brands, knowing I’ll recoup a good chunk of my money back. I almost never have trouble reselling well-known brands compared to trying to resell an unknown brand. Brands automatically have a few things going for them, including consumer trust, word of mouth, and plenty of online reviews.
These are just a few of the things I got use out of, and my money’s worth at the end (I included the retail price + sales tax in my original purchase price):
1|BOB Revolution 2|Britax B-Agile 3|Baby Bjorn Travel Crib 4|Changing Table 5|Combi Twin Sport Stroller 6|Bumgenius 4.0 Cloth Diapers
BOB Revolution Jogging Stroller – 2 years old
Purchased for $340, sold for $280 = Got back 82% of original price
Britax B-Agile Single Stroller – 3 years old
Got back 100% of original price – there was a recall on it, so I brought it into Baby’s R Us and they gave us the retail value’s worth in store credit. If you ever end up with a recalled baby item, always take it to Baby’s R Us and see if they’ll take it back – they have a great recall policy:
When a product is recalled, we believe the most important thing is to get that product out of children’s hands. We have a “no quibble” policy when it comes to recalls. This means Toys“R”Us and Babies“R”Us will take back recalled products sold at a Toys“R”Us or Babies“R”Us store at any point during the recall period. No receipt or proof of purchase is necessary to return a recalled product to one of our stores. If you do not have a receipt, you will receive a store credit for the lowest sale price of the product within the last 30 days. There are some exceptions to this policy, so be sure to check with your local store for more details.
Baby Bjorn Travel Crib – 3 years old
Purchased for $220, sold for $120 = Got back 55% of original price
Combi Twin Sport Ex Stroller – 1 year old
Purchased for $160, sold for $120 = Got back 75% of original price
Used changing table – 2 years old
Purchased used for $15, sold for $15 = Got back 100% of original price
Bumgenius 4.0’s – 3 years old
I don’t remember the exact retail price since I accumulated a collection over time, but I do know that the minute I posted these for sale, I had multiple inquiries and was able to sell the entire lot in one sweep right away. The more obscure, lesser known cloth diaper brands have been A LOT more difficult to get rid of. Some All of them ended up in the donations pile!
Kate Spade Stevie Diaper Bag – 1 year old
I bought this on the 75% off surprise sale for $140, and sold it for $110, so I recouped 79% of my purchase price. Looking at it that way, I was carrying around a $30 diaper bag for the year I carried it. In contrast, I have another messenger bag that I’ve been trying to get off my hands for the last… oh… 2 years? I’ve dropped the price from $25 down to $10. It’s brand new and has never been used too. Still no takers!
The best case scenario for me when buying gear is to buy barely used popular baby gear. Even though I’m pretty happy with how much I got back on the items I sold above, the depreciation factor when buying brand new then reselling is still a lot higher than buying used then reselling (take that changing table for example – I sold it at the same price I bought it at). I have no doubt in my mind that when it’s time to sell my well-loved play kitchen, I am going to recoup most of my purchase price, and that is going to be a huge win!
Do you factor in resale value when you consider what gear to buy?
hostess / wonderful watermelon / 39513 posts
I used to but not anymore because I am usually too lazy to resell.
Did you replace the double stroller or do you just not use one anymore?
blogger / eggplant / 11551 posts
@autumnlove: I bought the double BOB when they had that 40% off sale on Amazon not too long ago. I checked Craigslist prices before I purchased it to see what the resale value was at, and people were selling it used for more than I bought it for brand new… so I think I’ll get a good return.
grapefruit / 4923 posts
yay for all the money you made back! i don’t take resale value into consideration generally because i am too lazy to sell things on my own (although i like buying used).
blogger / pomegranate / 3201 posts
I don’t because buying those higher end brands requires more money up front, which we just don’t have. We usually go for the less expensive options and just use them as long as possible and donate when we’re done.
blogger / grapefruit / 4836 posts
Ya know, I absolutely love my Britax stroller…but the thought of being able to return it for full value is tempting, especially since we purchased ours at full price. Eventually we will need a double stroller…maybe we can return it and upgrade….
ETA: When we are buying something that we may not keep for the duration of it’s usefulness, we do consider the resale value. When we bought our cloth diapers that was a huge part of our criteria, since it was such a big upfront purchase and we weren’t sure whether we would like them. We went with a bigger brand (rumparooz) because I didn’t love the BG’s. I am hopeful that when we are done with them we will be able to sell them, at least for some value.
admin / watermelon / 14210 posts
i definitely consider resale value when purchasing baby gear because it is very easy to sell here. often i buy things used and sell them back at the same price!
grapefruit / 4441 posts
I definitely think this way! I usually aim to buy nicer baby gear and clothing in excellent used condition with the goal of reselling in mind.
I definitely chose BG and Swaddlebees diapers in part for their resale value.
So far I’ve gotten a pretty good return on my money… even made a few extra bucks on occasion. Most recently, I very quickly/easily sold our jumperoo on Craigslist for $35. I had initially paid $25 at a consignment sale, so not too shabby! (I justified selling it for more than I paid because I had to clean it up a bit when we first got it). I probably could have sold it for more, but I would have felt a little guilty!
GOLD / pomegranate / 3938 posts
@Mrs. High Heels: You always have the best, most practical, posts!
blogger / watermelon / 14218 posts
Love, love love this post! We have sometimes sold baby gear items for even more than we paid for it… which makes me feel guilty and awesome at the same time.
blogger / pomelo / 5361 posts
So practical! I need to be better about factoring in resale value.
blogger / pear / 1563 posts
Wow! Great ideas! I just buy everything used and hope to have enough kids that we wear it all down to shreds. That’s also a good plan, right?
Of course having lots of kids isn’t as guaranteed for us as it for others, but I’d like to think we’ll have at least 3 before we’re done. And I imagine a lot wouldn’t be good to sell at that point, right?
Anyway, it sounds like you really got your money’s worth out of these items!
blogger / nectarine / 2600 posts
I totally consider resale price when buying stuff these days, I got trained into it when buying and selling kids clothes. It certainly makes some of the purchases easier to handle when you know you can make some back
honeydew / 7444 posts
This is why i love your posts.
I don’t always think about resale value, but i usually know what the resale value is. I was aware of the BOB’s and BG diapes, but i didn’t realize that the more obscure cloth diapers didn’t have a great resale value.
Did you sell the Combi to get the BOB double?
blogger / eggplant / 11551 posts
@Mrs. Lion: we loved our britax too! how long ago did you purchase yours? if you do decide to return it, check to make sure your model number is qualified in the recall – i know my friend who bought her britax just this year doesn’t qualify.
@78h2o: I feel guilty too selling something used that I bought used! I don’t feel guilty when it’s brand new and I sell it “used” for cheaper than retail. One time I bought an Ergo off babysteals for $80, and sold it on Craigslist for $110 (still cheaper than the $120 retail price).
@MrsMcD: @Freckles: thank you! My creative side needs some work though.
@mrs. wagon: I totally feel the guilt, hence why I only sold that changing table back for the $15 I got it for. I think I could’ve gotten more. These comments are making me reconsider future selling strategies though, haha!
@Mrs. Pinata: that is also an excellent plan! And you might be surprised, maybe after all that wear and tear you can still get a little money back.
@Mrs. Chocolate: Kids clothes is the one area I don’t try to sell back and I just give away to friends, with the exception of a few items like shoes. I mostly get their clothes from old navy and target so they’re cheap already and probably not desired on the used market.
@Freckles: Yes! We are in loooove with our BOB double, and got it for 40% off, so I think when it’s time to resell we will get a good return.
blogger / nectarine / 2010 posts
Resale value was a huge consideration for a lot of our baby purchases. And I also have had trouble getting rid of some of the more obscure cloth diaper brands. I wish I had not bought so many.
guest
@Mrs. High Heels – do you use the bob strollers as day to day strollers or for jogging?
blogger / eggplant / 11551 posts
@Sarah: both! It’s our only stroller right now, so we use it for everything.
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21616 posts
My cloth diapers had a great resale value! I agree that sticking to the brand names keeps their worth. I was able to sell my lot of off-brand but I think because they were pretty much identical to BG’s. I got back about 80% for my 8-month old cloth diapers, I had a collection of BG’s and grovia’s mostly.
I love gap, but another thing that spurs me to buy J’s clothes from there is knowing it’ll be easier to sell them than say carters. Same with higher-quality kids shoes!
blogger / eggplant / 11551 posts
@Mrs. Pen: ok you convinced me to give selling clothes a shot. I’ve never really bothered before because it seems so tedious. I do sell shoes though!
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21616 posts
@Mrs. High Heels: It can be – but I just earned $150 selling J’s clothes on here and I only spent one day doing it! I need to go through the rest and list them as well. Some things have better resale, and I did donate a bunch that I obviously get no return on… but it’s nice to get some money so I can buy him new clothes haha (see how this cycle works ;))
blogger / eggplant / 11551 posts
@Mrs. Pen: oh yea, I am well aware of this cycle hahaha! That’s great you got $150 on clothes in one day, wow!