Baby items - Help me make a list of what holds its value + what doesn't

[MBot]

When you buy baby items, (used, I'm sure!) what do you notice holds its value? What is the most transient and fails to hold its value?

I'm most interested in the HIGH category - these are generally quality items + a bit of a "name dropping" factor. But high resale value means you can buy used, use for a while, and then sell for close to what you paid. But it's also good to know what we can get for a massive deal by buying used.

This is what I've noticed from the local baby item groups:

Super-high (over 75% of initial price, often more)
In-demand prints of exclusive limited-run items (e.g. fancy cloth diapers, handwoven fancy wraps)

HIGH resale value (40%+ of initial purchase price, does not decline significantly after initial drop in value)

BOB or Baby Jogger strollers
Roots sweaters/joggers
Well-known brand wraps and baby carriers
Some brands of cloth diapers
Aden and Anais muslin swaddle blankets

MEDIUM resale value would be in the middle (worth 20-40% of initial purchase price - maybe this category is too big?)
Sleep Sacks (e.g. Halo)
Name-brand snow suits and snow boots
Small useful car accessories (mirrors)
White noise machines

LOW (less than 20% of initial price)

Non-fancy strollers
Most toys
Almost all clothing
Onesies
Baby blankets
Burp cloths
Hats and mitts
Fleece bunting bags and off-brand snow suits
Car seat covers
Diaper bags
Snugli and other cheap carriers

[Le Poisson]

The high and highest stuff tends to be cyclical and trendy. It does have high resale, but only for a limited window of time until the next great thing comes along, tanking item 1 as item 2 comes online. I think if the item is more than about 3 years old, the marketing has moved to a new "best" item, regardless of how good the last one was.

Of course I can still remember when 2-way car seats were considered game changers... So much marketing in the baby stuff.

[LiveLean]

Is this post for real? Re-sale value of baby items? Good grief. We didn't sell one item. We passed everything along to friends and family members who needed things, paying it forward just as folks gave stuff to us.

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

Burley bike trailers! Bought from CL with the tags still on for $100, sold over a year later for $80.

[CNM]

Things that I've resold (but no where near the price of them new) have been strollers, clothing for 24 months and up (NOT newborn clothes), and large toys like foot pianos, scooters, bouncy chairs and so on.  I have only been able to sell things are are in like new condition. 

[Kitsune]

Things that I've resold (but no where near the price of them new) have been strollers, clothing for 24 months and up (NOT newborn clothes), and large toys like foot pianos, scooters, bouncy chairs and so on.  I have only been able to sell things are are in like new condition. 

This. And the thing with most baby stuff is that:
- Individually, most things aren't VERY pricy. Like, I'm not gonna drive 20 minutes out of my way to get a 10$ item for 2$, the time and gas alone make that a stupid move. The problem is that each kid 'requires' (aka: is made easier to handle by) many, many 10-15$ items. Example: individual bottles aren't THAT expensive - 7$CAD, around here. The problem is that you need at least 6-8 - it adds up.
- The stuff that's pricier is also BULKY. Think baby swings. They're a LIFESAVER if that's where the kid will fall asleep at 4am... but after the 6 months or so the kid uses it, it's this huge ugly bulky thing that parents don't wanna keep in the house, so it gets passed on ASAP, mostly to regain space. That's why there are always used baby swings hanging around social circles, waiting for the next set of parents to spawn and claim the gear. ;)

[englishteacheralex]

Things that I've resold (but no where near the price of them new) have been strollers, clothing for 24 months and up (NOT newborn clothes), and large toys like foot pianos, scooters, bouncy chairs and so on.  I have only been able to sell things are are in like new condition. 

This. And the thing with most baby stuff is that:
- Individually, most things aren't VERY pricy. Like, I'm not gonna drive 20 minutes out of my way to get a 10$ item for 2$, the time and gas alone make that a stupid move. The problem is that each kid 'requires' (aka: is made easier to handle by) many, many 10-15$ items. Example: individual bottles aren't THAT expensive - 7$CAD, around here. The problem is that you need at least 6-8 - it adds up.
- The stuff that's pricier is also BULKY. Think baby swings. They're a LIFESAVER if that's where the kid will fall asleep at 4am... but after the 6 months or so the kid uses it, it's this huge ugly bulky thing that parents don't wanna keep in the house, so it gets passed on ASAP, mostly to regain space. That's why there are always used baby swings hanging around social circles, waiting for the next set of parents to spawn and claim the gear. ;)

I second this on the baby swing. We are in a friend group of four other couples who all have children under 5. One baby swing has been passed around to all couples. It's currently in our closet awaiting our baby #2.

And...yeah, we generally don't buy any baby stuff new, which negates this whole train of thinking. Hand-me-downs all the way. There are two baby consignment stores we frequent for anything we can't get via other families. Craigslist tends to not be worth it for exactly the reason another poster pointed out: you're not saving enough money to justify the gas/hassle.

The two things we did buy new (a low-end jogging stroller and an Ergo) have been so chewed up over the past two years and will inevitably become even more so with the next kid, we will probably not even be able to sell them and will just pass them on.

[SomedayStache]

I don't think this should be your plan of attack going in - even things that seem like great potential resale items could become obsolete overnight due to a new product or even a recall.

For example I bought a Baby Bjorn Travel Crib which retails from $200 to $300.  I stacked sales and got a decent deal on a new one after looking for over a year for a used one on craigslist and ebay and finding that used items would total almost the same as new once shipping was included.  I figured this was a splurge that I could make up by selling down the line.  Shortly thereafter a similar design crib resulted in an infant death.  Baby Bjorn proactively redesigned their travel crib and suddenly the version I had was no longer desired.  There was no recall on the Baby Bjorn item - it was just redesigned so I didn't get a replacement from the company nor did I have an item that was worth what I hoped.  (I did sell the thing for $40, but I was hoping for quite a bit more when I made the purchase).

When my first baby was born in 2008 baby-wearing was much more a fringe thing than it is now.  The Mei Tei babywrap I custom ordered from the internet was over $100.  A year later baby-wearing was all the rage and similar wraps were being sold in Target for $40.

You might buy an awesome custom print diaper, but 3 months later the diaper company could COMPLETELY redesign their diapers and suddenly no one wants the old versions (GroBaby did this a few years back and remarketed themselves as GroVia).

[Milizard]

Just try to buy what you need and no more.  If you anticipate heavy use, get whatever offers you the best utility for that.  You sell what you sell, for whatever price people are willing to buy it for.  We were just happy to come away with some money while gaining a whole lot of space.

As far as swings are concerned--barely used ours for 1st kid.  2nd kid slept in it all the time for as long as he could fit in it.  You never know for sure.  I think it sold at a garage sale for about 1/3 of the price new.  I had a fancy name-brand bassinet/bouncer bought new at Big Lots that resold for 50%+ of what I paid.

[MBot]

Thanks for the replies. I'm writing this post 10 months in, and I certainly don't have (or want!) most of these items! Most definitely not the "fancy" brands for the sake of being fancy. 

Of course I try to give away a lot of items and don't resell anything I've been given used obviously. But local but/sell groups are huge here -  why not treat baby stuff like anything else - I want to put my effort int reselling what is worth my time only, right?

So for example, some things are

(1) worth picking up because I can immediately resell them for a higher value (eg if I find a Roots sweater for $2 in the thrift shop or an Aden & Anais blanket set for $5,  I can sell it for $10 in an online swap that night locally)

(2) worth buying used "name brand" (eg stroller) that's  already lost most of its value because it won't further depreciate and  I can resell when I'm done for close to what I paid. I wish I knew my (bought used) Ergobaby carrier would be a lot harder to resell than a used Lillebaby carrier, for example.

(3) worth gathering up a set of medium-value items (eg zip-up sleepers) and sellling 5 for $10. But not worth it for onesies or shirts perhaps.

(4) I found there were a few items I ended up needing more urgently and didn't pick up in advance (sound machine that wasn't a phone app, car mirror for a long trip). So I paid retail, which really annoyed me. If I had known just how cheap they were used, I probably would have pulled the trigger and picked up in advance of his birth... instead of thinking "well, I'll get it if/when I need it!"

If I knew this before having kids it would have been useful. I knew clothes I should never buy new, but not much else.

[MBot]

Things that I've resold (but no where near the price of them new) have been strollers, clothing for 24 months and up (NOT newborn clothes), and large toys like foot pianos, scooters, bouncy chairs and so on.  I have only been able to sell things are are in like new condition. 

This. And the thing with most baby stuff is that:
- Individually, most things aren't VERY pricy. Like, I'm not gonna drive 20 minutes out of my way to get a 10$ item for 2$, the time and gas alone make that a stupid move. The problem is that each kid 'requires' (aka: is made easier to handle by) many, many 10-15$ items. Example: individual bottles aren't THAT expensive - 7$CAD, around here. The problem is that you need at least 6-8 - it adds up.
- The stuff that's pricier is also BULKY. Think baby swings. They're a LIFESAVER if that's where the kid will fall asleep at 4am... but after the 6 months or so the kid uses it, it's this huge ugly bulky thing that parents don't wanna keep in the house, so it gets passed on ASAP, mostly to regain space. That's why there are always used baby swings hanging around social circles, waiting for the next set of parents to spawn and claim the gear. ;)

Excuse the formatting/spelling errors on the prior post and this. My phone is not being cooperative. 

The part I've bolded from Kitsune is the flip side of my reasoning for wanting a list like this for example. It's not just about resale, it's knowing what you can get cheap.  I got all my Medela bottles and caps for $5 used (like new condition) instead of the over $60 new. Totally worth looking out for and capitalizing on that instant depreciation.

Otherwise I feel like having a kid is a slew of unexpected $20 purchases (or 8x of a $10 itempurchases)that could have been $4 if I planned better or knew in advance I could get it cheap.

Or last night on my way back from getting groceries I picked up 2 pair of Robeez shoes from someone's house for $5. I don't care about the brand, but I know that style of elasticized shoe stays on well, and since their initial price is $35 and they hold their value well I can likelihood recoup the cost when he grows out of them.

I figure if I do that 20 times on $20 items that's $400 - not chump change!

I would prefer if it was all give-receive-help-each-other here, There's not a big hand-me-down or gifting culture where I am, and we don't have family (or Buy Nothing groups). So I've individually found people who needed items like a car seat to give them our outgrown one, or my newborn clothes etc... yesterday I gave a mom many handmade baby girl hair bows I made for a costume for her girl. But it's not like I keep in touch with them for the future or have friends what want the baby items I'm done with.

[Kitsune]

Things that I've resold (but no where near the price of them new) have been strollers, clothing for 24 months and up (NOT newborn clothes), and large toys like foot pianos, scooters, bouncy chairs and so on.  I have only been able to sell things are are in like new condition. 

This. And the thing with most baby stuff is that:
- Individually, most things aren't VERY pricy. Like, I'm not gonna drive 20 minutes out of my way to get a 10$ item for 2$, the time and gas alone make that a stupid move. The problem is that each kid 'requires' (aka: is made easier to handle by) many, many 10-15$ items. Example: individual bottles aren't THAT expensive - 7$CAD, around here. The problem is that you need at least 6-8 - it adds up.
- The stuff that's pricier is also BULKY. Think baby swings. They're a LIFESAVER if that's where the kid will fall asleep at 4am... but after the 6 months or so the kid uses it, it's this huge ugly bulky thing that parents don't wanna keep in the house, so it gets passed on ASAP, mostly to regain space. That's why there are always used baby swings hanging around social circles, waiting for the next set of parents to spawn and claim the gear. ;)

Excuse the formatting/spelling errors on the prior post and this. My phone is not being cooperative. 

The part I've bolded from Kitsune is the flip side of my reasoning for wanting a list like this for example. It's not just about resale, it's knowing what you can get cheap.  I got all my Medela bottles and caps for $5 used (like new condition) instead of the over $60 new. Totally worth looking out for and capitalizing on that instant depreciation.

Yeah, that's mostly been my reason for NOT doing that, oddly.

For the bottles specifically: I was 100% expecting to breastfeed and it had never crossed my mind that I might not be able to. Oops? Um... Turns out that's not a guarantee that your body actually produces milk. And at that point, you need bottles ASAP, not when they become available on a swap group.

Personal circumstances add to that:  I'm SUPER rural (literally: I am a half-hour drive from the nearest place where you can buy milk that isn't at an actual farm, ok? RURAL.) and so, barring family who knows that you need hand-me-downs... getting ANYTHING used from ANYWHERE is a detour, and the type of detour that kills the savings, usually. Add to that that, for me, selling used things is a pain and a HALF (due to that distance thing), and people around here tend to not care about brand-name (rural quebec is lovely for a lot of things, but it isn'T flush with cash for brand-name things, let's just say) so re-sale value is null and pass-it-on works well.

Also, we have a large-ish house but not an endless amount of storage space, and I don't like having a lot of 'stuff' around... so I prefer to only buy what I actually need when I need it and not have a box of 'just in case' items or toys or whatevers. (Don't get me wrong - we have a box of things waiting for my daughter to grow into them, and we'll buy things used and on sale when we find them, but given our location, re-sale value is just not an option for us). So... we'd rather just buy what we need at good prices and try to buy less and only what we actually NEED.

Overall, that means we've spent about 50$/month on our kid since she was born, excluding daycare and formula. Could we save more of that? Maybe, sure. But definitely not without spending that much on gas to get the cheaper stuff, so... 

[moof]

Looking back, about 75% of what we bought was BS or a scam, and we were better than average about being realistic.  You need very little really, but expect your guilt strings to be yanked by the baby industrial complex.  Kids have no real fashion sense, so buy a bail of utilitarian jumpers instead of coordinated 3 piece outfits.  Thrift stores, yard sales, and hand-me-downs will get you most of what you need for 70-90% off or more.  Absorbent bibs are your friend, a friend made us a dozen out of quilting cotton and terry wash cloth material that we loved and used to death.

Most kids toys at young ages are useless crap.  For quite a while our kid would ignore the baby stuff and play with an old pot, and cardboard box as his favorite toys, and played with wrapping paper more than with the gifts inside.  One on one time and reading of books are great for kids, far better than a heap of plastic crap that makes noise when bashed (the main lesson young ones learn).  We read and talked to our kid from his earliest days, and he talks with a better vocabulary than most of his peers.

[MBot]

Yeah, that's mostly been my reason for NOT doing that, oddly.

For the bottles specifically: I was 100% expecting to breastfeed and it had never crossed my mind that I might not be able to. Oops? Um... Turns out that's not a guarantee that your body actually produces milk. And at that point, you need bottles ASAP, not when they become available on a swap group.

Personal circumstances add to that:  I'm SUPER rural (literally: I am a half-hour drive from the nearest place where you can buy milk that isn't at an actual farm, ok? RURAL.) and so, barring family who knows that you need hand-me-downs... getting ANYTHING used from ANYWHERE is a detour, and the type of detour that kills the savings, usually. Add to that that, for me, selling used things is a pain and a HALF (due to that distance thing), and people around here tend to not care about brand-name (rural quebec is lovely for a lot of things, but it isn'T flush with cash for brand-name things, let's just say) so re-sale value is null and pass-it-on works well.

Also, we have a large-ish house but not an endless amount of storage space, and I don't like having a lot of 'stuff' around... so I prefer to only buy what I actually need when I need it and not have a box of 'just in case' items or toys or whatevers. (Don't get me wrong - we have a box of things waiting for my daughter to grow into them, and we'll buy things used and on sale when we find them, but given our location, re-sale value is just not an option for us). So... we'd rather just buy what we need at good prices and try to buy less and only what we actually NEED.

Overall, that means we've spent about 50$/month on our kid since she was born, excluding daycare and formula. Could we save more of that? Maybe, sure. But definitely not without spending that much on gas to get the cheaper stuff, so...

That certainly makes sense. The more rural you are, saving time and effort certainly is worth a few bucks. And it makes sense to understand and limit what you keep.

I see the wisdom of other posts here that say "Save everything for the next kid." But with limited storage space here too - and as some have pointed out, the cyclical/short-term nature of baby item value, it may be worth getting rid of some items too.

So far, I've kept one Rubbermaid tote of clothing for every 2 sizes. They all fit neatly under the crib, and later there's space for them to stack in the closet. I'm giving away the young-infant car seat, and the other one takes us right through booster seat age.

I've been pretty ruthless about toys, however. They're only allowed to take up a couple small square storage ottomans worth in the downstairs living room, and a small cloth bin upstairs. I can't believe how many we've been given and then given away. One ottoman is just Duplo which is pretty nice though.

My mom once mentioned a personal rule that "If this toy (other than building blocks/Duplo) has more than 2 pieces, we probably don't want it for our toddler" rule she had when we were young. In general, that seems like a good guideline. There's been many times I thought something was cute (and free) but it had 20 pieces I didn't want to pick up.

And stuffed animals... talk about something that costs big $ new, you're given a million of.... and you can hardly give away.

They gave us one in the hospital and we said "no, don't please." but once it was IN THE ROOM it was officially considered contaminated and had to be given to us or thrown out. We left it in the room. What a waste.

[Kitsune]

I've been pretty ruthless about toys, however. They're only allowed to take up a couple small square storage ottomans worth in the downstairs living room, and a small cloth bin upstairs. I can't believe how many we've been given and then given away. One ottoman is just Duplo which is pretty nice though.

My mom once mentioned a personal rule that "If this toy (other than building blocks/Duplo) has more than 2 pieces, we probably don't want it for our toddler" rule she had when we were young. In general, that seems like a good guideline. There's been many times I thought something was cute (and free) but it had 20 pieces I didn't want to pick up.

And stuffed animals... talk about something that costs big $ new, you're given a million of.... and you can hardly give away.

They gave us one in the hospital and we said "no, don't please." but once it was IN THE ROOM it was officially considered contaminated and had to be given to us or thrown out. We left it in the room. What a waste.

Oh god the stuffed animals *groan*  To be fair: I'm very thankful that my mom kept the 3 that actually mattered to me, and I'll totally keep the ones that matter to my daughter (at this point: a very loved-off monkey, a big teddy, and a dinosaur). But she got like 30 as gifts... and plays with/loves 3 of them.

In terms of 'things with pieces', I don't mind so much if it's like... a set of building blocks. Or 'food' for the play kitchen. Or her farm+animals. But each of those has a basket, only one basket comes out at a time, and it gets put away before another basket comes out. Maybe I'm just really lucky, but at 2.5 my kid understands that and we don't tend to have an incredible exploding mess of toys.

The gifts, though... toys that aren't open-ended (aka: can only be played with in 1 way, so less interest factor) and that MAKE NOISE. Battery-operated plastic shit that starts singing at 2am because the cat walked by it and activated a sensor. ARGH. They are the worst. They get donated. I cannot stand that. And they're the pieces that seem to cause the most clutter because it's harder to impose a '1 basket out' rule for a basket that contains 15 different toys.

[MrsCoolCat]

Following.

[faithhill]

large toys like foot pianos, scooters

[Le Poisson]

This may be helpful for the so many toys, so much mess situation: http://www.whitehouseblackshutters.com/how-to-keep-toys-from-taking-over

[gipsygrrl]

I've tried to buy everything gently used. Some are still pretty expensive! The things I've bought used but still paid (in my opinion) a lot of money for:

Brand-name baby carriers (Beco, Ergo, etc.)
Mamaroo crazy motorized space chair thing
Brand-name cloth diaper covers
Baby hiking backpack (Poco)
Bike trailer
Brand-name shoes with little wear (Stride-Rite, See Kai Run, etc.)

Hopefully I will be able to turn around and sell some of these things, but as someone mentioned above, you never know when something will become obsolete or fall out of favor, so I'm not *counting* on being able to sell them. I'm just glad I found them used myself instead of paying full price, which is pretty insane.

Used things that have been less expensive to purchase:

Plastic toys (Little People, Duplo Lego, etc.)
Clothes
Outdoor plastic climbing gyms/slides
Swing/Pack-n-play

Those things will probably just get passed on to someone else in need, depending on how worn they are. The outdoor plastic gym stuff seems to have a pretty good resale life on Craigslist... I wouldn't expect to make a ton of money on those, but maybe recoup $20-50 or so. Ditto on things like play kitchens and small kids furniture.

[elaine amj]

I used to organize giant kids yard sales - so keeping track of resale values was a big deal for me. That said, for myself personally, I didn't worry too much about buying to resell. Most of my kids stuff were bought at yard sales and I turned around a resold most of that at my own yard sales. I didn't track, but my best guess is that on average, I spent  maybe 30% more than I made by reselling. I didn't worry about brand names unless it was brand names I wanted personally for whatever reason (cute factor or had the features I wanted).

My one advice for parents who hope to resell. DO NOT hang on to whatever-it-is for too long. Baby stuff holds its value for maybe 2 years or so and then its dated. I had friends try to sell their perfectly useable 5 yr old swings and they could get barely anything for it. My one friend who held on to her stuff for 10 years - well let's just say there was no way she was getting more than a few bucks for her stuff.

The moment your kid outgrows it, SELL IT. If you start off by buying it used, you typically won't end up spending much at all at the end of the day. I remember I bought a brand new bassinet for my first child. I resold it several months later when she was done with it (and yes, lost a fair bit of $$ there). When my son came along a year and a half later, I was smarter - went out and bought the wooden cradle I wanted used for $40. When he was done with it, I was able to resell it for $40. So it was free for me :) Sometimes I'd even come out ahead. e.g. buy that super cute dress for $2. Resell after its outgrown for $5 (since I did this pretty quickly, it would still be in style).

In a nutshell,
1. buy used, preferably for well under their fair market value (i.e. score a great deal - haggling works!)
2. resell ASAP, preferably at market value (learn how to sell your stuff)

[cats]

There is one mother near us who is constantly posting lots of those little items mentioned above for sale on CL and the local mother's list.  Like grab bags of 6-9 mos size clothes for $10/ea, toy grab bags, bags of little nursing/pumping supplies, etc.  It seems way more stuff than she could possibly have bought or used for her 2 kids unless she is some kind of compulsive shopper.  I suspect she is pulling individual items off the streets/freecycle or getting unwanted items from friends, dusting them off a bit and grouping like items together, and then pricing them super low so as to move them out quickly.  I think if you want to sell off some of your lower value baby items (e.g. newborn clothes), this may be the way to go--consolidate with several other families and sell off your castoffs together.  Then you are offering the potential buyers some convenience (being able to pick up a load of low value items at once), which becomes a huge attraction with a baby around. I know when I was buying cloth diapers used, the big reason we wound up with the ones we did was simply that I found a mother who was selling off a full set of prefold diapers, rather than 2 of one kind, 3 of the other, etc.  Her price was decent and being able to just go to one place and have 90% of what I would need DONE was really nice.

[TomTX]

We bought most of the baby slings used for $20 each or thereabouts, resold for $20-$25 each. Bought a Mei Tai on clearance at Target for $17.xx, I think that only resold for $15.

Couple of things to get new, but cheap:

Shoes: Other than some moccasins a friend crafted for us (cost: raiding my scrap leather) - we've been using aqua socks/water shoes exclusively. They are all of $5 per pair, flexible sole for arch development and when he wants to stomp in puddles, it just doesn't matter.

http://www.academy.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_10051_137961_-1

Illuminated nail clippers. OMG the headlights on these things were critical for getting the right light to see and clip teeny baby nails. Those nails were SHARP and needed trimming regularly. Scrw baby scissors and non-illuminated clippers. I'm still using them on him.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Safety-1st-Sleepy-Baby-Nail-Clipper-Spring-Green/39952224